Lies – Creative Writing Piece
This is a piece of creative writing I did, which is a part of the prequel to my games narrative. Within this piece, I start to set up the world in which my game exits and also introduce the origin of Maxi’s heirloom, which is a key aspect of my game as within this writing, Maxi’s mother gives it to him. I find it beneficial to practice creative writing in order to solidify my games world building (e.g. the magic that exists in the world) and overall story narrative.
Maxi didn’t know how long he’d been running. All he could think was ‘Is mum ok?’
He could hear nothing but pounding in his head and screaming ringing in his ears, clawing at his brain. All Jasmine had said was ‘Maxi, don’t go home today, the police are raiding your house’, before he was out the door and sprinting. He couldn’t breathe, his eyes were stinging, his body was moving on its own.
He stopped.
He could see his house; he was a street away now. The door was hanging off its hinges with its windows smashed. There were two police cars parked haphazardly at the front.
When he could finally hear again, it was the sound of shouting. Neighbours had gathered outside, gossiping and scared. No one had noticed him.
That’s when he saw his mother.
She was quiet as the police dragged her along the pavement. She fell to the ground, limp. One officer pulled her up by the hair, her blank eyes lolling back in her head like a corpse, her hands in cuffs.
He froze. He felt his mother’s pendant against his beating chest.
‘Maxi,’ Jasmine whispered harshly, jumping up and pulling him by the hood backwards and out of sight.
‘You’re such a fucking idiot!’ She was breathing heavily, ‘Shit, how are you so fast?’
‘Ay lad, what are you doing here!?’ There was a loud shout from outside.
‘Hey- Hey!’
‘I said,’ the voice spoke menacingly, ‘What’re you doing here!?’
There was a thump, followed by a cry in pain.
Maxi moved to the window.
‘Maxi!’ A shout from his mother.
‘Fuckin’ fairies, get back here, I’ll k-‘
‘I’ve got it..’ Maxi uttered, swiftly clasping the window handle and pulling it shut with a soft thud, muffling the sounds of the people shouting outside. He grabbed two stamps from a draw, taking the cheap watery maricari ink from his pocket, trying desperately to ignore the scene outside as a poor fairy was being beaten. He stamped the window, the ink making a small cyan symbol that started the spell. Drawing the symbol for silence with his knuckle, he finished it with the ending stamp. The troubling noises outside became unintelligible.
He turned back to his mother. She was shaking slightly, like she would disintegrate any second. She panted lightly and wrapped herself into a ball on the dishevelled bed.
‘…Tea?’ Maxi asked.
She coughed weakly and nodded before slumping against the headboard.
‘Right,’ He gave her a reassuring smile.
He went to the kitchen, letting muscle memory move him. Stamping the teapot with the same ink he used for the window, he sighed exasperatedly when nothing happened. He tried again repeatedly, almost giving up when it suddenly spurred to life. It developed a dull, cyan glow as the water inside formed a bubble – POP.
He sighed in relief.
‘Maxi?’
He turned sharply, ‘Mum! I was just about to come up-‘
‘You were taking longer than usual,’ She began fiddling with her shirt sleeves, frayed with anxiety.
‘Right,’ he swivelled back to pour out a cup, ‘Sorry, the teapot was sticking,’
‘Oh dear,’ she said, her fiddling became more frantic.
‘It’s fine, now! See?’ he exclaims, as he held out the cup of tea, ‘Come sit down so you can have your tea,’ he pushed her lightly, but she wouldn’t budge.
‘Mum?’
She was quiet for a moment before saying, ‘I need a new teapot, Maxi, could you go out and get one?’
‘I’m- not sure-‘ He stuttered. Maxi couldn’t afford a new teapot; he’d been out of work and wasn’t expecting to find a job anytime soon.
‘Maximino, I can’t drink out of a sticking teapot.’
‘Right…’ glancing at the teapot, his expression relaxed, ‘Then, I’ll go out, you’ll be ok?’
She scoffed, ‘Yes.’
He loved his mum, but he revelled in an excuse to leave the house. He let a genuine smile bubble out when he stepped outside.
His mood quickly soured again when he noticed heavy breathing coming from the alley and remembered what had occurred outside. They didn’t live in a great neighbourhood, and attacks against fairies were common. That’s why he and his mum hid, ignoring it all. But something made him look.
Maxi gasped, ‘Paisley?’
Paisley was sitting there, on the dirty tarmac, a blotchy blooming bruise on his cheek, puffing up like an ugly potato. His big black eyes had no whites and his horns stood straight; his silky lavender skin marred by sickly green scrapes down his digitigrade legs.
‘Oh, hi Maxi,’ he tried to smile, but winced.
Maxi couldn’t ignore this.
Paisley looks to the ground, ‘It’s been a while. It’s nice to see you.’
Maxi didn’t believe him, his stomach felt queasy.
Paisley struggled to his feet. Being a fairy, he barely reached Maxi’s hip. His hands scratched up with dirt, he wobbled as he grounded himself.
‘Hey, I live around the corner,’ Maxi rubbed his wrists, ‘come over, you need some ice.’
‘I mean, last time I went to your house your mum kicked me out.’
Maxi was silent for a moment.
‘I- I’m sorry,’ Maxi struggled as the right words slipped from his mind. It was true, his mum wouldn’t be happy to see a fairy in their house, but he and Paisley had been best friends as kids. He didn’t want to just ignore him like he did everyone else, ‘I want to help.’
Maxi helped Paisley limp to his house, wincing every other step. The street outside his house was filthy, the pavement frustratingly uneven and smattered with litter.
‘Maxi? Back already?’ he heard the shrill voice of his mother as he opened the door.
‘Maxi- oh.’ he heard the abrupt change in tone, from pleasant to bluntly acrimonious, ‘What is it doing here, Maximino?’
A silence stretched uncomfortably, the awkward mood sticky and tense like stubborn chewing gum to a knitted jumper.
‘… Paisley’s hurt, I thought it best to offer him some ice and disinfect his injuries – he was close by,’ Maxi finally answered.
She stared at Maxi, blatantly ignoring Paisley, ‘Why does he have to do that here? Tell him to leave,’
‘No,’ Maxi sucked in a breath and recoiled, startled by his own response.
Paisley stood uncomfortably.
‘Fine, see what happens when you associate with fairies,’ her hands shook and her eyes fumed, but her eyebrows twisted up in worry. She rushed up the stairs, stumbling as she went.
‘I think I should go,’ Paisley mumbled quietly.
‘No, no, I’m sorry, I need to make it up to you,’
Maxi led him to a chair, digging around in cupboards for the tin of plasters and disinfectant. He passed Paisley some frozen peas. They stayed silent for a while, as Maxi cleaned his wounds, he realised Paisley’s clothes were not just stained miserably with dirt, but sodden with blood – he then saw the glass stuck in his side.
‘Oooargh! You’ve got so much glass stuck in here, you’re bleeding so much, why didn’t you say anything?!’
Paisley groaned, ‘You sound like Jasmine, I didn’t want to bother you.’
Maxi paused, looking at Paisley carefully as he said, ‘You haven’t changed at all. Is she still just as hot-headed, too?’
Paisley laughed, ‘Of course… She misses you, you know,’
Maxi’s face scrunches in discomfort, ‘I doubt that… she made sure I know she hates me,’
‘Well-‘
‘How are you two doing now?’ Maxi interrupts, tweezering out the last pieces of glass.
Paisley pauses at the unexpected question, ‘Uh, well, good? I’ve been working in a Mari shop[1], Jasmine’s been working for her dad at the workshop, you?’
‘Oh,’ Maxi coughs, ‘I’m looking for work right now,’
‘Yeah? You know, I bet Jasmine’s dad would hire you, you ask,’ Paisley responded with a smile.
‘No, definitely not, she would hate that,’
‘You could use this, though, to make up with her!’
Paisley switched the hand that he was holding the peas up to his cheek with, rubbing his cold hand on his leg.
‘No…’
Maxi silently dabbed at Paisley’s cuts and scrapes with the disinfectant.
Maxi stood outside of Stone Auto Workshop. The place was essentially one large red brick garage, with a sign donning the name in bold, black letters. He wasn’t sure when he had decided to walk there, but he knew why. It was a terrible idea, but he was desperate. He couldn’t support both him and his mother on stolen food and absent savings anymore.
He felt a bit ridiculous; he was sure he’d been standing there for over 20 minutes now, his hands fidgeting.
‘Hey there, need some help?’ said a familiar voice behind him, one he’d heard nearly every day after school before Jasmine and Paisley found out his secret.
Maxi turned and grinned involuntarily, ‘Hi Mr. Aekeolea.’
Mr. Aekeolea reached just above Maxi’s hip. He had a field of hair pushed into a messy braided bun and wore oversized overalls.
His bushy eyebrows shot up, ‘Ah, Maxi? This is unexpected, it’s been so long!’ he laughed, his grin mirroring Maxi. ‘It’s good to see you,’ he added.
‘You too.’
Despite walking all the way here, Maxi hadn’t really processed that he would be talking to Mr Aekeolea again, and considering the way he was reacting, Jasmine and Paisley kept his secret all this time.
‘Come, come, let’s talk inside,’ Mr Aekeolea patted Maxi’s forearm, ushering him inside.
‘So, why have you come here Maxi?’ he clambered up onto the desk, and he sat down in the chair beside him.
‘Oh, I- well,’ he paused awkwardly, eventually forcing out the words, ‘I need a job,’
‘Ah,’
‘Would like to apply for a job, I mean,’
‘Ok then,’ Mr Aekeolea responded.
‘Huh?’
‘What can you offer?’
Maxi scrambled for the resumé in his bag. Crumpled and stained, he offered it to Mr Aekeolea, who glanced at it and looked at Maxi expectantly.
‘Uh- I’ve worked with customers before… I’m eager to learn?’
‘Sounds more like a question, young man,’
Suddenly his solid black eyes were intimidating, scrutinising Maxi.
‘Look,’ he continued, ‘I know you wouldn’t come here unless you really needed it, but I don’t have much I can pay you,’
‘That’s fine!’
‘Hah! Enthusiastic, good,’
Maxi’s eyes were hopeful, his hands clasping his bag like it was the only thing he owned.
‘Ok, we’ll find something for you!’
‘Thankyou so much, Mr Aekeolea!’ Maxi stood suddenly, beaming.
They then heard the bell chime.
‘Louisiana?’ Maxi murmured.
‘Hm? Do I know you?’ The woman who walked in was short, her red hair was long and pulled into a high ponytail. Maxi knew her. Before he’d left school at 14, Louisiana had been a good friend, until one day she began completely ignoring him.
She stopped abruptly, looking at Maxi up and down, ‘Oh, hi,’
‘Well, anyway,’ she jumped when she noticed Mr Aekeolea, muttering quietly, ‘Ugh a fairy,’
She glanced back to the door, sighing.
Mr Aekeolea remained smiling, steeling himself, ‘Hello there, what do you need?’
Her hands moved protectively over her bag as she said, ‘Oh, well, my car, it’s new-‘
The door chimed again, ‘Dad did you take my glo-‘
Jasmine was the same height as her dad, and had the same curly horns as him, too. Her hair was ginger, tied in two long braided loops.
‘What?’ Jasmine’s eye twitched.
‘Ah, I hired Maxi!’
Jasmine stared before grabbing Maxi’s wrist, ‘You come with me.’ She dragged him to the staff room; the act being remarkably threatening considering her stature.
Jasmine studied Maxi intensely.
‘Why?’ she blurted undiplomatically.
‘I’m s-orry, but, um-‘
‘Get on with it,’ her words were ruthless, but Maxi was somewhat relieved that someone was being honest in their hatred of him.
‘You’re a fucking faker, Maxi, a liar-‘ she poked him harshly in his chest.
‘Why didn’t you ever tell anyone?’ he snapped his head up, looking at her.
The void that the silence created ate at Maxi.
‘Tell everyone what? You’re so ashamed, you’re just as pathetic as your mother, I hate that about you. Becoming friends with me and Paisley like it was charity, you’re-‘
‘Why didn’t you tell anyone that I’m a fairy?’ his voice echoed painfully in his head, his throat closing, allergic to the words.
Crying, he quickly rushed out of the room before she could answer, almost running into Louisiana as he went.
‘Oh no! Maxi! Are you OK?’
He looked at Louisiana, plainly confused, but still trembling violently.
‘Sweety, come here,’ her smile seemed strained, patting him stiffly.
‘You know, I think you need a day out, we should totally hang out sometime!’ she elegantly fished a stamp out of her bag, her smile uncomfortably large, ‘Here, my ID stamp, we need to catch up!’ And in an instant, she was gone.
That night, Maxi’s mother awoke suddenly, sitting bolt upright. She jumped out of bed, falling unceremoniously. Her face was pale, her fingers shaking as they found purchase around an old box underneath her bed. She tried deliriously to open it with a rusted key, her frenzied jabbing missing the hole before finally opening it. Inside was a large, circular pendant with a detailed flowering motif, three delicate chains tapering from the bottom.
‘Mum? I heard a crash!’ Maxi exclaimed panicked.
‘Maxi,’ her voice was raw and weak.
Her body wavered like a leaf as she approached him.
It was dark, but Maxi could tell that her face was contorted in an ugly horror.
‘Safety…’, she uttered, shoving the pendant into Maxi’s hands.
[1] A convenience shop for everyday magic essentials.