This story I wrote in 2007. The illustration attached to it was done as a quick sketch and was what inspired the story to begin with. I hope you like it!
An Unexpected Visit
By Oded Naaman
Like every other evening, I sat in front of the TV, my feet on the table, a glass of coke placed in a strategic spot, where every wrong move of my foot would send it hurtling to the floor, shattering it into a million pieces.
I was almost sure there was some show running on the screen, but I was just staring, not concentrating on what I was seeing, when a fairy sat on my TV.
He definitely was a male fairy.
At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, so I got up and moved towards the TV, with my head tiled forward.
There was no doubt something sat there. He was the size of a fist, completely naked, with what can only be described as a beer belly.
Hair covered his entire body, and from his back emerged two transparent and wrinkled wings, which looked like they had seen better days.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” he asked.
“Ahhh... At you?” I was confused.
“Then fucking stop!” he said and moved one of his feet close to his face, starting to engage in what seemed like chewing his toe nails. I wasn’t sure though – it was too small to determine.
I moved back a bit, and tried not to stare, but it’s not every day that a fairy appears in your living room and chew on his nails.
“Do you have a cigarette?” he asked without stopping what he was doing.
I was disoriented for a second.
“Ahhh…. I don’t smoke…” for some reason I felt ashamed.
He stopped for a second and looked at me with contempt. Then he returned to his fingernails.
“I mean, how would you smoke it anyway? It’s going to be huge for you…”
“I guess you’ll never find out…” he spat a piece of nail.
He examined his work and seemed pleased with the result. He lightly brushed the tip of his toes and stood up.
“Well – this was utterly boring. I’m off.” He crouched in preparation of jumping of my TV, when I stopped him.
“Wait! Aren’t you supposed to do something? Take me to some fantastic far-off land? Teach me how to fly? Or at least shower me with good luck?” I asked him.
“I think you’re confusing me with leprechauns.” He looked at me, trying to conceal a chuckle.
Then his face became serious again.
“You want some fucking good luck? No problem.” The fairy flapped his wings, ascended from the TV, and landed on the table in front of me.
“Take out a coin”.
I took out a coin from my pocket.
“Flip it in the air, catch it and hide the side it falls on,” he ordered me.
I flipped, caught it, and hid it.
“Now – heads or tails?” he asked.
“Heads,” I said without hesitation.
“Look.”
I lifted my arm and looked. Indeed, the coin had landed with heads facing up.
“That’s it – you got your portion of good luck for today.” He flapped his wings again and flew toward the window “I must go – need to find a smoke.”
And he disappeared into the horizon.
I sat on the couch, with my feet back on the table.
Yes - he had had a joke at my expense, but at that moment I truly felt as if he had cast a dose of good luck on me, and a smile appeared on my face.
Triumphant, I leaned back on the couch, overstretching my arms overhead and lifted my feet on the table. They pushed the glass of coke to the floor. It shattered to a million pieces.