What if: regular ol’ person has known for a while that some group of tiny people leave near them because they keep nabbing fruit from their garden and they don’t wanna be rude but they’re also sad that they don’t get much
This is such a cute idea, and I had the story planned out in my head all night! Thank you!
Get ready to meet Ryan and Zerina! Ryan is a human living on his own in his grandmother’s old cottage, having passed away recently her final wish was for him to continue to care for her garden and the garden sprites that came along with it. However, the fruits of his labor are being greedily stolen and Ryan is at his wits end!
TW: Some swearing, mentions death of a grandparent, mostly just shenanigans and cuteness!
Approx 3.4k words
Strawberries and Sprites
“Ugh! Are you serious right now!” Ryan growled.
Once again, he’d come out into his grandmother’s garden in the morning to collect some fruits to have with his breakfast. A routine of his that he planned on upholding, and seeing as his grandmother had multiple thriving fruit bushes and trees he was excited about not having to buy his fruits from the grocer anymore.
What he hadn’t accounted for when he moved in three months ago though was the sprites. Sprites were not common in the city apart from the occasional house sprite, but out here in the countryside almost everyone had them in their garden and his grandmothers garden was no exception. He’d caught sight of them a few times flitting about when they thought he wasn’t looking.
He didn’t mind that they were there, he knew they helped the garden grow and flourish and he didn’t even mind that they would take some of the fruits they had helped to grow. What he didn’t like was that they would take ALL of the fruits that would ripen overnight, leaving Ryan with nothing.
“Is that you young Ryan?” An elderly woman called over the fence, Mrs Wayson was his elderly neighbour and if he wasn’t careful, she’d often have him caught in a three-hour long chat where she would talk about her nuisance of a husband and her bratty grandchildren until Ryan was ready to tear his ears off.
“Yes Mrs Wayson.” Ryan sighed, dragging a hand over his long face dramatically.
He heard the sound of her step ladder being dragged over to their shared fence and then her face popped up over it. She had a round face with smile lines around her blue grey eyes and thin lips, her salt and pepper hair was always bound tightly in an elegant bun. She appeared harmless, though Ryan knew better by now.
“Good morning.” She said pleasantly to which Ryan gave her a little wave in polite greeting before turning his back and trying to make himself look busy.
He pushed some leaves around the blueberry bush and groaned, all of the blueberries that were pale yesterday were now gone, ripened overnight and promptly plucked by his greedy garden guests.
“Bastards! You couldn’t just leave one!” He groaned.
“Are you harassing the sprites again?” Mrs Wayson’s voice called from behind him, he uncurled his tall and awkward form to face her with an aghast look about his sharp face.
“I’m not harassing them Mrs Wayson; they are harassing ME!” He insisted, he checked the strawberry bush and found one ripe strawberry, that’s right ONE. He plopped it in his mouth, it wouldn’t be enough to have with his toast, but he’d be damned if he left it there for the little thieves to take.
“The sprites in my garden are quite polite.” She said self righteously, he gave her a flat look.
“With all due respect, your garden is a flower garden.”
Mrs Wayson bristled but remained standing there. “You could try leaving them an offering.” She suggested.
“An offering? What, to thank them for stealing all my fruit?” He shook his head, the last thing he wanted to do was encourage them further.
“No, it’s more of a peace offering, if you show them your appreciative of their help in your garden then they may be more willing to share, right now I’d gather that they think it is THEIR garden and they feel they have every right to it’s produce.” She explained somewhat impatiently.
Ryan agreed that it did make sense, but what would he even leave them that they would deem better than the juicy fruits they’d been snatching. He also had this feeling in his belly that it wouldn’t be that simple, there was a mischievous tension in the air, and he had a feeling they enjoyed watching him squirm.
“What would you suggest I offer them?” He asked in defeat.
That night he slept restlessly; it seemed silly to get so hung up on such a small thing as some stolen fruit when he could just buy them, but he also didn’t want to simply back down. He felt like he was in a battle of wits with the sprites, and he’d be damned if he let them win.
The next morning not even bothering to get changed out of his flannel pyjama bottoms he opened the screen door that led to the back garden and checked the strawberry bush. Under the bush he’d left a little dish with honey drizzled in it, per Mrs Wayson’s suggestion and a note that read.
‘Thanks for your help in the garden, please leave my fruit alone’
The honey was left untouched, the strawberry bush was bare and a positively miniscule scribble was left under his own words. He brought it up close to his hazel brown eyes to read what had been left in response.
‘don’t like honey, try again big guy’
Ryan scrunched up the paper, positively fuming, he knew something like this would happen, his patience gone, he was left with the only other thing he could think to try.
The strawberry bush was by far his favourite, and luckily was kept in a rectangle plastic garden bed, with some effort he was able to lift it. He placed it on a wooden bench inside his home, with towels under it on the bottom shelf to catch any water and dirt that may leak out from under it.
He ignored Mrs Wayson as she tsked at him and shook her head, he might not be able to preserve the whole garden but he would keep his strawberry bush for himself.
He left another note, in the now bare dirt rectangle that the strawberries had been in.
‘No strawberries for you’
He locked the door for good measure and went about his day, there were a few green strawberries that were bound to ripen overnight, and he dreamed of finally having enough to cut up and have with some pancakes or even mixed into his yoghurt in the morning. Tomorrow he was confident he would find that he had won the battle.
The next morning however he did not find that he’d won the battle instead he stared slack jawed at the strawberry bush, barren of all potentially ripened fruit and another little note left on his kitchen bench as though to mock him.
“How the fuck did you get into my house! That’s trespassing you know!” He shouted at no one in particular, and he could have sworn that he heard faint giggling in the room.
He stormed over to the note, reading it in frustration.
‘check and mate’
“Ooooooh you’re asking for it now! Also, how the fuck do you know anything about chess!” He groaned, promptly screwed up the sticky note and threw it in the bin. The little shit had been inside his house, stolen his strawberries and rummaged through his things to find and leave a sticky note for him. This was war.
A few more day’s went by and Ryan was going slowly more mad with each passing day, he’d tried putting a net over his strawberries only to find a large hole cut out of it the next day, then he tried spraying pesticides on them to deter the sprite only to find a wet wash cloth beside the damned plant. Tonight was different, he was going to catch the sprite in the act and put an end to all this nonsense once and for all.
He'd carefully laid a glue trap under the plant, covered it in dirt and leaves and left a strawberry beside it, hoping that the sprite would think it had simply fallen off the plant. He knew the sprite was smart, but he hoped that this night he may actually outsmart the bastard.
Ryan didn’t sleep that night, he lay awake with his ears peeled for any kind of noise that might suggest his plan had worked. It was well after 2am, his eyes drooping closed when he finally heard it.
“Shit!”
His eyes snapped open, he’d caught them.
As quietly as he could manage, he swivelled his long legs out of bed and tip toed as quietly as he could down the small hallway and peeked around the wall to see if he could catch a glimpse of the thief.
His eyes widened seeing the small sprite pull at her pale green legs, trying to get her feet out of the sticky glue trap. She wore a dress made of what looked like HIS strawberry leaves and had dark wavy emerald green hair that brushed her shoulders, her skin was a pale green which was common among garden sprites and on her back were long dragonfly like wings.
Seeing as she was going nowhere, he stepped out from around the corner, arms crossed over his chest as he raised an eyebrow at her. There was a small gasp when her eyes met his and then she vanished, stepping closer Ryan could see she was still stuck even though he couldn’t see her anymore, the glue and dirt on the trap was moving as though the invisible person were trying desperately to escape.
He knelt down beside the plant, staring directly at the glue trap and where he suspected she was before speaking.
“I may not be able to see you, but I know your there.”
There was a grumble of a response and then a sigh before she dropped her invisibility spell and appeared before his eyes once more. She looked pissed.
“If you think this is the end of this you’ve got another thing coming.” She snapped, tugging on her legs in frustration once more.
His lips tugged upward into a smile, and he suppressed the reflex to laugh outright at her.
“Kinda looks like I’ve got the upper hand here shorty.” He quipped, to which she rolled her eyes.
“So, what? Your plan was to catch me and then what? Watch your garden slowly die? You and I both know you don’t have a single green vein in your body.” Her violet eyes bore into him.
“You talk a big game for someone so small.” He shot back. “And no, my plan wasn’t to catch you, not really, I just wanted us to talk, face to face and hopefully come to some kind of agreement.” He explained carefully. It was true, he hadn’t planned on capturing her and keeping her, he only wanted to clear the air with her. Nothing else had been working, he’d tried.
“Fine, talk then.” She snapped, before promptly ignoring him and digging her hands into the glue in attempt to free her feet.
He sighed, hazel eyes searching the heavens for what to say, his final attempt in maybe having some peace in his house and maybe just maybe having some fruit with his breakfast.
“Look, I don’t mind that you’re here, I don’t even mind that you take some fruit, but can you at least leave some for me to have as well?” He spoke as gently as he could, hoping that if he reasoned enough with her that she might just listen.
She continued to ignore him, brushing her emerald hair behind a pointed ear.
“I’ll leave you alone I swear, I really am grateful for all that you do for the garden-“
“Pffft” She scoffed, he suppressed the growing agitation that was boiling his blood, reminding himself to stay calm, he knew she was looking to get a rise out of him.
“All I ask is that you leave some fruit instead of stripping them bare, surely you don’t eat that much.”
She turned her head to smile sweetly at him, batting her eyes. “No, I don’t need that much, but it is funny.” She giggled.
Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose, tired and slowly loosing his patience.
“Maybe we can make a deal?” He asked, opening his eyes again, pleading with her, this piqued her interest though because she then looked up at him curiously.
“A deal?” She asked.
“Yes, surely there is something I can give you, or do for you in exchange for leaving just like a handful of fruit in my garden for me?”
She tapped her chin thoughtfully her lips quirking up at the corners of her mouth.
“Well…there is something you could give me…” She trailed off.
“Okay, great!” He said enthusiasm renewed. “What is it?”
“You know those cookies that Paige really likes?” She asked, his mind instantly was brought back to the sugar cookies that his grandmother used to share with him. She seemed to always have a tin of them laying around and he did remember finding them in odd places when he came to visit, perhaps she wasn’t as forgetful as he had thought she was but was simply leaving them out for her small friend.
He stood then and opened the pantry door, he found an open packet of store bought sugar cookies, as an adult he wasn’t overly fond of them anymore but would occasionally have one with his tea. He plucked one out of the packet and brought it over to the strawberry thief, holding it up to her.
“You mean these cookies?” He asked, was it really going to be that simple, a cookie in exchange for peace.
Her purple eyes lit up and she was practically drooling, nodding her head in excitement.
“Paige used to leave a cookie for me every morning, she was so kind, I miss her greatly, when will she be back?” The little sprite asked innocently, Ryan’s face fell, so she didn’t know that his grandmother had passed away, how was he supposed to tell her?
“I can’t wait to tell her all about the fun I’ve had with you! She always said you were a stick in the mud.” She giggled, rambling on.
“Oh, actually um.” He began carefully. “She won’t be back, she uh, she died about four months ago now, she left the house to me.”
The little woman’s face creased with confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, she was very old and when you get very old you die, eventually.” He could see her face slowly drooping as she struggled to understand what he was trying to say. “She’s gone, and one day I’ll be gone too, all humans have to die eventually.” He tried to explain gently.
Her chest rose and fell quickly, he wondered how close she had been with his grandmother, and it broke his heart to have to be the one to give her the news.
He remembered how he had felt the day his mother called to tell him his grandma had passed away peacefully in her sleep; he’d been so grateful that she had drifted off peacefully but his heart stung with the memories they shared together and he missed her every day.
“But…She didn’t say goodbye, she wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.” She insisted frantically, it then dawned on him that perhaps Sprites didn’t know death, it was possible that they just continued to live on just like the garden did.
“She would have wanted to say goodbye, I’m sure of it.” He said sincerely. “I miss her too.” He added.
“Can you get me out of this sticky stuff please?” She said so quietly he almost didn’t hear her.
He stood again and collected some olive oil and a Q-Tip, without a word he gently dabbed the oil around her feet and then let her rub the oil around her feet herself before she successfully pulled herself out of the glue. And then just as though he’d imagined the whole thing, she disappeared, he could hear her sniffing and then even that faded away until he was left sitting there on his kitchen floor in complete silence.
The next morning, the strawberry bush was back in it’s rightful place outside and a small dish with two sugar cookies was carefully placed underneath with a note.
Ryan didn’t bother changing into his gardening gear, today he would simply sit in the garden, he would sip his tea with his own sugar cookie and remember his grandmother.
The sun peaked through the apple trees and gave the small cast iron garden table and chairs a warm dappled light and Ryan sighed contentedly. For the first time since he’d moved in he was just happy to look around at the garden, taking in the beauty around him.
He did also notice that none of the fruit had been touched this morning but neither had the sugar cookies or the note he’d left for his little guest. He hoped he hadn’t scared the little sprite away last night, or that she hadn’t just decided to leave now that she knew his grandmother wouldn’t be back.
Around mid-morning Ryan was ready to go inside, he’d fix himself another cup of tea and then visit his grandmother’s grave, perhaps talking to her about this whole thing would help.
“Ryan?”
He paused and turned to look down at the strawberry plant where the little voice had come from. The little green sprite stood there with his note under her arm, her wings folded delicately behind her back, and she brushed away a tear from her eye.
“I’m Zerina.” She said looking up at him as he sat down in the dirt before her. “Is she really gone?”
Ryan held back his own tears and took a deep breath before nodding gently, he then held out a palm flat on the ground in front of her, an offering.
“Would you like to come and visit her with me, Zerina?” His eyes searched hers and she slowly nodded, sniffling gently.
Instead of stepping onto his palm though, her insect like wings buzzed to life and she rose into the air, coming to a hover before his eyes, she hesitated for only a moment before she perched on his shoulder, crossing her legs as they dangled over the edge.
“Can you bring one of those cookies, I have no hope in carrying them.” She said simply.
He smiled, snapping out of the shock of having her willingly place herself so close to him. He then picked up both the sugar cookies he had left for her, placing them in his pocket. She clung to the collar of his shirt as he rose and then they were off, he pushed open the garden gate and began the short walk to his grandmother’s grave, a place he and Zerina both needed to be today.
They both walked in comfortable silence until they reached the cemetery, Paige Glennen was buried underneath an apple tree, resting peacefully beside her husband. Ryan knelt down and placed a bunch of wildflowers he’d collected along the way atop her grave. This prompted Zerina to fly off his shoulder and hover over the words scrawled on the stone plaque atop the grave.
“Can I have one of those cookies please?” She asked, her bare feet landing on the grass beside the plaque as she looked up at him, he handed her the cookie which was about half her size and wondered what she planned on doing with it.
She carefully rolled it along the ground approaching the flowers that Ryan had put down, she placed the cookie gently down beside the flowers. His heart broke and he let the tears fall then as he watched this little sprite share in his grief and love for his grandmother.
“Thank you, my friend, I will look after your garden.” She whispered before planting a little kiss to her lips and then pressing her fingers into the ground underneath her, her eyes fluttering closed.
Ryan wasn’t sure if things would get better, if his grief would become easier, but he knew he wouldn’t be facing it alone anymore, his grandmother had meant for he and Zerina to meet and for that he was grateful. Even if she had been terribly irritating. He had a feeling that things would be different now.
And maybe, just maybe, he’d get some strawberries on his pancakes.
