#qwertycake

Myrtle went straight from work to Oliver’s house and knocked on the front door. Her parents knew Oliver’s telephone number, and his house was the first place they would call if they wanted to know where she was, but she didn’t think they would be home for an hour or two yet. 

He answered the door right away and ushered her inside. 

“Why do you look so nervous, Oliver? And where’s your friend?” she said, looking around the foyer and peering into the living room. 

“I just hope this works,” Oliver said. “And he’s here. Why don’t we go into the living room and I can explain?” 

“Okay!” Myrtle said, moving to follow him. She paused as she thought she heard a voice, muffled as if from another room, saying “…here! You sure… going to work…boy?” 

She frowned as she entered the living room, still looking around. “I don’t see him, but I thought I heard…”

“Mr. Drippy is invisible,” Oliver blurted out. “He’s magical, but I think you might be able to see him if you look real hard, Myrtle. You can hear him, can’t you?” 

“Invisible,” Myrtle repeated. She supposed that made sense, but it was harder to swallow than doors unlocking themselves and talking dogs. Still… “I can hear something, but I thought I was imagining it… Is that really your friend?” 

Oliver nodded, looking relieved. “He talks kinda funny, right? Like he’s from someplace far away.”

“He does!” Myrtle said in surprise. “I think I’ve heard him before when I’ve been around you. Does he go places with you a lot, Oliver?” 

“Yes, he’s one of my oldest friends! We go almost everywhere together,” Oliver said. 

Myrtle smiled. She knew boys who liked to play tricks, especially on girls who had a history of oddness like she did, but Oliver wasn’t one of them. She could tell he was entirely sincere, and if Oliver spoke the truth, then she wanted to meet this old friend of his who talked in a funny way. 

“Okay,” she said. “Where is he? Can he hear me?” 

“He’s right next to me, and he says he can hear you.” Oliver paused. “He says he can hear and see you and he’s ‘proper excited’ to meet you.” He paused again. “And he wants you to know the way he talks isn’t funny. It’s humans who talk funny. I don’t think that’s true, Mr. Drippy.” 

Myrtle laughed, squinting at the space beside Oliver he had gestured to. “What do you mean humans? Is he not a human? Is he a magical creature?”

“He’s a fairy,” Oliver said. “Maybe if I tell you what you’re looking for—“

“… LORD… HIGH LORD…” 

“I heard him again!” Myrtle said excitedly. “Lord? High lord? What does that mean?” 

“He wants you to know that he’s lord of the fairies,” Oliver said. He leaned in close to Myrtle to whisper, “But fairies are liars so I wouldn’t worry about it.” 

Myrtle held back a giggle. 

“Mr. Drippy is about this big,” Oliver said, making a shape about the size of a loaf of bread with his hands. “He’s yellow, and he has a lantern on his nose. Mr. Drippy, can I pick you up so Myrtle knows where you are? Yes, I think it’s going to work. Myrtle’s soulmate is a Great Sage’s daughter. You said so yourself!” 

“You say such funny things, Oliver,” Myrtle said, smiling. “What on earth is a Great Sage?” 

Oliver stopped in the process of bending down and said, “Oh, uh, it’s complicated. It’s like a really powerful wizard. Mr. Drippy could explain it better.”

He made a gesture like he was scooping up a small animal like a cat and straightened back up only with nothing visibly in his hands. It was entertaining to watch. 

“He’s right here,” Oliver said, holding out his hands. 

Myrtle squinted, trying to imagine something yellow with a lantern. She didn’t know exactly what she was supposed to be picturing. A little person? An animal? 

“…here! Howdy-do! It’s me, Drippy, Lord High Lord of the Fairies!” The oddly accented voice was much louder now, like it was right in front of her. 

“Hello, Mr. Drippy,” Myrtle said politely. “I can hear you, but I still can’t see you. Do you think it would be okay if I put my hand out to try and find you?” 

“Yeah, alright, just don’t go and jostle my lantern too much,” the voice said. 

It was unnerving to hear his voice so clearly yet be unable to see where it was coming from. Nervously, Myrtle held out her hand, palm facing Oliver, and slowly moved it toward where she guessed the fairy was. 

It hit something soft and round, and she gasped and lifted her hand, brushing it against cool metal. A lantern? She squinted and thought she could make out the glow. 

She looked at Oliver questioningly. “I can feel that he’s there but…” 

She glanced back down and jumped in surprise when she saw her hand was resting on the front of a small yellow creature with a long nose, a round body, and tiny limbs. “Ah!” she gasped, stumbling backward. “It worked!” 

“You can see him?” Oliver said, delighted. 

“Of course, she can!” said the fairy who was sitting in Oliver’s hands. “Lookit her face! She can’t believe her eyes.” 

“You’re real,” Myrtle said, eyes round as saucers. “I thought you were, but I wasn’t quite sure… Haha! This is wonderful!” 

The fairy—Mr. Drippy—hopped down from Oliver’s outstretched palms and bounded over to her. 

“As I was saying. Drippy, lord high lord of the fairies, at youer service.” 

“It’s very nice to meet you. My name is Myrtle,” she said. 

“Yeah, I know that. Just because I was invisible doesn’t mean I can’t hear you,” he said. “I’ve been around for all of Ollie-boy’s little adventures. I remember back when you used to be ol’ Starey Mary!” 

“Mr. Drippy!” Oliver scolded. “Be polite!” 

“Oh,” Myrtle said. “It sounds like you know about who I am already. Will you tell me more about you? Like how you met Oliver?” 

“Oh, yeah, there’s a good story. Me and Ollie-boy go way back. So before I knew Ollie-boy, I was friends with his mum, Alicia. You knew her as Allie, innit? We were on a quest to defeat the Dark Djinn together, only he cursed me and turned me into a doll, which is how me and Ollie-boy here met, way back when he was just a little cry baby bunting,” Drippy explained. 

Myrtle had a lot of follow up questions, chief among them who was the Dark Djinn and how did he turn Mr. Drippy into a doll, but she let him keep talking. 

“Alicia gave me to him, and we became friends right away. I was his trusted confidant and advisor like. Then when Allie passed away—bless her soul—the time was finally right for me to assume my magnificent true form that you see here before you.” 

“He turned back into a fairy a few days after Mom died,” Oliver explained. 

“And then we were off on ouer little adventure and the rest is history, innit?” the fairy said, sounding very pleased with himself. 

“Wow,” Myrtle said. “That is a good story. I’m glad Oliver had a friend like you with him, Mr. Drippy, especially after his mom passed away.” 

“I am too,” Oliver said. “And thanks to Mr. Drippy’s help, I was able to meet you too, and now we’re all friends. So no one has to be alone.” 

“Ah, Ollie-boy, you ol’ softie, you’ll get me welling up,” Drippy said, sniffing. 

“Well, it’s true,” Oliver said. “Losing Mom was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with, but it brought me closer to both of you. I think Mom would be glad to know that I’m not alone, especially that I have you to look out for me, Mr. Drippy.” 

Drippy gave a big sniff. “Ta, Ollie-boy.”

Myrtle smiled, feeling warmth in her heart. She was honored to be invited to meet someone so important to Oliver and his late mother. A fond silence stretched for a moment before she spoke. 

“I don’t know if this is a bad time, but… Who is the Dark Djinn?” she said. 

“Who is the Dark Djinn!” Drippy repeated. “Now there’s a question and a half—” 

“It’s a long story,” Oliver said thoughtfully. “But I’d be happy to tell you, Myrtle.  It begins with a man named Lucien…”