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Chapter 11 - Answers

"Wait, you are the gardener?"

Reuben paused his weeding and looked at Dottie who was standing over in the entrance.

"Well, yes. I thought one of the fairies had told you?"

"If you believe fairy tales, they are supposed to but they are rather silly."

"Well. In this case, she was correct. Not to mention, a deal like the one you had meant that she had to tell the truth, even if they may misrepresent what may happen."

"Oh."

Reuben stopped and took the muddy gloves off a second before he spoke.

"I have been thinking about the poem you gave me. I wrote a short one for you, but it's not great. Here, it's for you."

Dottie took the small piece of paper from his hands and read it. It was a haiku. It was titled "Werewolf". It read:

"Amber eyes, grey fur

Chasing the deer through the trees

No longer human"

"What's it like, being a werewolf?"

"It's fine. It's lonely sometimes, because there is something that you know about yourself that you can't share with the others in the office. You have to bear with questions about what is going on that you can't be at work two days or four just depending on the moon cycle. Yet, you want to be around those you call family. However, that can't happen."

"Why not?"

"Don't ask."

Dottie shook her head. "I am sorry if I upset you with my questions."

Reuben laughed.

"No, no, it's fine. Hey, can I tell you how I became a gardener for the fairies?"

"Sure."

"So it started out with my old coworker Paul biting me on the way home from the park."

"What?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. Anyway, he was in wolf form at that time, and so I didn't know it was him. However, he went and slept the night under my back porch, and quickly got out in the morning because it's squishy under there as a wolf, never mind as a human. Any way, he left some nice tracks in my back garden that went from wolf to human, including the spot where he changed from wolf to human, and he had to fix that spot up. I needed those to accept what was actually going on. It turns out that too much loneliness kills werewolves and his family didn't accept it, so he was starting to go crazy which is why he ended up biting me, so he moved into my basement. That was because we were like brothers or something like that. He was actually getting better, so he showed me what he did on the side, which was taking care of this place. He showed me the fairies, and how to get around. I got the job when he left."

Reuben paused and looked at Dottie who was crouching a few feet away and pulling the same weeds he was.

"He died several months ago."

"I am sorry for your loss."

"I am sorry for yours, as well."

"Wait, was your old coworker named Paul Swithby?"

"Yes."

"I accept your condolences. I am sorry, I started looking for him shortly before we met. We were pen pals, and he obviously didn't tell me anything about this world. I hadn't heard about it until you told me. We weren't that close, so I guess I can't be surprised. So you're the reason this place went from being hardly touched when I first found out about it and how well it's taken care of now."

"I actually came today to put that box up. One of the fairies asked me to as she wasn't able to hear what I say every time."

"Hmmm."

"Good bye, see you later?"

"Well, with the weather getting colder, my work is picking up. I'll leave messages in the box too, alright?"

"Sure."

"Good bye for now."

Dottie grinned as she left. She still needed some time by herself, so she went down to the creek and followed it down a little. She meditated there, leaving her books high up on the bank.