Short Story: A Day Off
I meant to post this on Christmas, but I had a rather odd holiday season this year. So, better late than never.
Here is a short story I wrote for a friend and superior pixel artist, Graylure. I commissioned her to create an elaborate piece featuring her original characters, and decided to write a story to accompany the scene. Let me know if this sort of thing interests anybody. There’s a pdf of the short story for download below. Also, this is not heavily edited, so bear with bugs, thanks.
Illus by Graylure
Reanna flopped down on her old couch. It creaked and kicked up a small cloud of dust as she settled into a comfortable spot. The couch was at the end of its useful life, but it was comfortable, functional, and cheap; all things that Reanna admired. Plus the padding on the left side had a decent hollow spot for her tail. Custom made couches for dragons were expensive, but a secondhand couch could be broken-in to create a comfortable fit.
Stretching out her wings and arms, Reanna groaned as her back popped. “I flew too damn much this week,” she grumbled to herself. Her arms flopped down and one hand landed near the TV remote. She turned on the television and flipped through the channels to see if anything interesting was on.
“Vegan cooking with Denece the dryad,” she said before shaking her head. “Nope,” she said as she changed the channel. “Basketball; the Heartland Harpies versus the Cliffside Kitsune… Boring,” she announced before changing the channel again. “Superbun 3: return of the bunny of steel. Oh geeze that’s the worst one in the series. Next.”
Eos popped her head into the living room before she could continue channel-surfing. “There you are, I was looking for you,” Eos said. She stepped into the room and everything seemed to brighten a shade. Eos didn’t have a halo like a typical angel, but she did tend to glow a little. It was easy to spot her in a dark room because of her natural luminescence, which was about as strong as a 5 watt light bulb. “What are you doing right now?” Her little white-feathered wings fluttered in excitement.
Reanna cocked a brow at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Nothing. Which is exactly what I want to do right now because I’m still tired from work yesterday.” Both Eos and Reanna were postal workers who specialized in high priority letters and parcels. Hand-delivery from sender to recipient anywhere in the world, if you could afford it. Eos tended to deliver letters, small mailers, and other light items while Reanna handled the heavier deliveries due to her strength. Yesterday, she had to deliver a hydraulic cylinder to a mine site so they could repair a dumptruck the size of a house.
“What? How can you happy doing nothing? It’s a beautiful day out today,” Eos replied with her typical bubbly enthusiasm. “Come on, let’s go do something fun!”
“I’ll pass,” Reanna said while leaning aside, trying to see the television.
Eos angled her wing to block Reanna’s view. “Don’t be like that, I’m sure we’ll have fun!”
Looking up at the angel, Reanna frowned. “I’m dragon, which means I’m a nihilist. I’m actually quite happy doing nothing, especially when I’m tired and sore.”
“Nile-ist? Dragons are from Egypt?” Eos asked with a perplexed expression.
Reanna groaned and slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Nihilist not Nile-ist. Being a nihilist has nothing to do with a river in Egypt. It means that I don’t care about anything, and I’m happy with doing nothing.”
“Wha? You don’t care about anything?” Eos asked “Not even me?”
“N-no, I care about you...” Reanna said quietly. “Don’t twist my words like that,” she said more loudly.
Eos smiled and exuded a little more light. “That’s good because I care about you, too.”
Rolling her eyes, Reanna groaned. “I don’t get how you can say that sort of stuff with a straight face.” Once more she tried to lean aside to see the television, and once more Eos blocked her view. “Can you get out of the way, please?”
“Nope,” Eos replied in her usual, chipper disposition.
Groaning, Reanna dropped the television remote. “Let me guess, you’re not going to let me say no…” She knew it was more or less pointless to convince the angel to give up once she had made up her mind to do something. In fact the two words that seemed to describe Eos best was; relentlessly cheerful.
“Don’t be such a downer. You’ll like it, I promise.” Eos fluttered her wings once more. “You see, when I was flying around town delivering my letters yesterday I spotted the cutest little bakery. I want to go there today on our day off. They had all these tiny little cakes in the window and it was by the beach!”
Reanna slumped further into the dusty couch. “Oh no, don’t tell me we’ll have to fly to the next state. I don’t want to do any more flying; It’s my day off, I want to relax.”
Laughing, Eos bobbed from side to side. “Nope it’s local! I knew you’d be tired after delivering those heavy machine parts, so I made sure it was close. I even went online and got the train route so we can walk there. It’ll be so fun to see all the people at the train station.”
“I’ll never get why you like people watching so much… Alright, fine you’ve planned it down to the last detail, so when do we leave?”
Pulling out her phone, Eos frowned at it. “Uh, I guess in about 20 minutes?” Her wings stiffened suddenly. “Wait! I still have to change clothes and get ready. I wanted to wear my blue dress for this trip. Wait just a moment I’ll be right back.” She hustled out of the living room leaving a few white feathers in her wake.
Reanna looked at her black rock band shirt and red shorts that she choose to wear on her day off, an outfit that was both comfortable and fashionable. At least for her definition of fashion (which usually consisted of dark colors and rock band merch.) “How come she never asks me to go to a rock concert?” Reanna grumbled as she finally glanced back at the television.
Finally free to continue channel-surfing, she changed the channel. “Married with mer-childern… That sit-com wasn’t funny 30 years ago and still isn’t funny today. How are there so many channels and still have nothing good on?” Reanna turned the television off and pulled out her phone, scrolling through her news feed.
Reanna sat on the train seat with her arms crossed. It smelled funny, there was a baby crying two seats away, and the view out the window was gray urban sprawl. She sighed and said, “I should have brought my headphones.” Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the unhappy infant wailing beside her.
Oddly enough, the baby stopped crying and started laughing a few moments later. Reanna opened an eye and saw Eos crouched in front of the child, making silly faces. The angel would cover her face, then pop her hands out and flare her wings while sticking her tongue. The infant was so entertained by the silly angel that they had forgotten their irritation.
Eos continued to make a fool of herself for a while longer before patting the child on the head and beaming a smile. Her angelic presence seemed to comfort the kid enough to settle them into contented quiet. The baby’s mother gave Eos a grateful smile and relaxed now that the tot’s temper tantrum had been assuaged.
After a few pleasantries, Eos sat back down beside Reanna, still beaming her angelic smile. “How can you do that?” Reanna asked.
“Do what?” Eos responded.
Reanna rolled her eyes. “How can you just walk up to someone and just help them out like that? Nobody ever says, ‘No thank you,’ or tells you otherwise. It’s like everybody just instinctively knows you’re harmless or something.”
Tapping her chin, Eos considered the question for a moment. “I don’t know, really. I guess it’s just an angel thing. I can sense when people want help, so I help them. That’s why I’m here, after all.”
“Huh? What do you mean ‘why you’re here’?” Reanna asked.
Eos pointed at herself. “I left heaven to help make this world a better place. We received so many complaints in heaven that I decided to start helping people myself. I’m determined to make this world less sad.” Her demeanor dimmed a little. “I’ll admit that I didn’t expect things to be so… difficult here… There’s all the bills and paperwork and responsibilities. That’s why I’m so glad to have you around. Any time I need help you never hesitate to set me straight.”
“Y-yeah, you’re welcome.” Reanna coughed into her fist. “So how long are you going to stay here, on Earth?”
Tapping her chin, Eos considered the question. “I think I’ll stay here as long as I’m needed.”
“That could be a long time,” Reanna remarked.
“Yep. Especially since you’re so gloomy all the time. I think you need me more than anyone else,” Eos said, beaming a smile.
Reanna rolled her eyes and sighed. “I’m not that bad…” There was a lapse in the conversation as the train went through a tunnel. “Thanks,” she said quietly. Before having Eos as her roommate, Reanna’s daily routine consisted of eating, sleeping, and working. While she didn’t like to readily admit it, having the angel around did make life more interesting.
The train slowed to a halt as the brakes squealed. After the train stopped, a garbled voiced announced something unintelligible. “This is our stop,” Eos announced, springing to her feet as the train doors opened with a hiss. Eos took Reanna’s hand and hauled her up to her feet.
Reanna didn’t really need the help standing up, but obliged the angel nonetheless. Eos stumbled as Reanna stood and start to fall but Reanna held her stead to stop her from toppling backwards.
Unfortunately, Eos was renown for her clumsiness. Reanna was well-practiced in preventing Eos’ many slips, stumbles, and snags by this point in their friendship, though. Eos beamed a grateful smile, as if she knew Reanna would be there to help.
They stepped off the train and Reanna took a moment to look around the platform. She usually used her draconic wings to fly, so the train station was an unfamiliar experience. It was loud, smelled like sweat and metal, and pigeons encircled every overstuffed trashcan. “Charming…” she muttered to herself.
The train doors closed behind them with a pneumatic hiss. Reanna looked back and sighed as she noticed that the bow on the back of Eos’ dress had got caught in the train doors. She pulled the fabric free before the train sped away from the station. “You’re like a magnet for misfortune,” she said. “Turn around for a second, I need to retie your bow.”
“Okay. Thank you,” Eos said, still unfazed.
Reanna took both ends of the ribbon and tied it back into a big bow while her hands brushed the feathers of the angel’s wings. She was careful to tie the ribbon snugly, but not too tight so that it would still be comfortable. Then, she took a moment to ensure the bow was centered and symmetric. “There you go,” she announced once satisfied with her handiwork.
Spinning around, Eos shot her friend a thumbs up. “I knew you had my back,” she said with a chuckle. “What would I do without you?”
“Heavens only knows,” Reanna replied. “All right, lead the way to this bakery. I’ve got no clue where we are, everything looks a lot different from the street-level compared to flying.”
“This will be fun!” the angel replied. “You’ll get to see all sorts of new things while we walk there. We’ll get to see the beach and all the people playing in the sand and waves.” Her wings flapped a few times in excitement. “Maybe next time we’ll play volleyball when we come to this part of town.”
Reanna grimaced at the thought of Eos getting hit in the face with a volleyball. The clumsy angel attracted disaster and there would be little chance that she would manage to play a whole game without injury. Clearing her throat, Reanna looked aside. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea… I can be a very competitive person.” While this was also true, she was more concerned for her friend’s safety than her own temper.
“Oh right… I remember that time we went to play board games with some coworkers. It was a good thing we were outside, the fire was easier to deal with,” Eos said.
“I said I was sorry,” Reanna replied, a tinge of embarrassment in her voice.
Eos shrugged. “It’s all in the past now, and everyone is still friends. Anyways follow me!”
“This is a weird bakery,” Reanna said. She didn’t know what to order, so she got some basic tea while her angel friend procured a lot of tiny cakes and cookies. Besides their orders, the bakery itself was done in pink and blue pastels. In Reanna’s opinion, a bakery was a no-nonsense place where people bought bread and not much else.
Eos ate a tiny, bite-sized cake and smiled while a bit of frosting clung to her face. “I think these are super cute, don’t you?”
Reaching over the small table, Reanna wiped off the little dollop of frosting on the angel’s cheek. “You got something on your face. Anyways, I guess it’s cute, but everything seems so… overdone. Like somebody was trying too hard. If I wanted a cake, I’d just get a cake and cut off a slice, no need to make those little things.”
“But they’re adorable!” Eos held up a white porcelain plate that held two rainbow colored morsels. “Just look at all the colors and the star-shaped sprinkles. You can tell the baker spent a lot of time and effort to make something that looks as good as it tastes.”
Reanna shrugged. “I guess I just don’t get it. Why would you take all that time to make food look good when you’re just going to eat it and shit it out a day later?”
Holding her hand to her cover her lips, Eos laughed. “You have such a down-to-earth way of thinking.” She recovered from her chortle. “I like to think of it like this; the baker spent that time and effort to make something to delight both your eyes and tongue. They wanted to brighten someone’s day. It’s a work of love.”
“I guess all the love that goes into those little cakes is the reason why they’re so expensive,” Reanna said before taking a sip of tea. “The tea is too cold…” She breathed a small puff of fire on the top of the teacup and got the brew back to a boil. “Much better.”
Eos chuckled. “You’re always so particular about everything. I love how you know what you want. If only I could be a decisive.” She ate a pink macaron and fluttered her wings in delight. “These are so gooood! You need to try some.”
Grimacing, Reanna shook her head. “No thanks, I don’t really like super sweet stuff. But don’t let me get in the way of you enjoying yourself.”
“No way, I got all these petit fours and cookies with you in mind. I can’t possibly eat them all myself. You have to eat at least a few. Besides I’ll enjoy my sweets better knowing that I’m sharing them with my friend.” She stirred the spoon of her milkshake before holding it out. “Here, have a taste of my milkshake.”
Reanna hesitated. She knew that she was more-or-less a stereotypical grumpy dragon, but she didn’t want to upset her best friend. So, after some internal deliberation she leaned forward and obliged the angel by eating the proffered spoonful. “It’s too sweet and light,” she grumbled.
Frowning, Eos stirred her milkshake once more. “I bet I gave you too much whipped cream… Here, try again. I made sure to get the good ice cream.”
Once more, the angel offered a spoonful of milkshake to Reanna, and once more the dragon subdued her pride to take another taste. Reanna considered the flavor more carefully before rendering her verdict. “It’s not as light this time, but still very sweet. But the cold numbs my tongue so it makes the sweetness less noticeable. I guess that’s better? Still that stuff isn’t really for me.” She took another sip of her hot tea to warm her mouth once more. “You know, this kinda feels like a date…”
There was a moment of stillness before Eos responded. “I guess it is.”
Reanna just barely stopped herself from spitting out her tea. After coughing into a napkin for a moment, she put her teacup down. “I was joking. Dates are for people who like each other a lot. You know, people who really like each other.”
Tapping her chin, Eos thought for a moment. “I really like you though. You’re my best friend.”
“That’s not what I mean…” Reanna found herself regretting her choice of words. “A date has like, kissing, and stuff. Ah never mind, it was a dumb joke anyways.”
Eos surprised Reanna a moment later by standing up and walking towards her. She stood uncomfortably close. “Uh, what are you doing?” Reanna asked.
The angel leaned down and planted a kiss on Reanna’s cheek.
Returning to her seat, Eos took another bite of her milkshake before giving Reanna a smug little grin. “It’s a date,” she said with a certain finality.
Reanna’s cheeks burned from a mixture of emotions and she found herself flummoxed. The spot Eos’ kissed still tingled, and she had scarcely moved. “Uhh…” She wanted to say something, but her thoughts were tied in a knot. “The… the baker here sure is weird, right?”
“What do you mean?” Eos said, taking the distraction.
Looking aside, Reanna pointed at a cat-esque figure standing behind the bakery counter. “I mean look at them, they’re like a cross between a cat and a goblin.”
“Nem nem nem nem,” the suspicious baker replied.
Eos looked at the baker and considered them a moment. “I think they are cute! Look at the cake they made; it looks like a cat and has little paw prints in chocolate in it. How adorable is that?”
Grimacing, Reanna muttered, “I hope that’s chocolate.” She cleared her throat. “Well, it’s certainly… homespun. But seriously, how did you find this place?”
“Well, it’s like I said; I found it while I was delivering a letter yesterday. I noticed the cat-goblin-baker wearing an advertisement for handmade baked goods standing outside. They were trying so hard to get people to try their goods that it warmed my heart. I decided that the next time I had the opportunity I would come here and try their stuff.”
“Nem nem nem nem,” the baker replied.
Reanna looked at the angel for a moment, then came to a conclusion. “You’ve got to be the nicest person on the planet,” she said.
Nodding, Eos merely responded with a, “Yep.” Then she plucked a cookie and offered it to Reanna. “Here, I think this will be something you like. It’s not too sweet but very rich and fulfilling.”
Reanna took the proffered cookie and ate it. True to Eos’ word, it wasn’t too sweet. “You know, I actually like this. What is it?”
“It’s a shortbread cookie!” Eos responded with a wide smile. There seemed to be a certain amount of satisfaction in her expression.
Reanna knew she could be a difficult person, but Eos’ undaunted cheer somehow disarmed her natural cynicism. “Did you get any more of those?” She asked, looking at the handful of sweets that remained.
Plucking up a pale cooke with a dark red indentation, Eos held it forward. “Yep, I got this one with rasperry jam, too. I knew you’d like it.”
Reanna hesitated a moment before taking the cookie. “You knew I’d like this? Just how thoroughly did you plan this ‘date’?” She ate the cookie, and just as Eos had predicted she enjoyed it. The raspberry jam wasn’t too sweet because of the fruit’s natural tartness.
“Hmm… I guess for about a week. I’ve felt like you needed to get out of your routine and while making my deliveries last week I was keeping an eye out for a nice place to enjoy ourselves.
“Knowing you, it had to be somewhat nearby because you wouldn’t feel like flying on your day off, and it would had to be an independent venue. You’re always talking about how bad big companies are and stuff. Also, it needed to be a place that I wanted to go. I seriously considered going to an ax throwing range, but there weren’t any around our house. It was just luck that I found this place yesterday.”
Blinking, Reanna was dumbfounded for a moment. “Y-you really thought this through, then.” She finished off her tea cup. “And, we could have gone ax throwing?”
Eos nodded. “There’s a big outdoor range about a 15 minute flight out of town. I checked with them, and they said it was okay for dragons to participate, but you’ll have to leave an extra $50 deposit in case they have to repair the axes. You dragons have quite the reputation for strength.”
“That’s fair, I wouldn’t want to hold back anyways,” Reanna conceded. She took one of the last cookies. “Could we go ax throwing next week?”
Chuckling, Eos nodded. “Sure, it’s a date!”
Illus by Graylure
Download the PDF of this story >here<