Finley (Pt.2)

Five years passed, and that rich boy Matthias stayed forever in the back of my mind. I couldn’t help but wonder what he might’ve been doing there that day, or why he insisted on talking to me.

Another summer festival came and went, and I was starting to feel empty. That day was the only time anyone ever tried to talk to me. I would usually be the one bothering the other children.

Maybe they think I’m mean, too. Just like Miss Natalia and all the other ladies Papa brought home to take care of me. It’s not my fault they don’t like me. Papa does, and I make him mad all the time!

I kicked a rock, and it lodged itself in a barrel. I panicked and checked my belongings for anything I could seal the hole with. I looked around when I found nothing, checking for any witnesses.

The barrel seemed to belong to a gruff-looking man smoking from a pipe. He turned away and entered his home, and I turned to a nearby alleyway. I hoped to get home before anyone could see what I’d done.

“Hey!”

Spotted. Of course I am! If they catch me, Papa’s gonna have to pay again. Papa won’t be able to eat again.

I started to run and tripped over nothing. I placed a hand on the wall beside me to steady myself and turned back to my pursuer. I widened my eyes when I recognized his pitch black hair and pale gray eyes. He looked as prim and proper as before, and he was taller than I was now.

“Finley… I knew it was you! Are you alright?”

I stepped back slightly as he ran to greet me. He stopped a short distance away, no doubt because of my hesitance. He squinted his eyes as if trying to read my mind before smiling brightly.

“Are you worried about the barrel? Don’t worry, I fixed it for you!”

Oh… huh?

“H-how… why?”

“It was easy. I can show you how, if you would like?”

I walked up to where he stood and peered around him to see the barrel. The rock was gone, and there were no signs of the damage I’d done.

“Whoa. How’d you do that?”

The boy stepped back and pointed at the goggles on my head. Papa had gifted them to me for my tenth birthday. I had complained because they were a little big, but he told me I’d grow into them. Unfortunately, their size caused them to fall and crack just a few days later.

“My goggles…?”

“Yeah, hold them out.”

I removed the goggles from my head and held them out toward Matthias. He pointed at them, and his hand began to glow. With a move of his finger, the wispy tendrils of light enveloped my goggles. I opened my mouth in shock, confused as to what I was seeing.

Is this… magic? It looks so cool!

The light disappeared, and I checked the place where he pointed. The large crack was gone, and the glass even had a new shine to it. I looked up at the boy, who smirked with a shine in his eyes.

“See? Pretty cool, right? The elders say I’m a prodigy, which apparently means I’m way better than everyone else. Even the Queen thinks so.”

“You know the Queen?”

“A little.”

I thanked Matthias for his help with both the barrel and my broken goggles. He crossed his arms and talked about his magical prowess with confidence, even boasting that he’d made the glass stronger than steel. I laughed and listened to him ramble on until the sun disappeared and the moon rose high above us.

~~~

A short while passed, and the two of us became great friends. Papa would often tease me over supper, but he always seemed cautious around Matthias. It was as if he was afraid I’d mess everything up, as if he didn’t trust me to keep the only friend I ever had.

Although we only met about once a week, Matthias sent me letters detailing his life in the Arcane Sanctuary. Nothing he told me was short of amazing, and I felt ashamed whenever I wrote him back about my own life.

Day in and day out, I worked with Papa to care for animals at a rich man’s farm. He paid us with food, which tasted much better than anything from the slums. At first, Papa didn’t want me to help, but I refused to stay away and let him do all the work.

On the day of my twelfth birthday, there was a frantic knocking at our door during supper. Papa opened it, and I saw his eyes widen in fear. It was the first time I ever saw him look that way.

A woman’s voice came through, calling my name. I hid behind Papa and peered up at her. The skinny woman smiled and clasped her hands before holding them out to grab me. I stepped back as she threw her arms around me and cried.

“Oh, Finley. My precious baby, what has happened to you? Why do your hands have painful blisters, and your hair is cut so short? Don’t worry, Mama’s here for you now. I won’t let you suffer anymore.”

I shook with a mess of swirling emotions. My hands slowly lifted and wrapped around the nice-smelling woman. Her hair, the same color as my own, fell halfway down her back. I touched it and held it in my right hand. The strands were softer than my own clothes.

~~

I stopped seeing Matthias for a while, and even stopped working with Papa. I still wrote letters, but I spent most of my time getting to know my mother. She was Papa’s daughter; I could see it in her eyes and her gentle smile. We had a lot of good days together, but I noticed that Papa didn’t like her keeping me close all day. They barely talked to each other whenever I was around.

When I next met Matthias, my mother followed close behind me. She insisted on meeting my only friend, and mumbled regularly about how it must be her fault I never made more. When I told her my friend was a boy, she wouldn’t let me leave the house without a ‘proper outfitting.’

“Finley, there you are. Who’s this?”

“Oh my.”

Before I could answer, my mother charged forward and grabbed the medallion resting between Matthias’s clavicle. He looked at me helplessly, his gray eyes wavering slightly. I stepped forward and placed a hand on my mother’s back.

“Mother? Matthias is a mage from the Arcane Sanctuary. He’s a really good one, too.”

I smiled big and tried to see my mother’s face. I heard her begin to mumble, and furrowed my brow. She quickly stood up straight and grabbed my hand. Her hand was sweaty, and her tight grip began to make me uncomfortable.

“Finny, let’s go home now. Mama forgot something important.”

A cold chill ran down my spine as I watched her talk. Her smile was tight, and I noticed the malice that seeped from her sickly-sweet voice. I tried to look at Matthias, but she pushed her way between us to hide him from my view. I nodded reluctantly, and she hurried away with my hand still held tightly within her own.

I turned back as we walked home and saw Matthias’s worried expression. He lifted his hand slightly, and I resisted the desire to force my way out of my mother’s grip.