The Second Chapter

A child could have done a better drawing than the one the fairy did. It was clear that it was supposed to be a wolf, but it had a round, fat body, and stick legs. When the creature looked up from it, he pointed to his own teeth, then to the jagged teeth scratched into the open mouth of the wolf. Mikkel nodded, not understanding the importance. "Yes, the wolf has very sharp teeth. Did you see an animal like that out there?"

The fairy nodded, then started drawing again. This time, he was drawing flowers. When he finished the first one, Mikkel watched him kneel down and smell the paper, as if he expected it to smell like what he'd drawn. It was one of the most curious things he'd seen. With the newly sharped pencil, he wrote down what he'd witnessed. The fairy has drawn a flower. He has leaned down to smell it. He thought it would smell like a flower does!

The fairy looked disappointed when all he could smell was the paper. He threw the lead down and flew up to Mikkel's face, looking it over. The man gave an uncomfortable smile, which didn't satisfy the fairy, who flew closer and began tugging on Mikkel's lips. From what Mikkel could feel, he was trying to open his mouth. When his lips parted, the fairy flew away quickly, watching him from behind the microscope. When Mikkel stayed still, the fairy came back, looking into his mouth. He made a soft noise and reached inside, touching one of Mikkel's canine teeth. He did this very reluctantly.

"Wha' are ya do'n?" He asked, the small arm still in the front of his mouth. The fairy squeaked again and pulled his arm out, deciding that Mikkel wouldn't be a threat, although he had never seen a man before in his short life. "Ah. I'm sure you're inside because of the rain, aren't you? I wonder if you have a name! You look like a… like a…"

The fairy watched the man as he seemed to ramble on. "Like a Lukas. I think that's an appropriate name for you! I'm Mikkel. I doubt you can even understand me."

The creature hung his head to the side, backing away from Mikkel slightly and sitting back down on the notepad. Mikkel continued writing about him, smiling as he watched Lukas' facial expressions. So far, he seemed to be in a constant state of disapproval and upset. Without warning, he shoved Mikkel's pencil and began squeaking again, whining about something.

"What is it?" The man asked. Lukas rubbed his shoulder, keening. He was bruising from the run in with the glass window. Mikkel pitied him. "I see. I wish I had some ice for you," he said, looking through his cabinet until he found a little box of medicine. "I think this will help!" He chimed. Mikkel opened up a small tub of ointment, covering the bruise in the cream until it was rubbed in and slowly drying. Lukas seemed to be grateful for the relief and he laid down on the paper, closing his eyes. "Are you sleeping?"

The only reply was another keen. The fairy then fell asleep on the paper, no longer fearing his surroundings. Mikkel covered him with a clean tea towel, tucking an edge beneath his head for a pillow. While he was sleeping, the man thought it would be the perfect opportunity to sketch him in better detail, his face in particular.

Mikkel still couldn't believe his luck. His mind was racing from the daydreams, hopes, and wishes he had for himself now that he'd discovered a magical being. He would surely be the most famous scientist in the world. But what about the fairy? He couldn't have been the only fairy that existed. There must have been a way they reproduced. Perhaps he had a mother, father, brothers and sisters. Still, Mikkel noticed how undeveloped the fairy was, much like a child who was still learning which shoe went on the right foot.

In stories, it was written that there were fairy courts, circles, and civilizations. But this didn't seem to be the case. If there was a home for this fairy with other fairies, it wasn't developed well. Mikkel could have been getting ahead of himself, something he tended to do, but there were examples of what led him to believe that the fairy was less developed than a human.

First was the incident with the window. No human would have ran into the glass as he did. Second, the fairy was content when given food, and when he did eat food, he ate like a little savage, not like a human should. Third, he had tried to smell a flower that he'd drawn himself. Any sort of people who believed that a drawn flower could have a scent were undeveloped and unintelligent. It was essential to note that while the creature had the appearance of a miniature human, his mannerisms were a far cry from those of a human.

When the fairy awoke an hour later, he stretched and sauntered over to Mikkel, who was sitting at the table with a piece of bread in his hand. His small eyes were stuck on him, he soon noticed. "Did you sleep well?" The fairy didn't answer, but his wings fluttered and he stepped closer, his face remaining untouched by his words. Mikkel cleared his throat, watching his eyes as they shifted to the piece of bread, then back to his face.

"You want a piece of bread?"

The fairy chimed and nodded, a small smile (in every meaning of the word "small"), graced his lips and he held a hand out for his share. When Mikkel placed a small piece into his hand, Lukas whined and shoved his wrist. There was no way to be sure of what the fairy wanted. His small voice tinkled and he gave the man's wrist a harsh kick. Mikkel wasn't hurt, but he could feel that was supposed to be a painful kick and he was offended. "What do you want, Lukas? What's the matter?"

Instead of answering, Lukas looked around the room, spotting a dish and flying over to it, peering inside. With a look of delight he reached in and scooped out a handful of pale yellow butter. He smeared it onto the bread in a vulgar manner, then proceeded to lick the excess off of his hand.

"Now, that's not in good taste! Well, it might be in good taste," he said with a small laugh as he picked up the fairy. "But it is not sophisticated! You wash your hands." Once the fairy finished his bread, Mikkel took him over to a wash bowl, poured out a little water from the pitcher, and sliced off a small block of soap for the fairy, who stared at the bowl of water with a disappointed look. "Ah, this is a bit big," he said. Mikkel searched for something smaller, finding a lid and using it for the water. "Now, pick up the soap first."

Lukas watched as Mikkel lifted a light green bar of soap. He did the same with his piece, watching intently. Mikkel dipped the soap into the water, then pulled it out. Lukas followed, smelling the soap once it was soaked, and beginning to take a bite out of the chunk. "No, no! No… you can't eat this! Do NOT eat this!"

Mikkel was frighteningly serious. The fairy began to cry for the second time that day. A wail erupted from the back of his throat and he laid down, throwing a fit.

"Hm? Oh, don't cry! We'll have none of that," Mikkel told him. When the fairy remained on the table with tears rolling down his cheeks, the man gently poked his leg. Lukas mewled, a dramatic tone in that small voice of his. "I think you're throwing a fit," admitted the man. "Please stand up and pick up the soap again. Please?"

The fairy heard his pleading and it moved him, but he was unaware of the reason why it was moving. He stood up again, wiped his tears, clutched the soap, and watched Mikkel expectantly. The man smiled and rubbed the soap between his hands, minding as Lukas did the same. Mikkel set the soap back in its dish and lathered the soap, rubbing it into his hands. "You see, this is the cleaning part! You are removing all of the bacteria for your health. This is what humans do to keep from getting sick!"

Lukas followed along, making the soap bubbly and staring at the suds. He rubbed the foam on his cheek, then squeezed it in his hands, watching it plop onto the table and begin to seep through a crack. He cheeped gently, picking up what was left of the suds and watching the man again, although Mikkel had been watching him with great interest the entire time.

"Uh, yes! Yes, we must continue. We rinse our hands off in the water. Like this!" He exclaimed to the other. The water was cool on Mikkel's hands, but it was refreshing. Despite the rain that still poured, the air was warm and sticky. The fairy didn't seem to care about the cold water, either. He rinsed off his hands in the water filled lid, then held them up to Mikkel with a blank expression. Mikkel picked up a towel, dried his hands, then his own. "That is all there is to it! You can clean your hands whenever they're dirty from now on."

The fairy flew speedily over to the butter again, smearing his hands in the spread, then flew back over and washed his hands by himself, pride etched across his face. Mikkel laughed and wrote in his notepad of his experience teaching the fairy how to wash his hands, a very enjoyable experience for him.

The day passed away soon, and the fairy spent his time exploring things in the main room while Mikkel observed and recorded what he saw. By night, the fairy flew back to the windowsill and pressed his hands against the glass, but sadly, the rain hadn't stopped and Mikkel had to close the curtains again.

"I'm sorry. If you would like to leave, you may, but it's still raining and I'm afraid for your wings," he told him, ushering him away from the glass. Lukas must have agreed, because he sat down on the sofa and held his face in his hands. Mikkel sat beside him, patting his head with one finger, despite the creature shying away. "Do you want dinner? I bet you're hungry."

Food spoke to Lukas and he looked up, nodding. Mikkel stood, boiled coffee, and boiled potatoes and whatever meat he'd managed to keep so far. He was no chef, but he was able to sustain himself. He could tell Lukas was a little upset and sliced strawberries for him, heating the pieces in a pot with sugar and cinnamon. When he gave him the small plate of food, he ate messily, whereas Mikkel was very careful and mannerly.

Lukas noticed the way Mikkel ate slowly and wiped his mouth with a towel after a particularly messy bite. He swallowed a steaming piece of potato, took a sip of water, and tried to eat like Mikkel was eating. With etiquette. It was challenging because he had no utensils. When Mikkel noticed he was eating slower and more elegantly, he understood his attempt and stood to find something for him to use. Ultimately, he had to cut the point off of a needle and let the fairy use the eye to prod the food with. There was no time for anything else.

Lukas held the end of the needle in his hand, confused as to how it was supposed to work. When Mathias took the piece of metal from him and skewered a strawberry piece, Lukas nodded and began to eat. Mikkel drew the fairy between his bites, portraying him trying to eat like a human would for the first time. He held the needle like a child would hold a spoon, though, and chewed with his mouth open.

Mikkel nearly scolded him for it, but the food in his mouth was too small to see and the sloppy chewing made no sound. The fairy finished his food and leaned back against a china vase, humming to himself. Mikkel tried to hear what he was humming, but Lukas stopped when the man leaned in. Likes to hum, he wrote.