The old man opened the door and found a pair of odd-looking little women on his doorstep.
“Arnold Smith?” One asked, consulting a clipboard.
“Yes.”
“Son of Laverne Smith?”
“She passed twenty years ago, but yes. What’s this about?”
“Eighty years ago, for services rendered, your mother promised her firstborn son to Faerie. We’ve come to collect.”
“Little late, aren’t you?”
The two faeries shared a glance. “The paperwork got lost.”
One of them held out a hand. Arnold paused. But what did he have to lose? As he took it, he found that his hip had finally stopped hurting.

“Faerie Ring” by Marion Doss is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Everyday Drabbles © 2019-2026 Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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