The Fairy Elevator (excerpt)

So my roommate back in college, he had this cousin back out east, and this cousin of his had a neighbor next-door in the apartment building where they was renting rooms from this grade-A jerk of a landlord. My roommate told me this story about them which you are not gonna believe, but it's all true, and if you don't believe it I can prove it to you.

Main thing is, my roommate's cousin's neighbor, he don't walk so good. I don't know why. Why ain't the point. Bodies let you down. It happens. Anyway, he could just about get around on crutches, you know, on a good day. But that third floor apartment was the only one could afford, and all he had to get up there was stairs. So every day he comes home from work, and he hauls himself up the stairs any old way he can. Drags the crutches on up with him, too. Has to. If he left 'em in the lobby, wouldn'ta been there next morning. It was that kind of neighborhood.

Anyway, once he gets up the stairs, he just about manages to let himself into his apartment before collapsing in a heap of tired on the floor. It sucked, is what I'm saying.

Yeah, the landlord coulda lowered the rent on a ground floor apartment, just for this guy, or maybe he mighta installed one of those stair-climbing platform things. He could afford it. Except, like I said, he was a jerk. Kept his eye on his profit margin. Didn't repair, didn't maintain. Like hell was he going to install accessibility options. "Hey, he signed the lease, his choice, nobody's got a gun to his head. Don't like it, he can move." Jerk.

So that's the situation when one day our guy is crutching himself home from work, and he hears a voice....