FIVE #5
With a nod, I shrugged at him. "Well, you can come find me in New York City if you want," I told him, knowing it was silly, but also knowing he didn't stand a chance if he fled The Green of being seen as anything other than a crazy person.
"How about this, every Sunday, I will go to a place called The Museum of Natural History at noon.
And stay there for two hours. Here, let me write this down," I said, rushing for the pad and pen I had purchased the night before.
"You take this twenty-dollar bill to use as your donation to buy a ticket - if you need to live in the human realm that is, of course - and come meet me at the tyrannosaurus rex.
That way, you have someone on the outside who understands you, that you can talk to about things like how a cell phone works or what the purpose of a Snuggie is," I told him, folding the money into the note.
Along with another short message that I figured he would only read at some point much further down the road.
"Time passes so differently here than..."
"I will be there," I assured him. "Every first Sunday.
If you ever need help in this realm, that is where you can find it.
I mean... for as long as I am around," I added, shrugging off the idea of how easily the mortal coil was shrugged off in this realm.
That was what I had chosen. A shorter life by my own terms instead of a much longer one controlled by others. It seemed like a fair trade.
"How much faster is the time here?"
"I haven't been able to peg it down completely, but it seems like for every week in The Green, it is several months in the human realm."
"By the time I even reach my ancestors' land, half a year could pass here."
Was it just my wishful thinking, or did his voice almost sound sad? It had to have just been me, and the unexpected longing I had to have him with me, to not have to do this all alone.
But all alone was what I would have to be.
It was something I was going to have to come to terms with.
"Still," I assured him, "if you get there, and there is nothing, make your way back. Maybe it would be a year, but I will still show up at that museum in case you need a friend in this world."
I knew I could likely use one.
"You're a good woman, Amy," he declared, voice firm, leaving no room for me to disbelieve him.
"Can you do me a favor?" I asked, reaching for another piece of paper.
"Anything."
"If you come across someone on their way to the Light court, could you have them deliver a message for me to Jasper? You can give them this," I told him, reaching in my bag to pull out a ring - a sapphire as big as my thumbnail that my father had given me on my birthday the year before.
"That is too much for that errand," he told me, eyes wide as he looked at the ring.
"Well, then if you pass by Tenray Square or something, you can trade this for various other items, including the errand."
"That ring must be worth something in the human realm."
If I understood anything about humans and their jewelry, it would get me close to ten-thousand dollars.
That could cover rent for me for several months.
But I had other rings as well from a lifetime of my father not realizing I didn't care for rings.
Rubies. Spinel. Emerald. On top of the money I had stolen from the fund at my parents' estate in the human realm when I was last there, another ten-thousand right there.
I couldn't claim to know everything about human finances, but I was pretty sure I was going to be okay money-wise - at least until I could find a job.
I jotted off the note to Jasper, telling them the same thing about the museum, should they ever need or want to see me, then folded it up, and gave it to Drake to tuck in his jacket pocket.
"We should have gotten you more at the store. For your journey."
"I have enough food to last me a month. What more could I need?"
"We will stop at the store again," I decided.
"The bus stop is right around there anyway.
And you need a bag at least. You can't bring the plastic for those almonds into The Green.
And maybe I can get you a blanket?" I suggested, hoping they would have something natural, something made of cotton. "Or maybe some..."
"Amy, you've done enough for me," he cut me off. "I have survived for this long without a blanket in the cold, I am sure I can make it back to my land."
"But I am getting you the bag," I added firmly, not telling him that maybe an item or two that he didn't know about would end up in there.
"Okay. Just the bag."
With that, he climbed back into his clothes; I got into fresh ones more weather-appropriate, we checked out, and made our way back down the road in silence, both of us lost in our thoughts.
Mine, oddly, were mostly about him.
His, well, were likely about his family, his tribe. I wasn't arrogant enough to imagine they might be about me.
We went back to the store. I bought him a backpack I had found made of leather which, even though there were no cows in The Green, was natural.
I snuck in some berries, knowing they would be welcome if all he had to eat were nuts on his trip, and socks, a hat, and gloves.
He might not have wanted them, but he would get use out of them regardless.
"That thing is taking you all the way to your Apple?"
"The Big Apple," I clarified. "And no. It is going to take me a few different buses and trains to get there."
"I don't like the look of those humans," he grumbled, jerking his chin at a few men - beleaguered, angry at life, sitting looking out the windows.
"Safety in numbers," I assured him, nodding my head at the group of women toward the front. "I'll be fine. You're sure you know your way back to The Green from here?"
"Yes. Don't worry about me either, Amy. And thank you," he told me, words heavy. Because, for us, for fae, thanks meant you owed someone a favor. He was offering me one. Should I ever need it.
"Take care of yourself," I demanded, moving in to put my arms around him as the doors to the bus creaked open.
"You too," he ordered, squeezing me tight until the driver of the bus let out a cough, my warning that he was ready to go.
"I hope you find them," I told him as the doors closed, preventing any reply.
And I did.
I hoped he found his kind.
I hoped he was happy with them.
Even if it meant I would never see him again.
Even if that thought made a deep sadness settle in my belly, something I couldn't shake even after five buses and two trains that brought me where I was planning to go.
The Big Apple.
New York City.
My dream had come true.
Why then did I feel so utterly unhappy?