1 They were fairies

They weren't like in my stories. There they tell you fairies are very pretty and have little dresses, and that was not true. They were red and naked, and had very long wings, and they flew everywhere, and it sounded like this:

VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…

like a helicopter, and their house was inside a big, big tree, and when they grew tired they go there.

I approached them.

"Hi! I'm Pepe. I'm 8 years old, but everyone think I'm older.

The fairies were flying everywhere and weren't listening to me.

"You're not like in my stories. Are there a lot of different fairies? Maybe there are as many as dogs. There's big dogs and small dogs and black and white and furry and many, many more. I'm afraid of the 'cause they're big and bark a lot.

The fairies kept flying.

I left my bags on the grass.

"I really, really like fairies; they are on the stories my mom used to read me. She doesn't read them to me anymore. I have them at home. I can bring them some time if you want. They are in a big, big book. I'm always reading it. But it's very old. Sometimes the pages fall off. I've already lost some of them. I don't remember what they say.

The fairies weren't listening to me. They were probably busy, and it was already late.

"Well, bye. Tomorrow I'll bring you the book."

I went home.

I arrived home and opened the door and I used the bench to leave the keys on the key handle. Then I when to the kitchen and store all the groceries I bought: the beans go in the storage, next to the rice; the butter and the cream go both in the fridge, next to the milk; the beef goes in the freezer, behind the oldest meat, and the eggs on the nest, behind the oldest eggs. I grabbed the bags, folded them and put it in the drawer we kept them.

I approached Rodri. He was sitting on the floor, throwing his toys down the stairs.

"Come here; you're too close to the stairs," I told him.

Rodri saw me and got near me. Poor little thing. He had some very bad bruises. That's why every time I went to buy groceries, I bought him some candy with the change. I used to tell mom about it, but she got always mad and told me: "who told you to buy him that trash? You'd take care of him. He's your brother. And all I have to do to get that money. And also you're buying him the expensive ones", that's why I stopped telling her, and she didn't even noticed.

"Gimme, gimme," Rodri put both his hands inside my pockets and searched for his candy until he found it. He was very happy. "Memanems. Memanems."

"Give them back; let me open them.

Rodri gave me his M&M's, and I opened them and gave them back. Rodri grabbed a bunch of M&M's and put them all in his mouth, but some of them fell to the floor.

"Don't drop them; you may trip."

Rodri glanced at the M&M's on the floor and grabbed them.

"Don't eat those; they're dirty."

"Mine."

"But they're dirty; you'll get sick."

"MINE!"

Sometimes he was so stubborn and yelled a lot. I didn't like him that way. But I never told him. He was still a kid. And if we yelled that much we'd wake up mom.

Rodri ate the M&M's on the floor.

"Hey, Rodri, I saw some fairies today."

Rodri was very happy.

"Where?"

"In the park near here. They were by the big tree."

"What tree?"

"The big one. It's where no one goes."

"And how they look like?"

I told him they were red and naked and everything else.

"Are they little devils?"

"No. They're fairies."

"Fairies are not red."

These ones are. There are a lot of different fairies.

"Can we play?"

"Later; I have to do my homework."

"NO! PLAY!"

I turned the TV on and turned down the volume.

"Just watch TV."

Rodri grabbed the TV remote and turned up the volume.

"No, Rodri, don't turn it up; mom's gonna wake up.

"Mom's mean."

Rodri started watching TV, and I started my homework. After a while, mom got up and gave us some cereal and went to her job.

After we dined, Rodri and I went to the bathroom, and I brushed my teeth and then I helped Rodri to brush his. I don't like him to do it by himself because he only eats the toothpaste.

We went to our room.

"Let's play."

"No; it's too late. Let's go get some sleep."

"NO! PLAY!"

I didn't listen to him because mom was gone.

"PLAY!"

I kept doing my homework.

Rodri threw a tantrum and ran away.

"Don't run; you're gonna get hurt," and I chased him. He was yelling and laughing and running even faster.

So I laid on the floor and yelled:

"Oh, no, I'm too tired. Rodri, help me, I'm dying," and I closed my eyes and stick my tongue out.

Rodri approached me. He was laughing quietly. I didn't move, and Rodri approached me more and more, and when he was very, very near I grabbed him and started tickling him.

"Stop, Pepe, stop!" Rodri was yelling and laughing.

I kept tickling him until I got tired. We stayed on the floor for a while.

Then I got up.

"Come; I wanna read you a story."

"No, I wanna play."

"I'd better turn on the TV."

"Ok."

We go back to our room. I turned on the TV, and I kept doing my homework.

When I finished Rodri was already asleep. I turned off the TV.

"Rodri. Rodri. Go to your bed."

Rodri was half awake. I grabbed him by the hand and took him to his bed, and he fell asleep.

Then I turned off the lights and laid on my bed and fell asleep.

The next day I went to school. I got bored and started to draw fairies, but teacher saw me.

"Hey, Pepe, we're all reading now. What are you doing?"

"No, nothing, miss."

"Bring me that."

I gave her my notebook.

"Oh, so you were drawing all this time. And what's this? ¿Monsters?

"They're fairies."

Everyone laughed.

"Silence, everyone."

Everyone laughed quieter and quieter until no one was laughing anymore.

"Go to your place and start reading."

I went back to my desk.

"And give me your notebook. I'll give it to you after class.

I gave her my notebook and started reading.

When class was over, the teacher gave me my notebook back.

"Here. But don't get distracted anymore. If you want to draw, draw at home; here we come to study.

I left my notebook in my backpack and went to the patio with Raúl y Pablo. They were in my class, and we always hanged out on recess.

"Hey," said Pablo, "you were drawing fairies?"

"Fairies are fer kids," said Raúl. "I used to draw Sonic, but imma big boy now, and I do big boy stuff."

I asked him what was that big boy stuff.

"I watch nekked girls and mesturbate."

I asked him what was that.

"Is when u grab ur dick for a while and it feels so good. I also do it w/my girl. She has very big tats, and ass. And and and I get'er nekked and we get in bed and kiss in our mouths, and i grab her tats for like like two hours and."

"Hey," said Pablo. "What if we hang out at my place? My parents aren't home, and we can look at some girls online."

"Oh, neat," said Raúl. "Count me in."

"No," I said; "I have to take care of Rodri."

"Tell ur mom to do it," said Raúl, "thats her job."

"No, I'd better take care of Rodri."

"So bring him. Let him watch the good stuff."

Pablo and Raúl laughed. I got mad but didn't tell. They were always mocking Rodri because he was still a kid and didn't want to watch naked girls. I didn't like them that much.

I went to the big tree. I had my storybook.

I sat under the tree, but it was really hot. So I took off my school's sweater and started reading out loud.

The fairies were flying near me, and one of them got tired and laid on my arm. I kept reading, and the fairy stayed there for a while and then like it bit me or something because it hurt a lot.

I rubbed where the fairy bit me but it hurt way more. I checked my arm and I saw I had a really big bump.

And I kept reading, and the fairies flew closer and closer to me, and I could hear the

VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

louder and louder, and more fairies bit me, and I shoved them off, and it hurts so much, but I kept reading, and a lot of fairies laid on my arms and my face, and I shoved them off, and they laid there again, and they were more and more and:

"byeseeyoutomorrow," I grabbed my stuff and ran away. My arms hurt so, so much. I wanted to cry and scream, but there were many people, so I hid behind some bushes and cried very quietly.

I cried until it almost stopped hurting. Then I checked my arms and saw I had many, many bumps. I put my sweater on so my mom wouldn't see my arms and went home.

I opened the door and saw Rodri crying. Mom grabbed a cotton ball, put some alcohol on it and used it to rub Rodri's forehead.

"It's always the same with you. Can't you stay put for five minutes?"

I closed the door and mom heard it and saw me.

"And you, where have you been?"

"With the fairies."

"Don't lie to me. Where have you been?"

"In the park."

"And what were you doing there? "Don't you have a brother to take care of?"

"I was only there for a little while."

"Yeah, but that little while was enough for your brother to injure himself. And what do you have there?"

It was my storybook.

"Nothing."

"How that can be nothing? What do you have there?

"Nothing."

"Is it? So give it to me."

I hugged my book.

"No."

"Give it to me or else."

"NO!" I ran away and locked myself in the bathroom.

Mom has hitting the door very hard.

"Open the door, José Luis! Open the door!"

Mom kept hitting the door, but I didn't open her."

"Well, ok, it's your funeral," and she left.

I was hidden in the shower, and was weeping quietly."

Mom came back and opened the door with the key.

I put both hands in my mouth to make less noise, but she ran to the shower and got in and grabbed my arm, and it hurt so, so, so much.

"NO, MOM! NO! NO!! PLEASE, PLEASE!!

She took my storybook.

"Now you'll get it," she pulled my arm and put me over her bended legs and spanked me a lot of times. I cried and yelled tried to run away, but mom spanked me harder and harder.

Then she let loose, and I stayed on the floor crying.

You're a big boy now, Pepe, and Rodri's still a kid. Take care of him. I can't do it all alone," and she left.

I stayed on the floor crying.

Rodri laid beside me. He put his forehead on my back.

"You ok?"

"Yes, but mom deflated my butt."

Rodri laughed.

"Now they look like tortillas."

We laughed.

"And you," I turned myself over and asked him, "are you ok, or it's still hurting?"

"No. It barely hurts now."

"Good. But do be careful; you're gonna get hurt one day."

"I can handle it. I'm super strong."

"Oh, yeah? Well, I'm super mega strong."

"You're lying."

"No, it's true. I'm super mega strong and I can beat you."

"Nuh-uh."

"Ya-uh. Look at my strenght," I grabbed Rodri and started tickling him, and he started tickling me, and we laughed and yelled until we got tired.

I told Rodri what happened with the fairies.

"They're mean," he told me.

"They aren't mean. It's just that they wanted to hear the full story, and my book's missing some pages. That's why they got angry. And there aren't mean fairies. They're all good.

"No, those ones are mean."

"I'll apologize to them tomorrow."

"They're mean."

"THEY ARE NOT MEAN!"

I scared Rodri, and he was about to cry.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Rodri. Look: tomorrow I'll take you to see them, and I'll buy you some M&M's and a Snicker's and whatever you want, but don't cry. I'm sorry, I��m sorry, I'm sorry.

And I hugged Rodri, and Rodri didn't cry.

We went to the big tree, and there were the fairies. Rodri saw them and got very happy. He chased them a little and grabbed one, but he dropped it and started crying.

"THEY'RE MEAN, THEY'RE MEAN!"

"Why did you grabbed them? They get angry."

Rodri stared at me.

"YOU'RE MEAN, YOU'RE MEAN!" and he ran away. I had to grab him, because he was going to the highway. I could barely carry him because he was too chubby. "LET ME GO, YOU'RE MEAN!" He was yelling and squirming, and that's why he fell off. "YOU DROPPED ME!"

"It was your fault," I told him and tried to carry him again. "Stay still."

"LET ME GO!"

"Can't you stall still for five minutes? I want to help you."

"LET ME GO!"

I let him go.

"Well, let's see who treats you that bump."

Rodri looked at this hand; he had a bump as big as mines. He cried even louder.

"Come, then," I told him.

Rodri stopped crying, and I grabbed his other hand, and we went home. I took a cotton ball, I filled it with alcohol, and rubbed it against his hand, but Rodri cried so, so loud and ran away.

"YOU'RE MEAN, I HATE YOU!!

"What's going on?" Mom yell from her bedroom.

"No, nothing."

Rodri kept crying somewhere.

"What did you do to him, Pepe?"

"Nothing, he just grabbed a fairy."

"Again with the fairies."

Mamá went looking for Rodri and came back. She was carrying him. She went to the kitchen and put some ice on Rodri's bump.

"What were you two doing, then?"

"No, nothing. It's the fairies fault."

"Again with the fairies. Where were you two, then?"

"Near the big tree."

"What big tree?"

"The one in the park."

"And who gave you both permission to go there?"

"We were just looking at the fairies."

"Were you? Ok, so I want to see 'em, too."

I didn't say anything.

"Let's go see 'em. Where are they?"

"Now?"

"Yes, now. Let's go."

"I don't want to go," said Rodri.

"What makes you think you're going? Stay in your room; we'll be right back."

Mom took Rodri to our room and came back.

"Ok," said mom—. "Let's go."

We went to the park and passed the slides and the see-saws and we got near the big tree.

"So," said mom, "Where are those fairies? No, you'd better come back here: don't get near that wasp nest."