“Is that… a Unicorn..?”
Sunshine basked the buildings, bringing in the afternoon from the sunny morning. Mostly everybody was outside going about their daily business such as going to markets, having breakfast at the restaurants, or young kids having fun with their own friends either by playing in their backyard, playing castle, or skateboarding down the empty street. Everyone else who remained inside were either busy with their own activities or were just working at home.
The sun’s warm rays caressed every surface of the two houses across the street from each other. The windows that had been covered during the day were opened allowing fresh air to flow into the rooms and fill them up a bit more. It was the same routine for both families; if it wasn’t raining then they’d go out and have a cup of coffee or tea before getting ready for the rest of the day. This morning was different though; no rain could be heard from outside even on this very bright day as everyone seemed intent on going about their normal routines with no sign of any upcoming storm.
A giant park was filled with Kids playing with their friends, parents and siblings. Son’s and daughter’s with their Mothers and Fathers pushing their children on swings, birds eating seeds off the ground from an elderly woman pulling more seeds off of her bag.
A man was down on his knees holding a tiny black box and showing it to the women he loved; everyone would already know what’s bound to happen between those two, but still, you never know when love is bound to come. The woman squealed like a fangirl when the man asked her to marry him, and she instantly accepted the offer.
A group of girls walked by laughing and talking about a date night they’re planning for Saturday night. On the corner sat a couple of young men who had decided to take advantage of the weather and walk around town together. They didn’t plan on making much conversation and only talked to talk about the future plans of the next big event they had planned for next year.
A young man was sitting on a bench watching the two now engaged couples from a-far. He wore clean white shoes, black jeans, a long-sleeve white shirt underneath his grey charcoal coat. His skin was brightly green and he bore a deep-black question mark on his forehead. He was usually called in proper manner as Mr. Anonymous. But those who knew him call him by his first name: Anon.
Anon had a soft smile plastered on his face; he’d always enjoyed seeing happy couples. Today however, he was too absorbed to notice anything else than his phone buzzing repeatedly in his pocket. He reached down and pulled out his phone, opening the messages app and clicking ‘Read’. He held his hand against the screen to shade it a little from the blinding sunlight and saw that a text from one of his close friends had arrived.
From: Halsey
Hey Anon! Can you believe it’s almost May! I can hardly wait till Summer! I hope we all can have lots of fun! Wish me luck~! xxxx
To: Halsey
I wish you the best of luck. I do not think that your luck will ever run short, but I also know that the universe has a way of working its magic. I wish you all the best. Have fun!
Anon set his phone down and let the wind play whipped by his ears. His eyes followed the people passing by him but kept them on the ground until suddenly someone called from behind.
“Yo Anon!”
He looked over his shoulder and saw a familiar figure. He wore an orange tangerine jacket, blue jeans, a beanie over his head and had black gloves to keep his hands warm. One eye was normal on the right, a perfect chocolate brown color. The one on the left was the opposite, they were contacts.
“Ace, what’re you doing here?” Anon asked with bewilderment.
“Came to see you best buddy,” Ace responded before jumping over the bench landing safely while putting his hands over his head and letting out a relaxing sigh. “You didn’t answer any of my calls! Sooooo I decided to find you here, since this is your "secret" spot.”
Anon folded his arms, raising a brow at him. “And how did you know this was my 'secret,' spot?”
He hummed for what felt like two minutes tapping his finger to his chin.
“I don’t know, I just guessed.” He replied, shrugging his shoulders. Anon let out a sigh before turning away from Ben and staring at the ground.
“What do you want Ace? Shouldn’t you be with Mia right now?” He asked him, wondering what brought him here when he’s with his boyfriend during Tuesday’s. Ben’s expression changes from a smile to a pouty face. He huffed then turned away from anon, crossing his arms like a wimpy five year old.
“Well! If you must know Mia is out of town and she won’t be back until Christmas,” Ace responded, “Ugh and I miss her already too!” He cried. “I was gonna go take her out for dinner, go ice skating with her and—“
Ace stopped noticing Anon biting his lips holding in a few chuckles. He felt blood rushing through his cheeks feeling a bit embarrassed glaring at his chuckling pal.
“W-What!?”
Anon lifted his head to face him. “You’re such a white knight Ben.”
“S-Shut up!” Ace shouted, rolling his body around bringing his arms to a cross. There was a moment of silence between the two and Ben changed the subject. “Look um, you sure you’re doing okay? You know, after what happened?” Ace asked with a bit of concern in his voice. He turned to Ace, his face filled with worry; he knew what he was talking about and Anon didn’t want to bring it up again, not now. He placed his palm on his shoulder smiling at him.
“I’m fine.” He reassuringly said to him. Ace sighs out of relief, letting all the worry be lifted from his shoulders. The air had felt thick between them as time went by. None of them said anything since Ace had arrived. The only sounds they listened to were the kids playing through the park and the cold breeze that seemed to blow through the town. And then like a light bulb an idea came to sparked in his mind.
“Hey you know I was thinking. We should get you a dog!”
Anon blinked. “A dog?”
“Yeah! Dogs make everyone’s lives better, my sister’s got a dog, my grandma has a dog and they made them happy so I’m sure it’ll do the same for you!” Ben said, hoping to convince him. A part of him wasn’t sure about the idea let alone having a pet; the last time Anon had a pet was that time he had a goldfish when he was four. Anon left his fish for a few minutes to head into the bathroom but when he came back he found his fish being swallowed whole by his neighbor's cat Vicky. Those were bad days that he’d never want to go through again.
“I’m not sure...” Anon responded.
“Huh?” Ace looked at Anon with a perplexed look while scratching his head. “Why not? Dogs are awesome!?”
“Yeah I know,” he explained before Anon stood up and walked past him. “I just don’t think I’m ready for that kind of responsibility.”
“But wait!” Ace followed after him and stopped him by waving his hands. He reaches for his pocket and pulls out a card, he places it on the palm of Anon’s hand and closes it. “Here.” He said before rolling his body around and walked to the other direction.
“W-What— Ace!” Anon turned to his shoulder watching Ben leave. “What is this!?”
“Get yourself a dog Anon! Trust me! It’ll all be worth it!” He shouted without looking at him and kept walking straight.
Anon was alone once again. What was that all about? Why was Ben so eager for him to get a new pet; he doubted having a pet would somehow cheer him up let alone having a dog in his apartment. Anon looked down at the card he’d given him and read the logo.
Pet’s field.
There was an address on the card, this place is out of town and it’s not too far from where he is. He let out a defeated sigh and shoved the card down in his pocket before heading off.
Anon finally made it to his destination; there weren’t many cars nearby so he was the only one in the parking-lot. After he’d stepped out of his vehicle he made his way towards the double doors before pushing through them gently and hearing the bell ring.
One of the employees saw him come in and stepped towards him with a smile on their faces. She wore her uniform with her name-badge on the right side of her chest, her hair was wrapped up in a ponytail and had mascara on her eyes.
“Hello sir.” She greeted “How may I serve you today?”
“Oh nothing really, I'm just here to look around.” He replied.
“Are you here to find a new pet?”
“I guess I am..”
“Well then you came to the right place! Whatever you want to get, whether it’s a dog or kitten, reptile, whatever you desire you’ll find them in the next room.”
He looked to his left where the girl pointed the door straight ahead. He nodded to the girl in front of him and made his way towards it. On the way there he started thinking about what kind of pet he wanted. He still wasn’t sure about having a dog and cats were out of the question since he’s allergic to them. Maybe a husky? He always loved huskies, he always wanted to have one ever since he was little.
Yes, a husky would be enough.
As he turned the knob while pulling the door open he entered. His ears were filled by so many noises: there were many barks and meows from left to right, birds chirping and humming loudly and wolves howling along with their cubs joining with them. As he walked down the hall passing all of their holding pins he began looking at them one by one.
On the fifth pin was a bull-dog wagging his tail while panting very heavily. The sixth pin was a golden retriever who was also wagging its tail and panting but when she saw him she got excited and almost jumped at him but only to be blocked by the metal bars. The seventh pin was a small horse sitting in the corner of the room and—
Wait, a horse?
“What the Hell..?”
Sitting in the corner of the kennel was a live lavender horse: it’s coat was covered in dirt and looked like it hadn't been combed in a while including her mane and tail. The light within her eyes was gone as if a part of her soul left her body; how sad it was for him to look at the spirit within her was undoubtedly broken, she barely even noticed Anon looking at her.
Anon looked up at its head and was shocked when he found that it wasn't a horse. It’s a Unicorn? Are you kidding me?! He thought to himself as he continued to study its appearance. He saw that it had an odd marking on its flank. But with the splotch of mud blocking it he couldn’t tell what it was. The very first thing Anon thought besides the fact that there was an actual real pony sitting inside the kennel was: How the heck did it get here? Where did it come from? Is this even real? What is going on?!
“What happened to you..?”
“Unbelievable, isn’t it?”
Anon heard a voice from behind him instinctively whipping around facing a man in a black suit and blue tie. He wore a button on the right side of his chest resembling the logo for the store, his eyes were chocolate brown behind his glasses as he adjusted them in the proper position. His hair was slicked back and he wore a matching blue bowtie with green shirt tucked inside his dark red waistcoat. His posture and face were professional, his clothes were neat and his shoes shined under the bright lights.
"Hmmm." Anon said nonchalantly. "I'm guessing I can't say no to something like this?"
“Obviously not. She’s been like this for a month now,” said the owner. Least Anon learns she’s a female.
“What happened to her?” He asked, looking at the man curiously.
“Come, let's have some tea.” He responded without answering his question and passed by Anon leaving him with all the animals.
Anon looked back at the broken unicorn one last time before exiting the room.
One month ago
MONDAY
11:47AM
The Moon. Its round white circular form moved ever so slowly behind the tip of the mountain as its main rival had finally spun around the other side of the planet. Small dotted lights began to sparkle in the sky going in a straight line spreading miles and miles. When the moon had reached the top it’s movement had slowed to a halt till it stood floating above the earth then the source of its light spread far from mountain—to town. All boys and girls were on their way home with their mother’s and father’s by their side after leaving school. All sales-men in the market and shopkeepers closed up and galloped along home to call it a night.
At an empty parking-lot stood a small store: Armies pet-store.
All the employees that were there minutes ago had finished their routine within the store and headed home, leaving one individual inside.
Their boss, Drake Henson.
Before going they asked if he was coming along but said he was going to stay behind and finish some of his paperwork before driving back home to his family; they agreed—leaving him to finish his activities. Once he was done putting all of his paperwork to the side,working on his computer & taking a few calls from other companies, making deals—setting up meetings with them, he decided to call it a day.
He made sure to turn off all the lights. Checking if the bathrooms were clean and all the dogs, cats, birds, critters, and reptiles were well fed. When everything seemed in place to him Drake locks up the store, exits the building then sighed with a mix of satisfaction and exhaustion he walked towards his car.
“You sir had a long day.” Said Drake under his breath, making his way towards his truck. On the way he wondered what his wife would make for dinner once he reached home. Probably a plate of crab-legs, or sushi? Maybe a bowl of spaghetti with bread or possibly—
By the grip of the door handle, is when he stopped in his tracks. There was no doubt that he heard something just now. His head tilted up in a slow take, then turned behind him scanning the area around him but found none of the source he heard. After a few seconds of confusion, the source returned clearer this time, and Drake was able to identify the noise. He was left in wonder when he picked out what he was hearing.
It sounded like... whimpering?
Indeed, someone was crying... but where? He tried to look harder for the source but couldn't find it anywhere; he looked to his left to find nothing, looked to his right to find nothing. Looked under his car—looked to the sidewalk if anyone was passing by and found nothing! Then he rolled his body around. His eyes focus on the dumpster.
Maybe from over there? He thought to himself. He walked towards the dumpster taking it slowly in his approach, as he drew closer he took a turn to his left.
When both Drake’s eyes lowered his world went slow, both his eyes widened as his mind couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Laying tiredly on the ground was a small lavender horse. As Drake stood there studying it’s features he noticed a few things: cuts and bruises from its hooves to its back, it’s coat covered in dirt. Their eyes were puffy due to the many times it was crying. But wait he thought in his head as he noticed something sticking out of it’s forehead, a horn.
It was a unicorn? A Real Live unicorn?! This was blasphemy to Drake, he never believed in fairytales like the tooth fairy, Pegasus, unicorns or any kind living-other worldly creatures that would just be proven false in reality; and yet here it was, laying injured, crying, sitting before his very eyes.
This was such a shocking discovery, and he would be lying if he wasn’t in awe.
Wait... did it stop whimpering?
Drake came back from his thoughts looking down at the lavender, finding his answer straight there. Their eyes met each other—very tense the scene was but this small horse was more surprised to see him there than he was. He swore to the all-mighty that as soon as it noticed him it turned a tail and galloped, but due to it’s injuries it didn’t get far as it tripped on it’s hooves.
Without hesitating he sprinted—tackling the small thing in his grasp. The lavender unicorn struggled to break free using a bit of its strength to almost hit the man, but it was no use. He could tell all of the unicorn’s energy was drained and it was too weak to go on and eventually it passed out. When Drake notices this he lets go of the small creature and just stands there rubbing his hand on the nape of his neck pacing back and forth.
Pacing around he thought. What should he do? Should he bring it home? But what would he tell his wife and children? No! It would be bad enough if anyone knows about this. As if now he can’t tell anyone—nor should anyone know of this unicorn’s existence, for it’s sake it has to be hidden safely. Gently he took the unicorn in his arm and carried it towards the pet-store almost without thinking.
“And for a while everytime I came back to work, I found her looking like… that; I’d say she’s grown used to my presence but doesn’t trust me going near her or even touching her.”
Anon took another sip of his tea then cleared his throat. “So, she was still like that before I got here?” He asked him in concern. The man nodded, answering his question, “Has anyone else seen her beside me?”
“No,” he replied. “You're the first one, however, I do hope that you don't speak of this to anyone, for her sake at-least. God knows what would happen if word went out that a living unicorn actually existed.”
Anon nodded to his advice assuringly. He’d given himself a moment to think about all the information he got from Drake. Those bruises, those cuts and all of that dirt. What did she go through that was so awful she ended up like that? Were there people hunting her, has she been abused by someone? The way she looked in that room there's a possibility that she was; no wonder the poor thing was so frightened of humans.
“What're you planning to do with her?” Anon asked.
“Well to be honest with you kid I really don't know.” He replied, shrugging his shoulders. “Nothing I do ain't seem to be doing anything for her so I got nothing.”
“Would you mind if I took her off your hands?”
Drake turned his head. His eyes widened, his brow shortly raised, he couldn't tell whether he was joking or being serious or both. He adjusted his glasses once again. “How do I know if I can trust you?”
“You don’t have to; and besides, I think she’ll be a lot safer with me than out here.” He told him and he wasn’t wrong. Sometimes in this world, it can be a cruel place to live in and it's hard to trust anyone nowadays: Anyone could have that one friend that could be so dear to them but they'll never know when or where they'll decide to stab you in the back and betray you and once that happens. Who do you think you can trust? Trust your friends, or yourself?
As minutes went by Drake took a long minute to think before making his decision. Once it was made he turned around to face Anon again smiling at him and said.
“Alright, she's all yours.” Drake said, accepting the offer. The two smiled at one another before the two shook hands slowly. “But a bit of advice, kid. Never let her out of your sight keep her close." He nodded and took his advice to heart. When Anon was ready to head out he stopped standing outside of the door turning his head at the owner.
“Also, I’m not a kid. I’m twenty-three now.” He said his smile unwavered. Realizing that he had probably just offended the man that he had first met, Drake immediately apologized while letting out a humble chuckle.
It took long enough for the sun to set over the horizon and the moon to take its place. Driving back to the store to pick up the lavender unicorn. Once Anon got there he found her sitting beside Drake's right leg facing down. He said his goodbyes to the owner and watched him get in his car and drove off leaving them in the dark. Anon let out a collective sigh then looked down at his new unicorn pet. He got down on one knee facing the broken lavender before taking her cheeks into his palms.
This action was enough for it to finally remove her eyes off the ground and stare blankly at him. To his ability He gave her the warmest smile and reassured her with kind words. “Don't worry, everything's going to be okay... I promise.”
Life from the engine slowly died down as they pulled to a stop near the apartment. Right thumb pressed the under plate buckle allowing him to pull the strap off from him and hosted back to its top pillar. Turning to his shoulder Anon met the eyes of a slight annoyed unicorn. Not just at him of course but what she was wearing.
She wore a brown furry coat of a dog with pale light-yellow under belly, the ears didn’t pass her neck, and parted away from her face so as to not obscure her vision. As a finishing touch three holes were cut open, twi for her eyes to see through, and one as an open space for her snout and jaw.
Anon shook his head and sighed.
“Come on, don't give me that look. This was the only thing I could think of for you to blend in through the crowd.” Anon said pointing at her costume, “Plus I think it fits you. Now come on, let's head inside.”
Left hand gripped the handle pulling it slightly and with a click unlocks it. Gently he pushes the door wide enough for him to exit with the unicorn behind him. The neighborhood was quiet due to almost everyone fast asleep as they made their way down the sidewalk, following the path straight forward, past the houses, quickly approaching the house where Anon lived.
As his house came to view his eyes darted to the other house next to his before smiling when he saw who it was.
Sitting on the bench was a middle-age woman, his neighbor Mrs Sadie Henson. She wore a long sleeve green cowl neck sweater, tight blue jeans that squeeze her thighs and legs. She also had her favorite grape t-strap heels on. Her hair was bobbed with baby bangs and two longer parts of hair on the side of her face. She possessed striking glamorous hazel eyes, and was endowed with mascara.
She turned to her left noticing Anon just as he took the fourth step then smiled at him warmly.
“Welcome back Mr Anonymous!” Sadie greeted him with a wave of her hand.
“Hey Mrs Henson,” Anon returned with a smile, “How’s your day been going out for you?”
“Oh, it’s been wonderful, dear thank you for asking.”
Sadie blinked when she thought her mind was playing tricks with her when she caught a unicorn in costume standing beside him.
“Oh you got yourself your own dog Anonymous?” She asked, looking at him curiously.
“Oh yes she’s—” Anon’s eyes flinch as he winces, feeling something pressing hard on his foot. Peering his eyes down he found the source. The unicorn’s hoof was planted on the middle hill of his shoe whilst looking up at him. Glaring at him with disapproval.
“My new pet.”
“Aww she looks so adorable,” She said, crossing both her arms, her smile transforming to a serious expression. “Well you take good care of it you hear? Having a pet can be a big responsibility.”
Anon nodded to her words of wisdom.
“I’ll be sure to remember that ma’am.”
“Okay have a good night.”
“You too.”
Twisting the knob and pulling the door open the small unicorn calmly galloped past him without being told. He followed suit, closing the door behind him before letting out a gentle sigh.
Home sweet home. Anon thought to himself, flicking the switch for the main area to be lighted up. He looked down at the quiet lavender facing the floor again; after he had gotten her by the blessing of Drake while driving back home she hadn't moved an inch from her passenger seat until they made it home. Now it's just him and her, no one else around. He got down on one knee and noticed something wrapped around her neck.
A Collar.
The leather had a dark blue-ish type of color that was covered behind all of the dirt, a tag was hanging around it but the name imprinted on it was hard to see through it all as well. But that wasn’t what made his nose twitch: Anon sniffed the air & the smell hit him like a brick. He knew that this pony smelled but he’d never known she smelled this dreadful, and that was a problem.
“Wow, you really do smell, huh?” Anon pointed out pinching his nose. Had he not turned away from the unicorn he would’ve noticed a slight twitch from her brow for what Anon said, letting out a quiet huff, “Wait in the living room, okay. I'm gonna go get the water running.”
Without being told twice the dirty unicorn followed his command, stood up on all fours and headed to the other room. As she removed her eyes off the floor she began scanning the room around her. There was a single circular couch with small pillows on each side with different shades of color.
Red and blue.
Two small tables with different items laying on top of them, a lamp that lit up the room & a few board games. She looked to her right and noticed a seventy-inch plasma tv sitting on a mantle; she turned to her left and saw a huge shelf carrying lots of books. Seeing this reminded her of someone, someone who she knew was, in fact, a complete bookworm. Her lips formed a small smile as her memories began playing in her head, but only for a moment as she heard Anon calling her.
“Alright, you can come now!”
The lavender unicorn rolled her body around exiting the room. She looked down the hallway and saw Anon sitting on a small chair waiting patiently. She trotted down the hall until she entered the room, before stopping in her tracks staring at the tub.
“Well go on, don't be shy.” Anon insisted on gesturing his hand in a circular rotation towards the tub.
She turned her shoulder at him for a split second before turning away and jumped in making a splash. Anon reached for the shower head beginning his session by spraying water over her mane and face while using his left hand to run his fingers over her mane rubbing all the dirt off, he’d made sure to spray some on her coat too. After wetting her completely he placed the head on the floor, turned to his right stretching his arm to reach for the bottled shampoo. Anon poured just enough in his palms, rubbed them together slowly before planting his hands on the nape of her neck.
She hums in approval, a bit comforted by his hands as they run down her neck with gentle care. As Anon made his way towards her mane he started brushing it with his fingers while watching the dirt slowly fading, seeing her colors shining once more. Last parts were her coat & tail and he didn't stop there. He sniffed the air and let out a sigh of satisfaction; the odor was gone and all that could be smelled was a freshly cleaned pony. Anon stood up from his chair and grabbed one of the rolled up towels that he hadn't used.
As soon as he turned around the lavender hopped off from the tub and prepped herself.
“Wait, don't—”
Anon’s sentence was cut off by her violently shaking her whole body like a rag-doll, water shooting off from her coat landing here & there getting all over the walls and floor. Once she ceased she steadied herself ready to leap only to have green palm be planted on her shoulder. She turned to her shoulder facing her anonymous caretaker then spotted what was on his right hand:
A big roll of bandages.
“Gotta treat those wounds first.” He said laying his hand out for her. Not waiting for the caretaker to tell her she places her right hoof on the palm of his hand.
Anon spent the last few minutes treating some small and big wounds around her body, he used a few Cue-tips with alcohol to carefully press down two medium size slashes on her hoof, one on her back, and the other on her left heel. She winces but fights through the stinging feeling of the alcohol, and the pain of her wounds. He finally wraps her up with big and small rolls of bandages although he made sure not to wrap them up too tight.
“Okay that should do it. You’re good to go.”
Taking the green light she steadied herself once again hopping out of the tub and exited the room leaving Anon and his clothes all wet. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked at the mess around the bathroom, he thought handling a pony would be easy like handling a dog. Oh, how wrong he is.
After two minutes spent in the bathroom, he headed upstairs towards his room deciding to call it a night. On the way, he found the little unicorn laying down in the middle of his bed already sound asleep. He couldn't help but smile at how cute she was as she sleeps peacefully, He walked up to her then crouched down before taking her hairline to his fingers caressing them gently. His eye twitched at the light coming from her tag and when he looked down at her collar, he could see those words clearly now. Anon began reciting them, slowly.
“Starlight. Starlight Glimmer?”
Anon’s eyes shot open. His face was buried in his wet pillow, stained from his sweat. He quivered as he very gently tried to lift himself up from the bed. He looked to find his bed was dry, save for his sweat.
He gently placed a palm to his face, feeling the still fresh sweat on his cheek—to his forehead. He shivered, still in shock at the sights he had seen.
“Who… who are…” The vivid images of the nightmare he had just slept through came back in his mind. Horrific cries rang vividly in his ears, the sound of cars colliding hardly together, and the flames burning furiously. Anon shook his head viciously, trying to remove these thoughts from his head.
“These dreams aren’t real. Just forget about it.” He rammed his hands into his head, trying to stop the images that were assaulting him.
Anon dashed into his bathroom, before making sure he hadn’t woken up the still sleeping unicorn on his bed and emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He wiped his mouth as he groggily looked at himself in the mirror. His head was still bald, his eyes were bloodshot with bags under his eyes, his skin was still green, and he was breathing quite heavily. He looked terrible.
He ran some cold water and repeatedly splashed his face with it. He let out a sigh with his eyes tiredly closed then thought deep in himself. ‘Get yourself together Anon. They’re just dreams, nothing more, they’re not... real. You gotta be strong, for your friends, but most importantly.’
Anon turned to his shoulder looking outside of his bathroom at the sleeping lavender on his bed.
‘For her sake...’
MORNING
9:55 AM
The woman employee smiled at the tall man as she had returned from the kitchen. “Okay sir, your order will be done in just a minute.”
“Oh, thank you! I was just hoping it’ll—”
Ace’s sentence was cut off as he felt some small vibrations coming from his lower thigh. He tilted downward, finding the source.
“Oh it’s probably her!” He squealed excitedly, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He felt excited, he hadn’t heard anything from Mia since she left town. Sadly though, his hopes were thrown out the window when he studied the caller’s name. Before answering he looked at the manager and politely said.
“Um, do you mind?”
She chuckled. “Yea go on, I’ll let you know when it’s ready.”
“Thank you!”
With that Ace moved to the side allowing the people in line behind him to move forward. Placing his right palm on the door he pushes through exiting the restaurant while at the same time answering the call.
“Hey Chris” Greeted Ace, “Ugh, Yes I know I haven’t called you in a while but I told you I was busy, wasn’t I? Yeah, It’s been so quiet out here ever since you left for college, how are you and your family? Oh that’s great! Me? Oh I’m fine, I mean it’s not like I’ve been waiting for someone else to call me—or me texting them non-stop waiting hours upon hours for their response; and continuing to do that for the next ten days.”
Ace paused scratching his beanie out of total embarrassment after exposing himself.
“N—Not saying I did that mind you...” He lied, “Okay I did send her more than twenty-four of my texts but come on! You know I can get lonely sometimes, ya know?” He wasn’t wrong. The day after Mia left, Ace would spend his days sending message after message for seven days, seven nights to her phone; other times he would hang out with his dear friend Anon and his girlfriend way back before they broke up.
Ace sat down on a bench a few inches away from a mother and her child. Keeping the device up to his ear he continues the conversation. “No, I hadn't seen or talked to Anon yet. Last I spoke to him I told him he should get himself a pet.”
He blinked.
“A dog, why? Because dogs are awesome! You get to feed them, play fetch with em' rub their bellies. Hey! I’m a dog lover so don’t judge me,” Ace sighed as he turned his body away from the mother and her child holding the phone close to his ear. “Anyway what do you wanna wear on Christmas huh? No Chris I don’t care what we have to wear for Christmas Eve, as long as it's not those same Blue’s clues pajamas. What...? No! No, I'm not wearing pink. What do you mean why? I told you this, you and Anon remember? Okay what are you wearing then? But you wore those last year, you need to try on something else. Mmhm, mhm… okay then. …Oh my god—you’re not hooking up with my Grandma!”
“Um, sir?”
Placing the device on his chest, Ace looked up at the direction of the voice. The same woman from earlier was standing outside of the entrance of the restaurant holding two square-size white bags and when he noticed them the smell of cooked bread filled his nostrils. He stood up from the bench and walked over to the employee with a gentle smile forming on his face.
“Thanks again ma’am. So how much?” He asked.
“Ten dollars.” She replied.
Ace checked his wallet and handed her the payment before taking the bags off her hands and walked down the block to his next destination. He tilts his head to the side keeping the phone close to his ear. “~Sooo Chris I was thinking,” he said, a small smirk breaking its way through his lips. “When you come back after Christmas, how would you like it if you and I played a little UNO together with Anon, hmm? How about it?”
Silence was the response to his request and at the same time he stopped to a halt. He patiently waited for another two minutes then when his patience went limp he grabbed his phone and turned it to face the screen. In a instant his eyes widen, a vein appeared on his forehead, his chest rising up and down and his hand clenched tightly to a fist shaking violently until those inches away heard him in shouting range.
“Did that bastard just hang up on me?!”
MORNING
10:01 AM
Birds were chirping, singing their harmonies tunes while flying over houses across the neighborhood, cars and trucks passed by people's apartments. Two girls were outside sitting in the grass; one was playing with dolls in her big castle, the second was waving her toy wand pretending to be her favorite wizard she saw from a very popular movie. Four boys were riding their bikes going back and forth from their house but stayed cautious from any cars coming by.
Two elderly men were sitting on their chairs just enjoying themselves in this beautiful morning they were having while drinking tea from their mugs. The elder from the right turned his head at his fellow-friend and cleared his throat. “Hey Jimmy, remember my dance last night with Jenny?”
Elder Jimmy thought for a moment before replying, “Um, eh, she didn’t dance with you herald.”
Herald placed his hand behind his left ear shouting. “What!?”
“I said she didn't dance with you!” Jimmy repeated.
“What!?”
“Oh for goodness sake…”
A loud ringing echoed around the room waking our fellow anonymous from his walk to dreamland. He let out a groan stretching his arm out before palm grasping the alarm-clock, pushed the button ceasing the annoying ringing leaving the room back in peaceful silence. The tired man let out a yawn scratching the back of his head. When he tried to stand up he was stopped and was left bewildered. There was something heavy on top of him—a big weight that held him down, pinning him. Only then when he opened his eyes found the source of it. Sure enough, it was the unicorn, sitting on his chest already awake staring down at him without the blank expression this time but a calming one.
Anon couldn’t help but chuckle at this.
“Well, I see you’re awake too huh Starlight?” He said looking up at her. Starlight’s eyes widened out of shock just as he expected. “That is your name right, on your collar?”
He pointed to the tag of her collar. Looking down her eyes beamed at the tag before taking it in her hoof studying it—that is until a rumbling growl from her belly distracted her.
“Looks like someone’s hungry.” Anon said, stepping out of bed, with Starlight hopping off landing on her hooves.
“Come on, let’s get you something to eat.”
He slipped into his house slippers whilst tying his robe around his waist, while making his way down the stairs, Starlight following behind him. On the way downstairs he thought ‘It’s a good thing I’m on my day off. I need a break from that damn office.’
Anon shook his head as memories of constant calls from trolls, clowns, and pranksters would call him more than ten times. On his day off from work though Anon would take advantage of his time by doing what little "research" he could of other sentient creatures from other worlds appearing in his, but he’d have come to no conclusions unfortunately. Anon still has no idea why she is here, or how she got here in his world. Part of him still wonders while the other cares not why or how. Each day with her has been the most amazing time of his life.
Knowing of her existence he knew from day one he had to keep her safe from the public, including his own friends and loved ones. He feared the worst of how the world would react if they come to find out that unicorns are real. Especially the government, Anon thought to himself. He didn’t want to think about what they’d do if they learned of her existence. So for her sake, he keeps her at home with all the blinds on the windows closed.
While Anon was occupied flipping pans, Starlight sat in the living room, her eyes focused on the television. None of the channels were of any interest to her as she kept changing each one. She was gonna persist until she saw something that stopped her in her tracks, then a woman appeared on the screen. Her hair was tied down to a ponytail and her eyes were hazel with a bit of green to their beauty. She wore a nice red suit with long sleeves, her skirt reaching down to her knees, and black heels. The reporter raises the microphone, clears her throat and begins her monologue.
“Breaking news! We got strange reports of an unknown creature roaming around town; people believe it’s just a hoax, someone pulling a prank, while others think it’s something else.”
The lavender unicorn started to get worried. She thought she was playing safe and hidden. How could this happen? Who could’ve seen her?!
Anon heard this from earshot but kept his eyes on the pan as he cooked. “Try not to worry too much Starlight; the whole world doesn’t know whether you’re real or not. It’s better to keep it that way and that you don’t go out during the day.”
Starlight slowly nodded, agreeing to what he told her.
“So let’s not dwell on this too much. Here come get your breakfast.” Said Anon. Starlight got up on all fours and headed to the kitchen. When she entered her face was slapped by an up-most delightful smell. Her snout sniffed the air turning from side to side; and when it landed on the kitchen-counter she found the source. In her sight was a plate filled with triangular-cut shaped pancakes with syrup dripping all so slowly on top. With a bonus three pencil-size sausages sat together besides the pancakes. ‘Am I in heaven?’ She thought to herself.
“Okay here you go, hope you like it.” The anonymous man knelt before the lavender when he said this; and when she turned to her left to look down at the plate, her satisfaction went downhill. Unlike the delicious possession this one however was not to her liking.
“Well go on, take it,” he insisted. “Come on dig in. It's a peanut-butter sandwich. I promise you’ll love it.”
Starlight looked up at Anon. Her expression transformed from calm to a stern look.
“Oh! You’re wondering why you’re having this for today? Well I didn’t have enough to make another batch of pancakes because we’re all out; I could’ve gone out to the supermarket to buy more but it's Sunday, the stores are closed during sunday.” Anon explained while gesturing his hand in a circular motion. Starlight out of anger turned her head away from the food before her. Out of all the food she has to eat this?!
”Come on, just eat the sandwich Starlight.” Said Anon persistently.
Starlight shook her head calmly.
“Yes.” Said Anon.
She disapprovingly shook her head.
“Yes!” Shouted Anon.
She violently shook her head.
When he saw this a vein popped on the left side of his forehead; he could feel it arising however he kept his cool and pointed.
“Okay look here, Unicorn. First; this sandwich is not that bad. Second of all; I’ll have you know my mom taught me how to make this when I was seven!” To prove his point he took the sandwich to both his hands before placing the plate on the counter and keeping eye-level with the lavender.
“Here, I’ll take a bite of it and I’ll show you it’s not that bad, trust me.” His jaw opened wide bringing the sandwich close, taking a chunk of it into his mouth. As his mouth circled in motion crunching the bits and pieces he was expecting to taste the peanut butter he had put in hummed in satisfaction then smirked at his pet mouthing out.
“See I told you. Not that bad.” However that thought soon died as his jaw began to slow down, his eyes widening, his skin radiated in a shade of purple berries. Starlight sees this and a smug grin adorns her lips.
What Anon learned that day. He didn’t follow his mother’s ingredients… properly.