The Faerie’s Gift: Part 1
Here is the first part of the first Choose Your Own Bimbo story. Michaela is about to see three big changes in her life and you will get to help determine how she changes. You may vote on Patreon.
Looking out the window of her small apartment, Michaela noted the gray skies and wet street. It was not a day for going out. However, that suited Michaela just fine. She preferred staying indoors anyway.
Michaela’s life had changed dramatically since her parents died. She had just graduated from college and was setting out into the world as an independent woman for the first time. But the depression that followed her parents’ deaths left her less and less wanting to leave her apartment. More and more, her only trip out was to visit her local grocery store. At least she had a reasonably well paying job that let her work from home.
Just as Michaela had started to settle down at her computer to begin on her day’s work assignment, her attention was pulled back outside by the sound of a car parking on the street. Normally, she would have simply ignored the distraction, the car and its occupant had nothing to do with her. But this time, something felt different.
Michaela watched as a man in a gray suit pulled himself out of the driver’s seat, trying in vain to stay dry from the falling rain. It was not a heavy rain, more of a drizzle that left everything soaked. Seeing the man only confirmed her reasoning not to leave the warm and comforting confines of her apartment.
Knowing she needed to get to work, Michaela tried to look back at her computer screen. Whatever was happening outside was of no concern to her. And yet, as hard as she tried to look away, she could not, her blue eyes, the only part of her she thought of as attractive, continued to watch the man in the gray suit.
“No, no, no,” Michaela said as she watched the man walk up the path toward her apartment. There was no reason anyone would come to visit her. She was a nobody with no real friends. But his destination was clear. The small walkway only led to Michaela’s apartment.
Michaela sat there frozen, not knowing what to do. She never had visitors. Even before the man had a chance to knock on her door, she was already trying to work out what he could want. He certainly did not look like a solicitor. She had enough warning signs on her door to ward off even the most persistent salesman. Maybe the man’s presence was a mistake.
The knock came at the door. Michaela’s breath caught in her throat at the sound of the soft rapping. Something about the man’s presence seemed wrong to her. He should not have been visiting her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to work out a plan of action. Michaela felt she was in no position to answer the door.
“Don’t be a fraidy cat,” Michaela scolded herself as she got up to answer the door. As much as she hated the prospect of having to deal with this man, it was better to get it out of the way than to try and hide in her bedroom until he gave up and left. For all she knew, he was just lost and needed directions.
“Hello?” Michaela said as she opened her front door. Despite answering her caller, she was still being careful, only opening the door as much as she needed to let her head pop into view, keeping her body braced to keep the man from pushing the door open and entering her apartment.
“Michaela Adams?” the man asked.
“Um, yeah,” Michaela answered, wanting to ask what all this was about. It was disappointing to realize that this was not all a mistake.
“My name is Nijel,” the man said, introducing himself. “I’ve come here with a very special gift for you. You should let me in so that I can give it to you.”
In a normal situation, Michaela would have slammed the door in Nijel’s face. She had no interest in hearing anything about his special gift and certainly would never let him inside her apartment. The man was a stranger and she saw no reason why she should do what he said.
However, through some unknown and ungodly force, Michaela felt compelled to follow his instructions. Feeling as if her body was operating on autopilot, she pulled the door open for her guest before adding, “Please, come in.”
Nijel stepped into Michaela’s small apartment, looking around the living room as if he were evaluating it in some way. Michaela stood by the door, still holding it open. She was unsure of what to do next.
“Close the door and come have a seat,” the man said as he took a seat on a worn plush chair, waving toward the adjacent love seat.
“Yes, um, sir," Michaela said as she scurried toward the offered seat, forgetting that it was her furniture in her apartment. She felt like a visitor in her own home.
“Please, call me Nijel,” the man said with a smile. “And there’s nothing to be afraid of. Just relax. Let’s have some tea.”
Nijel waved his hand across the small coffee table and a silver platter appeared bearing a steaming tea pot and two sets of cups and saucers. He methodically poured out two cups and handed one to Michaela. She sat there, holding the hot cup on its saucer, staring at it in disbelief. It did not make any sense, but then again, very little of the situation did.
“Please drink up,” Nijel said, waiting for Michaela to take a sip before he continued. “I’m sorry to come here unannounced like this, but I’m still adapting to a modern mortal life. You see, I’m a faerie. Or more accurately, I’m a reformed faerie, meaning I’ve given up my sinister and trickster ways and am now trying to atone for my previous transgressions.”
Michaela nodded along as Nijel spoke. She was not exactly sure she was hearing him right. Could he really be a faerie? It all seemed so far fetched. But then again, he did make the tea appear out of thin air.
“So I’ve decided to start helping people as much as I can,” Nijel continued. “As such, I am giving out gifts to people who I think are both deserving and in need of a little help.”
Michaela looked down into her lap, her face turning red in shame. She did not necessarily think she was deserving of anything special, but she knew she was in need of help. With her depression and trouble adjusting to life in the real world, she was not someone people generally wanted to be around. Not that she was all the keen on being around other people either, but that was a result of her issues, not theirs.
“I think you are very deserving,” Nijel said. Michaela looked up at him with a queer look on her face. Had he really just read her mind or was her body language just that easy to read? “And just so you know, you are my first gift recipient. That means this will be an adventure for both of us.”
Michaela sipped on her tea as she considered what Nijel was saying. It all seemed impossible, but there they were. But the question was, what was this gift he was talking about? How could he really improve her life?
However, there was another question that kept coming to the forefront of her thoughts. What kind of name was Nijel for a faerie? Michaela knew it was unimportant, but she kept coming back to it. She would have expected something Celtic or a name originating from some dead language. But Nijel? That made no sense.
“I really hate to be the only one speaking,” Nijel said. “Please say something.”
“What kind of name is Nijel for a faerie?” Michaela asked. She usually had more tact, even if her social skills were a little rusty. Just as she had when Nijel asked to come inside, she felt compelled to say something. The question about the faerie’s name just happened to be at the forefront of her thoughts at that moment.
Michaela was shocked and appalled at what had just come out of her mouth. She had never spoken with such abandon before, even as a small child. Michaela always chose her words carefully, knowing how important they could be. One small slip in either word choice or tone could completely change a meaning.
As much as Michaela feared a possible backlash from Nijel, she was deeply relieved when he started laughing. It was a deep belly laugh, completely genuine, which set Michaela’s runaway thoughts at ease. He was not mad.
“It’s a long story,” Nijel answered after taking a moment to compose himself. “I think it’s easiest to just say that my name has gone through several translations over the years and it comes out as Nijel in modern English.”
Michaela nodded her head in understanding, still feeling silly for asking such an unimportant question. Still, it was nice to know that this faerie was good natured and could understand the oddity of introducing himself as a reformed faerie named Nijel.
“Enough about my name,” Nijel said. “Let’s get down to the business of your gift.”
“Yes, let’s,” Michaela said with excitement. All of her earlier trepidation and anxiety had all but disappeared. It had become clear to her that Nijel and his gift would indeed make her life better, even if she did not understand how it was true.
“That’s the spirit,” Nijel said with a big smile. “But before I get too far into this, I should explain that since I am now a reformed faerie, I do not have all the powers that I once did. It is a sacrifice I have had to make so that I can redeem myself.”
Michaela found it hard to believe Nijel’s magic powers might have decreased in the slightest based on his performance thus far. It was clear he had used magic to get her to let him in. Then there was the tea. She could not imagine what limitations he might have.
“In the past,” Nijel continued, "I always fancied myself a bit like a genie. I would appear to a person and grant them three wishes. I took great pride in twisting the wishes into something entirely different. It was fun if you could look past the person’s suffering, but watching that suffering for many years started to wear on me. Now I’m out to do some good.
“So my gift to you is three wishes. However, before you start thinking of ways to maximize your wishing power, as I will be granting the wishes, I must put a couple caveats on how this will work. First, you will not actually be making the wishes. I have already decided that your gift will include a change to your body, a change to your personality and a change to your lifestyle. Those are your three wishes.”
“But...” Michaela started to say, but she lost her steam to speak when she remembered this was a gift. Still, if she did this right, she was sure her days as a depressed shut in would be numbered.
“And there’s more,” Nijel said, ignoring Michaela’s minor interruption. “It will not be you who gets to decide how you change. Ever since I left the faerie community, I haven’t been able to perform certain kinds of magic, namely, wish fulfillment.”
Michaela’s body slumped at hearing that she would not get her wishes granted. This had to be a faerie joke, picking on an already fragile and sensitive young woman.
“But I’ve figured out a way around the limitation placed upon me. While I cannot grant your wishes, I can grant wishes on your behalf from other people, namely your friends. I will go to three of your friends and ask them to request the changes for you. As your friends, they should have an idea of how you can be better.”
For a short time, Michaela’s anxiety and depression had lifted. Just the knowledge that her wishes for a new life, ideas she fantasized over late at night when she struggled to fall asleep, would come true was enough to drive away the dark clouds that were a perpetual presence in her life. But Nijel’s solution to his own magical limitations brought about the return of the dark clouds. And this time they seemed almost black.
“But I don’t have any friends,” Michaela said. Tears were beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes. All of this was for nothing. Even a faerie wanting to make amends for his mischievous past could not improve her lot.
“Yes, I had to do a lot of research with you,” Nijel said. His tone was kind and caring, helping to alleviate some of Michaela’s worries. “You have done a good job of cutting yourself off from the world, but I have found some viable candidates. I’m not going to tell you who these people are. I can only assume that through their help they will make themselves known to you.”
“If you say so,” Michaela said, still feeling dejected. It was hard to see anything good coming from this whole situation. Still, she supposed it could not hurt. Anything would be better than this. “Okay, let’s do it.”
“That’s the spirit,” Nijel said. “Now there are a couple other things you should know. It will take time for me to reach everyone. Another one of my magical limitations is being stuck traveling as a mortal. That’s why I drove here in a car. I can’t just transport myself across the country, let alone the city. While I haven’t worked out which of your friends will get what wish, I can tell you that I’ll be starting with the body change and then moving on to the personality change, before finally getting to the lifestyle change.”
“That makes sense,” Michaela agreed. It was nice to know how things were supposed to change, assuming they would. She still had some doubts about that.
“There will also be some time when you have two sets of memories. Reality will shift around you to accommodate the changes. Only you will remember this original timeline. That means, the subsequent wishes will be affected by the previous ones. I realize this is complicated, but we’re dealing with a level of temporal mechanics that maybe three humans will ever understand in the history of human civilization.”
“Got it,” Michaela said, although all she really understood from all of that was that it was complicated. Still, she knew any change would probably be positive for her.
“Well then, if you don’t have any questions, I need to start on my way to get the first wish fulfilled,” Nijel said as he stood up. With a wave of his hand, the tea was gone, just like it had never been there.
“Will I get any warning about the changes?” Michaela asked as she opened the door for Nijel.
“Not as such, no,” Nijel said. “It doesn’t really work that way. Don’t worry though. I’m sure the changes will be seamless. But I realize you may have questions after the first round. Here’s my card. Call me with any concerns.”
Nijel handed Michaela a card with a phone number on it and then hopped back out into the rain. She watched as he ran down the path, back to his car, before practically jumping in. Within moments, the only sign that Nijel had ever been in her apartment was the card Michaela held in her hand.
“That was weird,” she said as she dropped the card on the coffee table and walked into her bedroom. She took a moment to look at herself in the mirror, wondering what might change.
While still in her twenties, Michaela no longer had her youthful appearance. Years of depression and anxiety, along with inactivity, had taken their toll on her body. Michaela knew her best descriptors were overweight and frumpy. She could have passed for a crazy cat lady if she had a cat. Sadly, she was allergic.
After several minutes of evaluating her body, Michaela looked at the clock and realized she still had a lot of work to get done. Just because she worked from home did not mean she did not need to produce when it came to work productivity.
As soon as Nijel was back in his car, his only thought was to drive. He knew he needed to make a plan for which one of Michaela’s friends to visit first, but he did not want to do that with her anywhere nearby. Even though she was a shut in, he knew humans well enough to know that they were a curious bunch. And he did not want her meddling in his first attempt to make up for his past transgressions.
About a mile down the road, Nijel found a little coffee shop that would be a perfect place to work out his next step. He quickly parked his car, before running inside, just remembering to grab the file folder from the passenger seat. Nijel wished he had thought to bring a rain coat on his trip. As a full faerie, he had the power to affect the weather. He had never needed a rain coat before. Now it was a different story.
It was not long before Nijel had settled down in a corner of the coffee shop with a warm drink in his hand and his file on Michaela and her friends open on the table in front of him. He had to admit, he might have fudged a few things with her. She only had one person who she could currently call a friend, and they had never actually met in person. The others were people from her past.
Nijel had a list of four friends. He would only need to visit three of them, but he liked having a back up, just in case something happened. It would have been easier to find people who cared about Michaela if it were not for the fact he needed timeline independent friends, people who would know Michaela no matter how her life changed. He needed constants. Paired with her low number of friends otherwise, he was left with few possibilities.
There was Roger, an ex-boyfriend from college. Nijel was surprised they had ever been a couple based on how different they were. Still, their relationship lasted for almost a year before they amicably split. From what Nijel could tell, Roger had become quite the horny stoner since those days.
Vivian was a former neighbor from Michaela’s childhood. From his research, she seemed like a nice enough lady. At some point, however, Vivian had moved to Florida. Considering her age, Nijel assumed she moved there to retire, but he could not be sure. Vivian was a big question mark.
Amy was Michaela’s only current friend. They met online years ago and continued to write to each other off and on over the years. Of the four, Amy was the only one who knew about Michaela’s depression and growing physical isolation.
Finally, there was Katie, Michaela’s best friend in high school. They had not seen each other in years, but at one point the two had been inseparable. The two had gone in such different directions since then.
After spending half an hour trying to work out a plan, Nijel eventually gave up. “Fuck it,” he said, before remembering he was in a public place. He looked up to see several people looking at him, but they quickly turned back to whatever it was they were doing. “Might as well make it random.”
Nijel drained his cup before conjuring four slips of paper to put inside it. Each slip had the name of one of Michaela’s friends on it. As Nijel reached into the cup and pulled out a name, he asked, “All right, who am I visiting first?”
Don’t forget to vote for which of Michaela’s friends will get the option of wishing a new body for her. Will it be Roger, the ex-boyfriend, Vivian, the former neighbor, Amy, the online friend, or Katie, the former bff? Vote now on Patreon. Voting will be available until the end of Friday, March 30, PDT.
