“Grab the tow rope from the boot mate. Let’s get this thing shifted.”
Warren made his way round to the back of the car and opened up the trunk. Grunting, he lifted the spare tire out to get at the tow rope that his dad had stored underneath it. It slipped from his hands and fell, rolling towards the bushes. He watched it go, bouncing across the ruts of the road before wobbling and coming to rest against a bush at the far side of the road. Warren threw the rope to his dad and went to fetch the tire, but as he bent low the bush it rested against exploded into movement. A jackrabbit burst out, cannoning into Warren’s chest and knocking him from his feet before disappearing back into the bushes. Hearing Warren’s shout, Alex dropped what he was doing and rushed round to the back of the car.
“Alright there mate?” He asked, picking his son from the ground before collecting the tire. Warren rubbed at his chest where he’d been struck, “Yeah, yeah. It was a rabbit jumping on me.” He followed his dad back to the car, “It’s weird, I could swear that rabbit had horns or something.”
Alex laughed, “Yeah? Maybe it was a unicorn rabbit?”
They made the rest of the trip to the cabin at a slow pace, just in case of anymore surprises left by the old man. Soon enough Alex parked the car, and they unloaded their gear and opened the cabin. Instantly they were hit by a stale smell, damp and unpleasant. Warren propped the door open with his bag, and went to open the windows around the cabin while Alex moved their gear for the weekend inside. Loaded up with suitcases and shopping bags Alex weaved his way past the furniture to the bedroom his father used to sleep in, now his he supposed. He dropped the bags on the bed with a muted thump, sending dust swirling into the air that made him sneeze. He watched the dust motes play in the air, dancing in the breeze from the open window. Something parted them through the middle, sending them flying in opposite directions, dancing more frantically before settling again.
It whizzed past his ear, grazing the lobe and buzzing loudly.
“Bloody countryside, full of damn bugs!” He exclaimed, flapping his hand through the air at the already long-gone source of the sound. Putting his hand to his ear he pulled it back, surprised to see blood on his fingertips. “Whatever that thing was, it was big for a bug.” Shrugging, Alex moved off to gather the rest of their things from the car.
On his last trip in Alex was called into a room by his son. Inside Warren had found notebooks and old, leather-bound journals, all of which were full of writings about fairies. They were complete with drawings and collected “proof” of their existence. Two wings that looked a lot like they belonged on the back of a dragonfly were taped inside, one on either side of a drawing of a small green humanoid. The writing above it was neat and clear. It read “Tooth fairy”, and the next page held a larger picture of the fairy’s hand. The fingers were lined with hooks that the book stipulated were “for gripping the teeth of humans, to achieve smoother extraction”.
Everything was labelled and explained in great detail, including the loud noise the four wings of the fairies made in flight. Warren ran his hand across the page, smoothing it carefully.
“Even if it’s all made up, this book is amazing. Maybe we could get it published in the fantasy section or something?”
Alex closed the book, touching his ear where it had been cut as he shrugged. “Like I said, he wasn’t well.”
He moved to a small bird cage next at the other end of the table, picking it up and turning over in his hands. The lock that held the door closed was broken, and the door flapped open as he turned it.
“I tried to get him to leave this place for months, but he was stubborn and wouldn’t move an inch. In the end he left himself, then checked into a home. Must have felled that tree on his way out I guess. I don’t know why he left all his stuff here.” Alex put the cage down, releasing a shower of dust into the air. “Come on, let’s make a brew and unpack.”
They spent the rest of the day cleaning out the cabin, unpacking and talking. Warren complained about all the work they were doing, but Alex could tell he was enjoying himself as he explored the old cabin. They even found the guitar that was the subject of many happy memories for Alex, and to his dad’s amazement Warren started to play on it. It turned out he had been learning all summer from a girl at his school. He blushed when he said it, and Alex knew not to push the subject. He couldn’t help feeling a little inward, fatherly moment of pride at the thought of his son’s first girlfriend with the way Alex had talked about her.
With the cabin clean and fresh, Alex cooked bacon sandwiches for himself and Warren. They sat at the freshly polished table and ate in silence, until Warren asked, “Can I please go look at that book of Grandad’s again dad? I know it’s hard for you to see, but it’s really cool, and the pictures are good.”
Alex rubbed a hand over the stubble on his check, feeling the rasp on his fingertips.
“I don’t know mate. I just want to forget that part of his life. He was always so clever before the last few months. You know he went to the dentist and had all his teeth pulled? He told the dentist it was so he could just get it over with and move onto dentures,
