Picking Petals:

Chapter 14: Hope to Die

Elijah was dropped off buy his caretakers, who didn't even care to say anything to us but give an awkward stale smile. "Hey Nadia!" Elijah wore a stained collared white shirt and ripped trousers. His eyes were unique, one a deep sky blue the other a cat like green that stood out with his dark caramel skin. His little face scrunched up as he smiled up at Rone, ear to ear.

"I'm Rone," he smiled down to the boy, bending down so he could get eye level. Elijah held his thin book close to his chest. "I heard you are quiet a businessman."

Elijah laughed looking up at me, "I've got some cool stuff to show you guys!"

"Well let's get to it!" Berella said as she folded her hands together in excitement.

We went to the small gardens and sat on the short blades of grass. Elijahs book was torn and shredded, the binding already ripped off, the thick white glossy pages stuffed in its weathered down yellow blank cover. The first page was what I thought an illustration of a bunch of glass bottles huddled up together in a booth surrounded with many stuffed animals, snakes, bears, cats. I've never seen a cat but I heard they were humans pets, same as dogs, I wondered why fae never had "pets."

"My mother told me they gave them plastic rings to throw on top of the bottles, you get one around it you get a prize. It's supposed to be really hard." He flipped to the next page, there was only five. This page there were people dancing, real humans, real food with people in the booths.

"Wait I think this is a photo album Elijah, these are actual pictures, things humans used to take to capture moments," I told him. Thats why there were no words, not even on the cover, it was just an album. "These are real pictures of an actual festival."

Rone flipped threw the rest of the pages, "You're right," he said. "Who would grab a photo album back then thats not a necessity."

"Maybe not for us but for them it maybe is," Berella said her long red hair framing her sweat face. I stopped Elijah at a photograph with a huge crowd, kids gathered in a row in a potato sack, one leg in one leg out, same with your partner, "Thats interesting."

"I'ts a race," he said, "You team up, it's actually a skill, teaches you to work with others," Elijah said looking up to me, his face was so young and tiny.

"I think that would be fun, right it down Berella we will have to figure out what to call it," i said as Elijah flipped to the second to the last photo. This one really captured my eyes, a couple stood underneath holding each other far to close in front of a wooden stage with weird looking hand- held instruments, "Music?"

"We dance all the time to music," Elijah told me, the way they held each other was far to personal, the boys hands were nearly touching her butt, his other gently on her cheek. There bodies completely pressed to each other, "At home I see a bunch of people, your age dancing like this to old records some people saved. Our music is much different from yours, yours is dark, all about voice but our people learned to rebuild our instruments. We make fun music with pans, spoons, whatever we can find but its not the same as the records."

I smiled down to the boy, "You need to find me these people," I said, "We'd like to come over when they do this," I pointed at the page feeling myself blush as I watched Rons eyes carefully look over to me, in what maybe seemed like amusement? "I feel it would be nice to play your music, introduce it and who knows maybe they'll have some ideas."

"Good idea!" Berells said folding her hands in front of her, "Get a teens point of view of what fun really is. You know what James has a lot of friends, maybe we can meet his and talk to them?" Berella had always been dangerously fascinated with humans, so I got her excitement. I too was even curious. I've never seen a fae dance like that, it felt wrong to even look at, too close. The last page was what seemed a Family getting there face painted, they were given whiskers, hearts on there cheeks, even a rainbow.