It’s that time again! Time to share one of my short stories up on here and see how many folks like it. This one was written back in 2004 CE with a word count of around sixty seven hundred words. Not that that matters, mind you. I was in a strange phase in my life when I wrote this. I had just gotten custody of my son (well, it was a few years earlier that I had, but the events of the whole debacle was still raw) and the Fairly Odd Parents were a huge staple of entertainment on Cartoon Network. My son really loved watching it so I watched it too, as any good parent does.
The Fairly Odd Parents had some interesting dynamics in its story telling components and I rather fell in love with the simple way in which they approached the tales. Cosmo particularly was an amusing character. As consequence, I ended up writing a few stories based around the Fairly Odd Parents (My previous offering, ‘The Trixx Rabbit Strikes Back’ was one of them. And just like The Trixx Rabbit Strikes back, this coming story is also available in the collection Tales From A Strange Mind Volume I, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A4VX4R0/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2, if you’re interested in checking it out, of course). This next tale, is one of those stories. Except this one is original. No mention of those cartoon entities to be found here. No, instead, we have a fairy obsessed with daisies and is a thief who goes around stealing any item that might have a daisy design upon it. Where does he put them? Nobody knows. Yet, that doesn’t stop his nightly ventures.
So, as we pick up this tale, good old Reed Sulphurmind is in the act of committing one of his criminal endeavors when he runs across a woman in distress…
STEALING DAISIES
Daisy Padereau shifted underneath the thin sheets on her bed, tossing and turning in uncomfortable fits of nightmarish anguish. As of late, her dreams had been getting more and more disturbing, filled with chaos. A gasp left her throat, which caused her to spring upright with heavy beads of sweat creeping down her face, stinging her eyes. She wiped away the miserable tears welling just within the corners of her eyelids.
It wasn’t just the stinging that had her in tears, but the constant ache of loneliness that was her ever present companion. She yanked the sheets off and cast her glance out the window. Moonlight lit the room through thinly veiled curtains.
She sat at the edge of her bed and let her bare legs dangle off the side. Little hairs were growing unchecked all along the skin of her legs. She felt that a good shaving was in order, but just hadn’t had the energy to care. Her head hung low for a few minutes, letting the sweat dissipate and the tears stop flowing.
She stood and went to her bathroom.
A full-sized mirror was on the outside of the door. Daisy turned on the light and looked at her figure in the mirror. She took a breath and drew in her stomach and turned to look at herself sideways. It looked huge to her, despite its rough flatness. Her long, blonde hair hung down her backside and culminated at her buttocks.
God, my butt is enormous, she thought, frazzled hair sticking to her cotton undies under heavy static. She turned to face the mirror and stared into her own light, blue eyes, hypnotizing herself with a penetrating gaze she could not hope to avert. No wonder he left you, you loser.
There were bags under her eyes from a lack of sleep. Since he’d left almost a month before, she’d been getting less and less sleep. She was lucky to get three or four hours, at the most. And that was on a good night. Most nights, she woke up a few times an hour.
She looked at her small breasts hidden beneath her white T‑shirt and gawked at her wide hips further augmented by her blue underwear. I’m too fat, my boobs are too small, am I too tall? She wondered, looking at her total five-foot eight-inch frame. That small shudder turned into a sobbing heave as she slammed the door shut and refused to stare into the mirror any longer. Who could ever love you?
Daisy found herself sitting on the floor, leaning unto the toilet seat for support, crying uncontrollably. It was easier to insult herself and imagine all the negative things about who she was. Those were the only explanations why Jeremy would have fallen for that short haired, brunette temptress. There could only be one reason why he no longer loved her; and it was she wasn’t beautiful to him anymore.
“…I wish I could be happy again…” she sobbed out-loud.
* * * * *
“Honey… have you seen my underwear?” a woman’s voice sounded from within the house.
“Uhm, which ones?” a male voice answered.
“You know, the cute, cotton daisy ones I was just wearing?”
“Didn’t you leave them on the floor?”
“Well, they’re not there now…”
“Get another pair.”
Outside the house, a black garbed individual made haste around a corner. He was panting heavily, having almost been discovered by the woman who’d gotten out of the bed. He was quicker though, and silently made his escape. With her underwear. He had a fetish for underwear, especially underwear with daisies. He loved daisies.
His name was Reed Sulphurmind and he was a faerie. He stood two‑foot‑five and three‑quarter inches tall and had pale, peach skin. He’d tried getting a tan when on vacation, but he didn’t tan well and had given that up. There was also the problem of making sure he wasn’t seen by the human world. Being seen was a bad thing to happen to a faerie. Especially when said faerie was a thief.
Reed pulled off his ski mask and wiped a small film of sweat from his brow. He brushed aside a few strands of purple hair that were trying to fall into his eyes. He had long bangs, but a short cut. Not too many male faeries had long hair.
Having caught his breath, Reed put the ski mask back on and headed across the dark lawn to the next house. He had a small satchel around his waist that he checked to make sure was zipped. Inside the pouch was the night’s bounty. Two-hundred and fifty-three houses so far and counting. It was good that he had a satchel of plenty with infinite storage space.
Inside that pouch, he had single socks, underwear, pretty flowers, keychains, mittens, tapes that had yet to be returned and exchanged for porn, glasses, vases, mugs, hats, scarves, and various other knick‑knacks that all featured daisies in some way, shape and form. He REALLY loved daisies, which made the next house even more special. Upon the front door was a bunch of beautiful little painted daisies.
“Oh! …hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t take the door… so I’ll go inside! There must be daisy stuff inside!” he spoke silently to himself and magically *poofed* himself through the small mail slot in the daisy door.
The house was dark, really dark. Not one light was on, but a beautiful cast of moonlight was penetrating slits through several curtains over the windows, which bathed the room in a pale tint of blue. It was beautiful and a grin plastered itself across Reed’s face as he quietly snuck through the living room looking for daisy things. He saw a cup. Daisy! And a cup holder in the shape of a, daisy! Various other small items had daisies on them. He must have hit the motherlode, he considered. Why, whoever lives here must be really happy to have so many daisy things!
He crept further and further into the house looking for as much daisy booty as he could find. And, as he traipsed quietly down the main hall of the second story, he heard the sounds of running water and almost imperceptible crying. What? Someone is sad? With all these daisies? Who could be sad here?
Reed wondered about this as he tip‑toed down the hall while the moonlit shadows of a guardrail covered his body, making him look imprisoned. He paused at this irony and shrugged it off as he continued towards a room at the end of the hall. Inside, he saw a wonderfully neat room with daisy! sheets and a daisy! bedspread. Wow! he thought, and peeped under the door to the adjoining bathroom. The shower was still running and a gentle sobbing echoed through the room.
He frowned and saw an open closet nearby. The light coming from within the bathroom, flowed out from under the bottom of the door and cast a yellow light inside the closet. He saw clothing haphazardly tossed on the closet floor. So, he did what any good faerie did in such a scenario, he rummaged through the clothes.
After a few moments he ran across a pair of yellow and white silky underwear. Oh wow! Transparent panties! With yellow silk! And a beautiful DAISY covering, just barely, the genitalia! Cool! The water in the bathroom shut off. Feet hit the floor and the slight sound of someone drying off, rippled through the air. Then the bathroom door opened. Uh oh!
Reed withdrew further into the closet and magically transformed himself into a shoe to blend in with the other shoes neatly stacked on little shoe drawers. The person shut off the bathroom light and went to the closet in which Reed was hiding. She leaned down and grabbed the daisy underwear. Daisy! he thought, not wishing for the undies to disappear from his grasp. The woman shut the folding, closet door most of the way and paused in front of the dresser mirror.
As she stood there, sobs escaping her lips, Reed transformed back into his shape and looked from behind the folded corner of the closet door. He was suddenly enamored with her form. He’d seen hundreds of humans over his thievery career, but he’d never laid his eyes on one as beautiful as the woman standing there, nude in front of the mirror. Reed had seen nude people before. Wrinkly, old woman with sagging breasts dipping to their mid‑sections, and old men with peckers the size of erasers. This didn’t bother him.
However, this woman did something to Reed. Her shape was like that of an ornate, golden hourglass and the time was only for him. She had shapely hips that weren’t too large, but just right and they harbored the smoothest bottom he’d ever seen. The woman turned and he saw how proportioned her breasts were to the rest of her body. They were smaller but fit her form just right, giving her a very artistic shape. Oh my, I feel like I’m staring at a Michelangelo! What a work of art! How could she be crying!?
She had wispy, golden hair that reminded Reed of one of the great goddesses of yore. And it falls all the way to her tushy! Yay! Her skin is soooo smooth! I want to just touch it! he reached his right hand forward, pushing the closet door open a little more so that he could bathe in her beauty more thoroughly. The blueish moonlight danced upon her frame and shadowed her groin as she bent over to pull on her underwear.
Reed’s mouth hung open in savory delight. Her aura was a gentle wind across his soul and he found he didn’t want to go anywhere else that night. She had finished getting dressed, having put on a matching, daisy bra, a small, sleeveless yellow and white striped shirt, and blue jeans that heightened her form. She sat on the edge of her bed looking very depressed. He gazed upon her, his smile fading. She was unhappy and he wanted to very much make her the happiest woman on Earth.
“Tonight… is the night,” he heard the woman say as she stood up.
She grabbed some keys off her dresser and headed out to the garage. Reed wasn’t sure where she was going in the middle of the night, but a chill found its way down his spine. So, he followed the woman to see where she was headed.
* * * * *
Daisy got into her car and turned the key to the ignition. She took a deep breath and thought on matters. She had gotten on her daisy clothing because she loved daisies. They were her favorite flowers. Her name was Daisy. And it fit because she felt wilted in despair. So, she had decided to drive out to lookout point and drive off the cliff.
Life had become too depressing to go on living. No one would miss her and no one wanted to be with her. She was too ugly and too inept. Her life had become a joke. She didn’t like her job, a store director for Big Mart. She was twenty-seven and had no family. What family she had, lived on the other side of the country. They never called and couldn’t care less what happened to her.
“To hell with it,” she spoke quietly and gunned the accelerator as she neared the cliff.
Nooooooooooo!! Reed thought as he realized what she was about to do. A little bit of magic and the car engine died several hundred feet before the plunge. The woman sat there staring with her mouth ajar.
“Of course, …why not?” she retorted and got out of the car.
Reed *poofed* outside of the car and watched the woman running for the side of the cliff, spreading her arms out like an Eagle. What the…? Is she a lunatic? he thought, and summoned a swift wind to halt her progress and caused a tree branch to knock her to the ground. The flinging branch didn’t hit her hard enough to injure, but did knock the wind from her lungs.
Blinking her eyes and staring into the clear, night sky, Daisy couldn’t believe what had just happened. She couldn’t even kill herself without something going wrong. She sat up and cried out-loud to the heavens,
“Why, God, why!? Why do you hate me!? Why can’t I be happy?” She lapsed back into tears, “I don’t want to be alone… I can do it… but I don’t want it! Why’d he leave?! What did I do wrong? …My store is losing money, I may lose my job if I can’t turn it around… and the man of my dreams, Jeremy, leaves me… I gave him seven years of my life!! Why!?” she shouted into the air and slammed her fists into her thighs.
She walked back to her car, to see if she could get it started. To her surprise, it did. She returned home and went back to bed. She continued to toss and turn but did so a little less this night.
Reed hovered in a dark corner, watching the woman sleep. A tear had formed in his right eye. That this woman should be so unhappy was wrong. He made a silent vow that night to make her happy. He had fallen in love with her the very moment he laid eyes on her. She deserved to be happy, he could feel the kind generosity in her soul.
* * * * *
Big Mart was a major retail outlet with stores located around the world. This particular store was run by Daisy Padereau. She didn’t mind running the store. It was chaotic work, but when she wasn’t experiencing fits of depression, she actually somewhat enjoyed the job. She had been with the company for seven years, having started after graduating with a two‑year college degree in Business Management. There were times she wished she’d chosen something else.
“Ms. Padereau, me and Shirley are going out tonight. You want to come with us?” Debra McKintosh asked her boss.
Daisy looked at Debra and smiled. The day had been long and really busy.
“Sure, Deb. I’d be pleased to join you.” She smiled a real smile.
Over the last week, she had been getting more sleep and more exercise and was feeling really good about who she was. The episode at lookout point was fading from her memory, but a slight pang of loneliness still remained. Regardless, it was like a guardian angel was suddenly watching over her every move. She hoped it was true.
* * * * *
The sports bar was hopping with business. There were people lined up out the doors to get into the place and enjoy the festivities of ladies’ night. Daisy and her two co‑workers sat at a booth and swayed to the beat of the loud music. They drank spirits and had fun talking with one another.
Along the ceiling in a barely lit corner, and away from prying eyes, Reed watched her with a smile. He’d been using his magic to help her find happiness. Of course, all this meant he wouldn’t have as much time to find and collect daisy things, but he was happy to see the joy in the woman’s eyes. He still hadn’t found out her name, since he was forced to stay out of sight when she was conversing with other humans. That was inconsequential though. He figured that there was just one more thing left to do before going back to daisy collecting.
A man approached the table where the woman and her friends sat. He wore a black leather jacket and tight blue jeans. Not Reed’s taste but he figured the man would do. This one would make it easy, since he was going over there of his own free will. Reed didn’t even need to use his magic as the man stopped at the table with the three women, still wearing their business suits. The man asked the woman to dance and Reed was happy to see her accept. He watched for the remainder of the evening as the two got their grove on.
“Well, I guess my job is done. Farewell, my sweet daisy girl!” Reed spoke to himself and *poofed* himself out of there.
* * * * *
He stood six‑feet‑three inches tall, with a baby smooth face, an iron jaw, short, black hair, and a lot of firm confidence. He introduced himself as Alex and invited Daisy to dance. Daisy couldn’t help but accept his invitation to dance. Her co‑workers giggled to themselves as the two went out to the dance floor. Daisy stared into the man’s amazing brown eyes and could see an obviously deep intellect. Oh, God, tell me this is real.
The evening had gone too fast and Daisy found that it was time to go home. Ah, nuts.
“Hey, we’re heading out. You going to need a lift?” Debra inquired of Daisy as she and Alex, her hunky man, returned to the table where they sat.
“You know, if you need a ride, I can give you one,” Alex offered to Daisy.
“Oh, sure,” she giddily accepted.
“We’ll catch you guys later,” Shirley said as she and Debra got up to leave.
Alex and Daisy, decided it was a good time to leave as well. They walked out to his pickup and he opened the door for her. She blushed as she got into the vehicle. They talked all the way to where she lived and when they arrived.
“I had a lot of fun tonight,” Daisy said.
She wanted to invite him in, but didn’t want to ruin what was happening. She was finally getting her wish and was happier than she’d been in a long while. He nodded at her in agreement,
“Yeah, me too… so,” he began, slightly hesitating.
“So…” Daisy pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of her purse and wrote down her phone number for him. “Call me sometime. That way… we can do it again.”
“Yeah, sure,” he spoke and gave her a smile.
Daisy got out of the pickup and waved as he drove off. She was still smiling when she was in bed and drifting off to sleep.
* * * * *
Several months passed. Daisy saw Alex at least once a week and she felt that everything was finally turning around. Christmas was fast approaching and she had decided to find him a gift. Something that would show how much she cared for him. She wasn’t sure she was in love with him, per se, but she felt encouraged.
Daisy was in a shopping mall looking around for the perfect gift when she saw Alex walking on the other side of the walkway. She ducked out of the way so he wouldn’t see her, that way the gift could be kept secret. Yet, she noticed during her ducking that he was with another woman. And they were holding hands. Her eyes widened when she saw the child with them. Oh, no! You’re kidding me! This isn’t happening!
Flustered, and filling with tears she hadn’t shed in months, Daisy left the mall and pulled her warm, leather jacket closer around her body to shut out the cold. It barely helped as a chill wind whipped up, blowing fiercely at the furry cuffs and collar around her coat.
A few days later, she saw Alex and countered him about what she had seen. The answer he gave was less than pleasing.
“Married! Are you screwing with me!? How can you be married!? What about what we shared!?” she cried out, while he sat on her couch.
His hands were folded in front of him and he was at a loss at what to say. Daisy stood there staring at him. She couldn’t believe he was doing this to her.
“Look, it wasn’t supposed to have gone this far. It was wrong, but you have to understand, the relationship with my wife has been… strained for quite some time,” he said, trying to console her.
“No, I don’t want to hear it… get out!” Daisy pointed at the front door.
Alex cast his eyes down to the floor and did as he was told. Once the door clicked shut behind him, Daisy locked the door and sequestered herself into her room. She threw herself to the floor and cried at the edge of her bed.
“This is unreal! I’m tired of dealing with reality! I wish I weren’t here anymore!” she sobbed.
* * * * *
“Honey… do you know where my underwear is?” a woman’s voice inquired.
“What!?” came a response.
“Every time I get a new pair of daisy panties, they end up disappearing! They were right here!”
“I don’t know what to tell you.”
Reed hid around the outside corner of the house. These people were getting to be too alert. He panted in exhaustion and continued on to the next house. He smiled knowing it was the daisy lady’s house. He wondered how she was doing and prayed she was happy.
When he crept into her house, he heard sounds of sobbing. What? Again? But… but she was so happy when I left!
“How could I be such a fool? Falling for a married man! I knew it was too good to be true! He just wanted me for the sex… maybe, he really did love me though?” he heard the woman saying.
Married? That’s funny, he wasn’t wearing a wedding band. Oh, bullocks! Reed thought to himself and resolved to find out what was going on. So, he *poofed* over to where the man was currently, homing in on his spirit energy.
The man was at a bar with some friends. Reed hid himself within some shadows of the booth structures. It was too noisy for Reed in there. Country music was blaring, waitresses were running to and fro, and the air was thick with smoke. In the booth that Reed hid under the seats of, sat the man and two of his friends and they were talking almost as loud as the music.
“…So, she caught me red handed, man!” the man was saying and laughed out-loud.
“Jesus, Alex! What are you going to tell your wife?” his one friend asked trying to stifle the brewing laugh.
“Tell her? Are you nuts!? I ain’t telling her shit! Daisy was just a fling. I needed something to hit outside of the married life, y’know? Get tired of the same old ass,” Alex said and chugged down his beer.
His buddies were laughing riotously at this. Shadows from the head of a mounted steer played across their table while underneath, Reed was brewing with anger. Daisy? Her name is Daisy!? Daisy!! How could he be so cruel to a Daisy!!
Magic lashed out shaking the very crowded room at its foundation. The people went silent in fear as the bar decked in country motif, rattled in fury. A wind picked up from nowhere, hurtling stuffed cow heads, and various other deceased creatures, around the room. Panicked expressions donned the visages of most of the bar patrons.
Alex and his friends leaned back in confusion as their table began dancing and strange glowing clouds danced around their heads. Beer fell out of waitresses’ and waiters’ hands and the bartenders ducked for cover of the flying debris. The three men got up as the table exploded outward, not hitting them miraculously, and scattering to the four corners of the bar.
A little man flew out from underneath the booth. The three men stood aghast, with their mouths hanging open. Panicked people fled the bar.
“You don’t treat a Daisy like that! Daisies are to be treated with kindness and respect! You’re supposed to love them, and cherish them, and make them happy, and give them plenty of sunshine! You’re a mean man and don’t deserve a Daisy!!” Reed shouted out as he unveiled himself to the three humans.
“What the…!?” Alex started but was cut short by a magical wedgie pulling his underwear over his head.
“You two! How dare you laugh at Daisy! You need to be taught some manners too!!”
The two friends ran for the entrance as Alex stumbled around the room with his underwear pulled over his head. They didn’t make it far, though, when the steer head hanging over their table rammed itself into their rear‑ends. Reed swirled his magic in chaotic circles, the anger not relenting until he was satisfied.
* * * * *
A restless sleep had its grip on Daisy as she tossed over on her side and woke up. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she sat up. Depression was once again setting itself into her soul. Then a bright flash caught her attention and a little two‑foot man was suddenly standing on the end of her bed. She jumped up in fright but not before he made a swirling motion and the two of them disappeared from her room.
* * * * *
“Who… who are you?” Daisy inquired, taking a good look around a forest of strange trees.
She sat on her duff and stared at the little man in front of her. He smiled innocently and placed his hands behind his back. Rose red eyes stared back at her and, strangely, was comforted by that stare.
“I’m Reed Sulphurmind. Don’t ask about the last name, trust me, you don’t want to know. This is my home. Well, down that path anyhow,” he motioned past her right shoulder to a path leading into dense shrubbery of a multitude of colors.
“O… K… I must be dreaming. So, heh, Reed, what can I do for you?” Daisy queried, watching the wings on Reed’s back flutter at insane speeds.
“I’ve come to take you away from all that pain and misery you had to endure. I want you to stay here with me,” he smiled brightly.
“What?” she laughed at this and continued to feel like this was some sort of dream.
All her anguish, all her troubles; they had all vanished in the short time she’d been staring into this strange little being’s eyes. That’s how she knew she was dreaming. It felt too good.
She nodded her head slightly in Reed’s direction and continued grinning.
Weeks passed but Daisy didn’t notice them. She felt like it was one long dream and one she didn’t want to wake up from. She was enjoying playing like a child with this Reed character. Lord, where did I make this guy up from? she wondered to herself as they entered his cave dwelling beyond the forest.
Daisy was dressed in a flowing robe‑like garment that fit her just right. It was white and yellow. Two of her favorite colors. The colors of daisies. They sat on the floor to his house, and on the inside Reed’s place was like a massive, three-story house. Yet, the house was inside a small cave that would have been barely large enough for her to walk around inside. That’s when she really started thinking.
Reed was showing her his daisy collection. Her jaw nearly dropped open when she saw his panty collection.
“Reed, what the?”
“Look, they all have daisies!!”
She held up a pair of underwear that appeared to be hers. That’s funny, she thought, why was she dreaming about her underwear? In fact, why was she dreaming about a panty‑raiding faerie?
“I’m sorry… I snagged those one night when you were crying in your sleep. That’s when I went to teach that Alex a lesson about how you treat a Daisy!” Reed said, emphasizing the word ‘treat’.
Daisy continued to stare at the article of clothing as Reed continued on with one of his exhausting, yet lively tirades. She had come to enjoy listening to his inane stories of thievery and unusual exploits of the supernatural.
“…and I decided then that I wanted to help you. You tried to drive your car off a cliff. I couldn’t let someone so beautiful do that to herself!” he commented, drawing a perking of her eyebrows.
“You’re saying you’ve been watching over me? And you stalled my car and threw the branch at me?” she smiled at the insane idea.
“Hey, I didn’t hurt you,” he responded with his own smile.
They sat next to a fire that Reed had magically created in his living room. It wasn’t so much different from any other normal living room, she thought. Wood paneling, a comfy fire, rounded and soft furniture so you didn’t stub your toe…
“This is really happening…” Daisy spat out, a sudden confusion crossing her face.
“Well, of course it is! I invited you here so that you no longer had to suffer!” Reed said as Daisy stood in a near panic, and nearly hit her head on the ceiling.
She hadn’t been paying attention before, but either Reed had been getting taller, or she had been getting smaller. And now they were both at their proper sizes. Reed stood up.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her.
Daisy crouched down onto her knees and gripped Reed’s shoulders with her hands. She looked him dead in the eyes. She had been hypnotized by his innocence and by the escape from reality. Now she knew that everything was not a dream and she was afraid.
“You… kidnapped me?” she inquired.
“Well, kidnapped is a strong term, y’know…”
“Reed!! You can’t just kidnap people!”
“I saw what you were going through! I felt your pain! You have such beauty, I couldn’t help…” he said and stopped.
“I’m not beautiful. … I don’t know where I belong anymore…” her eyes lowered and she suddenly felt out of breath.
“You belong here with me. You are the sun in my garden. When I first saw you, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. You filled my soul with a wind of song, a wind that held me aloft and made me want to be something other than some deranged Faerie thief. I’ve never felt such peace before. Normally, I run around without a care in the world, happily dancing from one pair of daisy underwear to the next. You, though, you are the greatest Daisy! You shouldn’t be treated like a weed and thrown away. You’re not a weed. You’re the flower that brings life to the field!” Reed soothed and grasped her shoulders with his own hands.
He had been so childlike to her before. Now, he suddenly seemed like the most generous of men. She knew he wanted to draw her in close and maybe even kiss her, but Daisy looked away. This is ridiculous, she ridiculed herself.
“You… have to send me back… to where I belong,” she said not looking up at him and still grasping his arms.
“You can’t really want to leave?” Reed quietly spoke.
“Please…” she looked into his eyes.
Reed sighed a deep sigh. He nodded his head in agreement and the flap of his wings dulled to a bare, sporadic flutter. He looked her in her eyes and said, “As you wish. I do this because I fell in love with you that night, so long ago. I want your happiness above all else. If it is what the Daisy needs, then it is what the Daisy will get. Should you change your mind, speak to the winds that won’t let you fall,” he spoke solemnly, a tone of sadness echoing in Daisy’s ears.
* * * * *
Daisy woke up from a fresh sleep. She opened her eyes as a tear strolled down her right cheek. She absently brushed it away and got out of bed. Just a dream.
She got up and got ready for work, feeling energized, but very sad. The sun had come out so she opened the curtains to her windows and stared at the accumulated snow outside. She sighed and went to take a shower.
It was a busy day at Big Mart’s and everybody and their brother was there buying something for someone for Christmas. Daisy watched the mad, last minute shoppers from her observing window in her office. An aide sat in a chair nearby, blathering on about the sales figures for the month. She was barely paying attention to him.
“Daisy, are you all right?” the man asked, seeing her absent state of mind.
It was Christmas eve and the store would be shut down at seven P.M. She wondered secretly if she was all right. There was no real way to answer that. All her crying and fears she kept hidden. So, it was business as usual.
“I’m fine,” she lied, smiling, “just see what you can do with the figures.”
She finished her statement and sat down behind her desk, propping her elbows on the desktop. She folded her fingers in deep contemplation, the strange dream weighing heavily on her subconscious mind. It was just a dream. So why does it feel so real? Why do I wish so badly that it was real? …Because then you’d have somewhere to run away to, right?
“Sure, there’s nothing you want to talk about?” the aide asked, watching her from behind his black rimmed glasses.
“No, Burt. But thank you. I don’t have anything else to discuss, so please close the door on your way out,” she stared out the window towards the interior ceiling of the store.
Burt took the cue and left the office. Moments later, came a knock. Daisy beckoned them to enter, whoever it was. She had to be getting back to work anyhow. As she got up, in walked Debra.
“Are you ok?” Debra asked, with a worried expression.
“Like I told Burt, I’m fine. Why’s everyone think something’s wrong?” she asked exasperated.
“Well, weren’t you out with Alex last night?” she asked.
“Hah. That prick! You know what I found out yesterday? He’s married!” Daisy felt like she would cry again and reigned in the emotion.
“No! That creep! I guess that makes what happened all the better, eh?” Debra spoke.
Daisy turned around and looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, ‘what d’you mean?’ Didn’t you hear? It was all over the news!”
Daisy was perplexed, as Debra went back to her office that was right next door to hers. A moment later, she was back in her office with the day’s newspaper. Daisy stared at the odd headline in puzzlement.
“‘FAIRY BOY ‘ROUNDS UP’ COWBOYS’” In a bizarre incident, last night at McCoy’s SteakHouse Bar & Grill, a mysterious man created chaos for diners. His attention seemed focused on three individuals; Alexander Kablisk and two of his associates…’”
Daisy paused and looked up at Debra. She only smiled at Daisy and gave a slight laugh. Daisy continued on with the piece, noting that Alex’s two friends had received a steer’s pair of horns up their rectums, joining them together, one on each horn, like some looney tune characters.
Alex himself had had his underwear pulled over his head and been given a severe spanking by a stuffed raccoon with a spatula. The reporter apparently found that hard to believe since it was recounted by the bartenders and the raccoon showed no further life to it than the barstools within the establishment. However, Daisy smiled and knew for certain that her dream was no dream. She put the paper down on her desk.
“It’s… been nice working with you, Debra, but I think today’s going to be my last day. So, I guess this is goodbye,” she spoke calmly.
Debra looked at her like she’d just lost her mind.
“Uhm, what? Where are you going to go then?” Debra asked, a little worried about her boss again.
“…Home,” she replied and it felt good to say.
* * * * *
It was nearly ten o’clock in the evening when Daisy had arrived at the cliff. She had gone home and written several notes to her parents and siblings letting them know to divvy up her belongings.
“I hope I’m doing the right thing,” she muttered to herself and mentally added, hope I’m not mistaken about my little revelation, either. But I believe.
The night air was still, but a slight breeze still flowed. She went to the edge of the cliff and breathed in deeply, shutting her eyes. She held her gloved hands out wide. The fur on her jacket bristled in the air as she slightly leaned forward in trepidation. She had to test a theory first. If she was wrong, then the pain would be gone anyhow. She leaned forward and was halted at an extreme angle by a light wind.
Daisy opened her eyes to see the view laid out below. The wind wouldn’t let her fall. It was then she started to feel truly happy. Happy in a way she hadn’t felt since she had been a little girl.
“Reed…” she whispered, “I changed my mind…”
A light popped into existence, and there floated Reed before her eyes. She smiled brightly.
“Daisy!! You changed your mind!? Great!! We’ll have so much fun! I’m so happy! My sunshine has come back to me!” he said and threw his arms around her neck.
She held on to the child-sized faerie and a thought struck her. She drew back slightly to look him in the eyes.
“You know, it will be a little weird holding you when you’re so small and I’m so big.”
“Oh, that’s no problem!” he said and hovered away from her.
He performed a circular motion with his arms, a strange glow lighting in the air in the shape of a halo. Daisy immediately found herself the same size as he was and had her very own set of wings.
“Oh, wow! You made me a faerie!”
“Yup!”
“Alright, but this is only on one condition…” she said, placing her right hand on her right hip and waving her left-hand index finger at him while hovering in the air miraculously.
“Uhm, ok, what’s that?” Reed hesitated.
“You have to promise NOT to go stealing women’s underwear anymore!”
He thought on that a moment and then smiled.
“Ok, no problem! I’ll just wear yours!” he brightened and made another swirling motion.
“Huh!?” an expression of surprise crossed her youthful visage as the two of them *poofed* back to where he lived.
* * * * *
Snowflakes gently wafted to the moonlit ground, signifying that all was as it should be; that bad boys got what they deserved and that Daisies got the care that they needed. And all through the night, peace reigned…
“Honey…”
“Look, if you can’t keep track of your drawers, then don’t wear any!”
I hope you enjoyed Stealing Daisies! I do appreciate your reading all the way through and hope you’ll be back to see what I have to offer up next. I do intend on making some blog posts soon. So, keep an eye out for those as well. And, remember, if you want to support my cause and make me a full time author, go check this story out at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08F4JKRCB/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i6
It’s only 99 cents! You can also check out my other work at my author site: https://www.amazon.com/Timothy-Purvis/e/B085Q62XRP/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
I appreciate your taking the time to read, once again! See you all soon!
~Timothy S Purvis
iCentrist 
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