Baggage

Floyd bounded into the shop with all the enthusiasm of a golden retriever after a ball. A moment later, Edna pushed through the door with a sigh. Adorably cozy, from the racks of books to the charming display of knickknacks, it was the exact sort of place Floyd liked to rummage through.

She rubbed her right temple as Floyd started babbling happily to himself. “Here. I’m sure I’ll find what I need here. This place just oozes magic and wonderment.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, leaning back against a bookshelf, almost knocking over the diminutive creatures that had fluttered in behind her. Luckily they had lots of experience dodging her.

“Think he’ll see us this time Pilliwibble?” one sprite said to his companion.

Pilliwibble looked at the two humans. “I don’t get why he keeps doing this. All he has to do is turn around and actually try to see us. Is that so hard Jumblekin?”

Jumblekin shook his head. “He got so close in Sedona that one time. Who knew he’d come all the way to England? Still, it’s nice to travel isn’t it?”

Pilliwibble poked Jumblekin. The shop girl stared right at the two of them. They waved their hands and started juggling tiny items that had been put out on display on the table behind them. Floyd saw none of this, as his nose was buried in a thick tome he found on the shelf. Edna looked out the window towards the clothing boutique across the street, equally as removed from the spectacle.

Without taking her eyes off the two sprites, the shop girl motioned for her manager. She came over took a look at the scene and said, “Oh we get this sort of thing every now and again. Sally dear, just grab a bit of creamer and a scone and set them out by the doll house display. We can at least make them comfortable.”

“What about the sprites?” Sally whispered. They had moved on from juggling to waltzing with some of the antique dolls.

The manager chuckled. “That’s who I was telling you to make comfortable! A snack would settle them right down and keep them out of mischief. I’ll talk to the other two.”

She strode over to Floyd and Edna, “Can I help you with anything?”

Sally went to the back room, poured a bit of creamer into a bowl and then brought it and a blueberry scone out to the doll house as instructed. The sprites flew right over as soon as Sally set them out. Not knowing anything better to say she asked, “So how are you liking England so far? You’re from America, yeah?”

“We love it! Everyone is so friendly,” said Pilliwibble.

“This scone is amazing,” said Jumblekin. “Wish they’d put out a quality spread like this sometime.”

“You mean they don’t?” Sally asked.

Pilliwibble snorted. “They mean well. Well, at least Floyd does. He ‘thinks’ he sees us all the time and tries to put something every now and again…”

“Remember the stale saltines?” said Jumblekin.

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Anyway, he tries and she usually throws things out or eats them herself before we can get to them.”

“Doesn’t he notice?” she said.

“Nope. That has to be the least observant human on the planet. It’s like he knows we’re there but then he isn’t sure. He goes to all these places, reads all these books trying to learn the secret to something or another and just as he’s beginning to be sure all those things he’s read about might be real – bam – something scares him off until the next time he goes looking again.”

“That’s sad,” Sally said.

“Isn’t it though?” Jumblekin said. “My heart is going to break from lack of attention, but a kiss from a pretty girl might make it better.” He blinked large violet eyes at Sally.

“You’ll have to excuse Jumblekin. All the food is making him forget his manners,” said Pilliwibble. “Anyway, we should be going. By the way Floyd is slouching I can tell he’s either seen or heard something to discourage him again. He’ll be heading off wherever Edna wants now.”

Jumblekin said, “I hope it’s Madame Tussauds! I’ve always wanted to see that!”

“The upside to all Floyd’s searching is we get to travel a lot. We’ve stowed away on his baggage at least 17 times now,” said Pilliwibble.

After thanking Sally for the food, the two sprites flitted out behind Floyd and Edna. The manager asked her, “Did you enjoy chatting with our American guests?”

“It’s just so strange. How can someone want so much to see something yet completely look over exactly what it is they want to see?” Sally said.

“Who knows? But on the plus side I managed to sell the little fairy figurine that’s been sitting here for months.”

“The one that looks like it could have been a brother to the sprites that were just here?”

“The very one.”






This story was inspired by the picture prompt at Magpie Tales

47 comments:

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    1. It's fun coming up with names like that :)

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  2. It is dangerous not to share food with the little people! Thank you for the Magic while I not so patiently await Spring! Oh and of course....the lovin spoonful memory! xo

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    1. I'm impatient too. I did a happy dance when I saw some of my bulbs were beginning to set out shoots. I'm so hoping my black iris survived the winter!

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  3. To those who believe in fairies…and sprites! Charming, Rommy. Glad I stopped by.

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  4. Clever and Charming. It made me hungry for jam, cream, and scones. Mmmm.

    Elena

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    1. There's always room for scones, especially with real clotted cream...om nom nom!

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  5. None so blind, as they that will not see! This was adorable! Love the sprites!

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    1. LOL, very true. I feel a bit sorry for poor old Floyd. Maybe those sprites will get through to him some day!

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  6. I'm feeling a bit sad for Floyd. I hope he starts believing enough to really see. It must be terrible to go through life wanting to believe in something that is right in front of his eyes, but not really...

    I want to see the kind of trouble those wee two will get up to...

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    1. Me too. At least I don't think he knows how sad it really is; that's something.

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  7. I love it! You are so talented! Lots of fun to read. And great minds think alike: I wrote a Pagan skit years back, in which I was arrogantly trying to find a Faerie so I could use his power to rule the world and, the whole time I was trying, a faerie was right there on stage with me. I bet you and I are not the only two writers to touch this theme, because I think people trying to contact Faeries often do not realize that they're right there, and never ever do see it. ✨💫✨💫✨💫✨

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    1. Ha! That's too funny! It makes me think about the various reasons people's sight can be cloudy.

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    2. Good idea! In the skit, it was my sheer pomposity that kept me from seeing the power in front of me. That the point of the skit. But there are a lot of other reasons, like you say. Heck, nowadays everybody is so busy, the other world can just pass em by. Or, if people have been invalidated as children when they see the fey, they stop believing their own eyes. Gosh, after teaching the faerie faith all these years, I know a million reasons, and I bet you do too, LOL.

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    3. Never underestimate people's ability to miss what's right under their noses! :D

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  8. Replies
    1. Sometimes when searching for names, seeing what's laying around the room with you as you write is the best inspiration. :D

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  9. Love the names, love the style, and loved this story. Bravo.

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  10. I think they got some nice treatment here.. but I guess they could be quite bad if you don't very innovative take on the picture.

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    1. Yes, I'd say they could be, but traveling appears to satisfy them for the time being.

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  11. Ah, the very one, I enjoyed your story.

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    1. Indeed! I wonder what the sprites will say when they see the figurine. I'm glad you enjoyed the story. :)

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  12. Love it! I choose to believe the winged creatures i see fluttering about are faeries. After all, I could be right!

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  13. Delightful...I thoroughly enjoyed...

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    1. Thanks! I'm pretty pleased with it myself. :)

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  14. What imagination! Enjoyed this so much!

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    1. An over active imagination does come in handy sometimes! Glad you enjoyed it. :)

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  15. There certainly is magic in old books, and I can imagine just such a bookstore on an old Rue like this!

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    1. I'd love a chance to get lost in a bookstore like this sometime soon. Just thinking about some of the old gems potentially tucked inside a place like this makes me happy.

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  16. You are so lucky in having playful sprites as all I get are grumpy gnomes moaning all the time. What a lot of fun this is.

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    1. LOL, thank you. It was a fun story to work with.

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  17. Whistles!! ❤️💜 This is absolutely incredible writing Rommy :D Love the pagan style and especially the images of faerie folks is just enchanting! Beautifully penned. Thank you so much for participating at Prompt Nights and for your constant love and support ❤️💜

    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

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  18. This is a yummy bit to reread. This time around, I focused on phrases. My favorite, you may ask? "Luckily they had lots of experience dodging her." The irony of it still makes me giggle and shake my head.

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    1. The thing that pleases me most about this story are the funnily ironic bits.

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  19. Love a good fairy tale from childhood to adulthood. Need i say then i enjoyed this tale. the names of the unseen are rather cute

    much love...

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  20. Loved this! A 'fairy' story with a true message. Well done!

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  21. What can i say - pure magic and joy! If we had to choose our baggage what better than a pair of sprites..i love the names and sense there maybe more adventures of Pilliwibble and Jumblekin tucked up your sleeve..if only we could see what we want and need too.. everything a good story should be! (is that Canterbury.. J and Alice had a few years of adventuring there ;)

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  22. Enchanting story. I love the fairytale feel.

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