MPJS Chap 10: Glossy Ribbon Scent 2(James E Boston IV) I hid in a closet at the theater until closing time came around. Katie was closing the theater with another employee while I was sneaking around to find the murderer. I caught the glimpse of a wing in one closet. I slowly skated toward the closet while watching her wrap presents. She sat there peacefully and hummed like she was a hummingbird quietly flying.
No longer was the bird able to hum because the bird was struck by a hunter’s bullet. I swiftly skated into the closet and as soon as she turned around, she felt the sting of my baseball bat striking her lip. She stumbled back before slamming into the wall.
“How dare you hit the Magic Gift Fairy?” she said.
“How dare I hit the Magic Gift Fairy or Alora? I know you like to play dress up, but I’m not one to play with. Give it up, Miss Kipper.” I said.
“I don’t understand what you mean?” she said before she quickly picked up a pistol from the floor that was hidden under gift wrap.
I lifted my sleeve, exposing the Ice Killer tattoo that decorated my arm. She tossed the gun to the side of the room and took a couple of steps back.
“I see you understood that,” I said before drawing my pistol. I drew the perfect picture. I smiled at the picture of a gun being pointed at a vicious and crazy murderer.
“Time to go into the handcuffs of the knights, murderer,” I said.
“I never meant to do it,” she said.
“Do what?” I responded.
“Become a murderer. I was often bullied by the other orphans, so I never spoke to them. One of the foster mothers didn’t like me either. Mrs. Richie. She would abuse me. I still have the marks on my forearms.” said Alora as she pulled up her sleeves, exposing marks on her arms that would make the toughest person squinch their eyes.
“When I got lucky, I was able to run into my room and lock the door closed. As she beat on the door and screamed at me, I would play a record of a calming lullaby on an old record player that another foster mother gave me as a gift before she passed away. I would sit there and cry, hoping that the lullaby would overcome the screaming and yelling.”
“One day, I finally found a friend. We both got bullied, but it didn’t matter because we had each other. One evening, we were playing tag, and I found a pistol lying on the street. I thought it was a toy gun. It must have belonged to a gang member, but that is another story. I aimed it at my friend, thinking it was a toy. One pull of a trigger and my life was never the same. I was weeping over the lifeless body of a friend that only comes around once in a lifetime. I was tried but not convicted because of my age.”
“I continued to get bullied by Mrs. Richie and the others. One day I made another friend. She was tricking me. I played with her and I let her into my room. She just wanted my record player. She attacked me with a razor because I didn’t give it to her. Little did she know that I secretly kept the silver pistol that I accidentally shot my friend with. I kept it because it was the only thing I had in her memory. Everything else was taken by the government or thrown away. I used the pistol and shot her. I have the tattoo of both of the dates that my friends passed away on my arm.” said Alora as she pulled her sleeve up, exposing the eerie tattoos.
“Once again, I was tried but not convicted because of my age. When I was a teenager, I joined the Quasar Flame gang because I was tired of getting bullied and beat around. I still have the tattoo on my leg. A week later, they kicked me out of the gang for being mentally unstable. Nothing good ever comes my way. I couldn’t even enjoy the only thing I had. Magic Gift’s Day. I’ll always be a reject. No one loves me. No one will ever accept me.” said Alora as tears burst from her eyes like sprinklers turned on to the highest level.
As I watched her tears fly, I looked at one diamond on my wing. A teardrop streamed down my cheek before splashing on the floor. As I looked at my teardrop, all I could see was the ghost of my past. All I could feel was the aura of betrayal and pain that she felt.
“You know what?” I said as I tossed my pistol to the side of the room.
“I know what it feels like to be a reject,” I said as I put my hand on her shoulder.
“Really,” said Alora.
“Yeah, let’s just say that my family didn’t think I was enough,” I said as I wiped the tears off of her face and the blood from her lip.
“You never got that Magic Gift Day that you were looking for. I’ll make sure that you get the best Magic Gift Day that you’ve ever had.” I said.
“Yeah, but you’re right. I’m not the Magic Gift Fairy. I’m just plain old boring Alora that no one likes.” She said.
“There are many terrible things about the human world. One of the best things about it is that you make yourself the person who you want to be. You build your destiny. Let’s deliver these gifts.” I said, as I smiled at her.
“Really?” said Alora.
“Give me the gifts. I hope you got a car.” I said.
“Yes,” said Alora as she jumped with the joy of a bubbly puppy.
If I told someone that I wasn’t excited about starting our interesting journey, I would be a liar. I sat in the passenger’s seat after we loaded the back of her van with gifts. Once she turned on the engine, I knew that this was the beginning of an adventure of a lifetime. When we arrived at the first house, I felt my heart skip a few beats like a band without rhythm.
“Unfortunately, I’m not a real fairy. I can’t fly, but you, on the other hand. You actually have the ability to fly. That is your strength. Most likely the doors are locked, so I need you to fly to the second story and open the window. People rarely remember to lock their windows. Especially on the second floor.” said Alora.
“Compared to the crazies that I had to deal with. This is nothing.” I said.
“I can guarantee that you haven’t seen anyone crazier than me,” said Alora before I laughed.
I fluttered and opened the window like a delicate butterfly making her way to her home. I fluttered through the house before opening the front door. Alora softly stepped on the wooden floor and we unloaded the gifts quietly before slipping out without a sound like a crafty mouse that got his cheese. Our cheese was the nightlight of joy that we plugged into the homes of darkness and despair. If I had a list of my top heroic deeds, this is a night that I can guarantee would be on the list.
Like a play that we rehearsed multiple times, we followed the same pattern. I flutter around and look for an unlocked window. I enter the house before fluttering to the front door, letting Alora in. We swiftly unload and leave before the residents awake. It became a fun little game for us. Almost like some kind of naughty game of hide and seek.
“I can’t believe things are going so smoothly. We ran through like seven houses already.” I said, as Alora entered the front door. “I guess Katie was wrong all along.”
“Wrong about what?” asked Alora as she gently placed a few gift boxes on the floor.
“About the Magic Gift Fairy being a myth. The Magic Gift Fairy is real.” I said, as I smiled at her.
“Yeah, but I couldn’t have done it without you. We should do this every year.” said Alora.
“That would be a fun tradition. A good way to bring some happiness to this crime ridden place. If you don’t mind me asking. What is in the gift boxes, anyway?” I asked.
“I’m giving everyone delicious fruits. You are probably wondering why. Well, fruits symbolize purity and freshness. That is how I want the minds and souls of everyone in this place to be. Magic Gift Day is a day full of sharing and caring. It is a magical day where peace in this crime ridden kingdom is actually possible.” said Alora.
“Your words are actually bringing tears to my eyes,” I said before she stepped outside.
“If you think you can break into my house, you thought right. I can’t argue with you. You did it.” said a middle-aged man as he calmly stepped into the living room with a rifle pointed at me. “One thing I do know is that you won’t be walking out of here alive. Are you trying to be some kind of real life Magic Gift Fairy, you freak? Take that masquerade mask off your face and show yourself, coward.”
Surprisingly, I didn’t scream or panic. I stood there like I was frozen in a glacier in the middle of nowhere for decades. My brain couldn’t develop anything to say or do. The only thing that I could do was hope that I would wake up from a nightmare that seemed to manifest itself into reality.
“Good night, weirdo,” said the man.
All I saw was the darkness of my eyelids as I screamed. I heard nothing other than the sound wave that shot out of my mouth and ripped through the room. I expected to see the grim reaper with his arms open. Once the rays of light were able to make their way to my eyes, I was in for a surprise. The elderly man was lying on the floor like he was laid to rest.
The gleam of a silver pistol caught my attention. I turned around and saw Alora lying on the floor in firing position with a tight grip on her silver pistol.
“Did you just shoot that man?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s a little trick that I learned. This trick is actually my greatest strength. It is better to lie on the ground and shoot at someone’s chest. The reason is that the average person stands up and shoots. If you lay down, the bullet will fly over your head, then you can just shoot them in the chest.” said Alora.
“You can’t do that!” I said.
“Do what?” asked Alora.
“Just shoot someone in their own house. Do you know how much trouble we can get into? First of all, the knights can charge us with breaking and entering. On top of that, we can get charged with homicide. The knights will throw us in jail for the rest of our lives.” I said.
“You’re complaining to me and I just saved your life. That should be the last thing that you’re worried about. Just be glad that I saved your life.” said Alora.
“I thought you were trying to make people happy!” I said.
“I am. I’m sorry for the trouble. In fact, here is my gun. I have a lot of history with this pistol. I killed two friends with it, but little did I know that one day it would save my best friend. Here you go.” said Alora as she handed me her silver pistol.
“Thanks, I guess,” I said as I snatched the silver pistol from her hands with enough force to rip her fingers off.
As I watched the trees pass by in the passenger’s seat, all I wanted to do was snatch a branch and beat Alora over the head with it. As much as the anger fueled violent fantasies to drive through my head like gasoline, I knew that I couldn’t argue with the fact that she saved my life. She could’ve easily allowed him to blow my wings full of holes, but she had more righteous thoughts in mind.
“Where are we going next?” I asked.
“To an old place that I hated to call home,” said Alora as she parked the van.
As we stepped out of the van, the mist that surrounded the orphanage sent chills down my spine. I felt like I stepped onto a stage set for a horror movie scene. I wish I was able to read the script because I didn’t know what to expect.
“I’m not breaking into an orphanage. I don’t care what you say, Alora.” I said.
“The good news is that we don’t have to break in. I still have my old key from when I used to be here. The royals would never invest enough money into an orphanage to change the locks.” said Alora as she unlocked the door.
Like a donkey following the owner with no thoughts or questions, I followed her into the orphanage. She began placing the gifts on the floor of the living room. Unfortunately, our plan was abruptly interrupted by a gentle elder woman who stepped into the living room.
“You look familiar. Weren’t you the one that was questioning me about Alora? Take that mask off. Why would you break into an orphanage?!” said the woman as her face reddened with rage, powerful enough to scare a hurricane away.
“Remember me,” said Alora as the woman turned around.
“What are you doing back here, Alora? You’re nineteen. You can’t come back here!” shouted the woman.
“You can’t yell at me. I’m not the weak little girl that I was before, Mrs. Richie.” said Alora as she pulled a black pistol out of her stocking.
“Woah, I’m sorry. We don’t have to go there, Alora.” said Mrs. Richie as she stepped back.
I screamed as I heard the sound of her final breath. I put my hands over my mouth as Alora smirked over her lifeless, frail body. I fluttered back a few inches as Alora unloaded a few more bullets into the pitiful corpse.
“That’s it. I’m calling the knights. I can’t let you get away with this. I’m a superhero, not a sick, twisted villain. You’re crazy.” I said.
“So, I’m crazy? I guess that makes the both of us.” said Alora.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Miss Crazy. Me and you are just a like.” said Alora.
“What?! I’m nothing like you!” I said.
“You said it yourself. You understand me. I never had a friend that connected with me like you did. We go together like peanut butter and jelly. It was both of us that broke into people’s houses and gave them fruits full of poison. It was both of us that killed a man in his own home. It is both of us that killed an old woman in an orphanage. You’re just as crazy as I am. You said it yourself. You understand me. That is why I gave you my precious silver pistol. You even took it with gratitude.”
“Do you really want to go to jail?” I said, as her words made my heart skip a few beats.
“Your question doesn’t make any sense,” said Alora.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I won’t see anytime in prison,”
“What do you mean? You’re nineteen. You’ll be charged as an adult.”
“Remember the initiation?” asked Alora.
“Yeah, what about it?”
“When I got a sample of your blood, I used it to spread it around our victims’ houses. I erased all my fingerprints. Your DNA is all over the houses. Which means you’ll be the one going to prison for life. You can call the knights if you want to go to prison.” said Alora before laughing. “Don’t get me wrong. You are a wonderful friend. You’re taking the blame for me. If you’re lucky enough to get out of prison at eighty, I’ll throw you a big party.”
“I trusted you!” I said as my eyes teared up.
“I didn’t lie to you about anything. I didn’t force you to come with me. You willingly chose to come on my journey.” said Alora.
“Alora, turn yourself into the knights,” I said as I pointed my silver pistol at her.
“So, you think you can out crazy me,” said Alora. “So, it has to go down like this. Two best friends have to kill each other off. All the orphans have fruit without poison. Everyone’s house that we delivered poisonous fruit to is getting what they deserve. They all work for the corrupt orphanage system that allowed me and the other orphans to suffer. It is a shame for two friends to go out like this.”
“You can say this and that, but I’m keeping this pistol right on you,” I said.
“You’re gonna kill me with my own pistol?” said Alora.
“I’ll do whatever I have to do,” I said.
“That’s funny. You think you can out crazy me. The Ribbon Twin gang tried that and unsurprisingly failed.” said Alora.
“That’s why your ribbons look like the ones that the Ribbon Twin gang has. What did you do?” I asked.
“They thought they were tough robbers, but I robbed them. I pulled my pistol out on them and robbed them for their ribbons. They tried to out crazy me and shoot back as I walked away with their ribbons. None of us were hit during our shootout. The only fatality was the result of a stray bullet from one of the Ribbon Twin gang member’s pistols. One of them accidentally shot an old man.” said Alora.
“So you’re out of luck if you think you can out crazy me,” said Alora before she swiftly darted into a room like a snake slickly slithering into a cave.
“Why didn’t you just shoot her while she ran, Dysnomia,” I said as I felt my hand lock up like my nerves died.
I had my chance to put an end to her madness with the pull of a trigger, but I felt like some kind of freezing spell was cast upon me. It was like some kind of force was pulling my finger back. I shivered as I heard the sound of Alora slamming the door closed and locking me out of the room.
“Never thought I’d be back in my old room. If our friendship has to go down like this, we might as well have fun with it. Let’s play hide and shoot!” said Alora.
“What are you talking about?” I said as I aimed my pistol at her door.
The thunderous sound of bullets flying through the door caused me to flutter over to the left side of the room. I almost fainted at the thought of the grave that I was so close to being trapped in. I wiped the sweat off my forehead.
“How can I shoot her if I can’t see her on the other side of the door?” I asked myself, as I heard soothing lullaby music. The contrast of the lullaby and the screaming children, along with the thought of just missing the touch of death, made me feel like I was in some kind of weird paradoxical universe.
“Use your strength to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to pull the trigger.” I whispered to myself as I closed my eyes, removing myself from the paradoxical universe that tried to keep me captive like a prison cell.
I screamed as bullets rained across the room like a vicious hail storm. I fluttered my wings and rode with the cool breeze of the vent until my pigtails were an inch away from touching the ceiling. My scream continued to ring across the room like I was performing a heavy metal concert as I began firing downward at the door.
The moment that I fired the shots felt like a moment in frozen time. It was literally an out-of-body experience, for I felt like a ghost ascending out of my body. The experience was almost dreamlike. I became detached from the world around me and I lost track of how many bullet holes I put in the door.
Eventually, the sound of roaring bullets became the sound of a gentle click. I looked at my gun as I pulled the trigger a couple of times. My jaw dropped with the sound of each click.
“I’m out of bullets,” I said as my body shook like I just escaped a snow storm.
I heard the wooden floor creak as my skates landed. I slowly made my way towards the bullet riddled door. I felt shivers creep up my arms as I felt the cold metal of the doorknob. Luckily, the lock was damaged enough for me to open the door slowly.
I aimed the gun at the center of Alora’s face while she laid on the floor. The image of her blood filled costume made me sick to my stomach. The smirk that she flashed at me frightened me more than any horror movie scene. Like a scared little cat, I skated back a few inches, almost dropping my pistol in the process.
“You actually put a few bullet holes in me. You must of known I was using my little lying on the floor trick. I knew you had it in you. I told you. I knew you could do it.” said Alora.
“Knew what?” I said.
“Out crazy me.” said Alora.
“What! I’m nothing like you!” I said while hearing the click of my trigger.
“You should get a tattoo of this date right here,” said Alora as her eyes pointed at tattoos on her arm. “I don’t know how you do it, but you do. You’re my hero, Dysnomia. You’re my hero.”
The intervals between each of her breaths increased until it ceased. She laid on the ground as still as a doll. Once the knights stormed into the orphanage, I stood as still as Alora’s cold corpse. The children and staff were evacuated while the thought of a lifetime in prison haunted my thoughts.
I was traumatized as the scenes of my break-ins, poisonings, and murders flashed through my mind like I was watching some kind of sick, twisted horror film. The touch of cold metal on my shoulder jolted me out of my trance. My eyes pointed toward the knight’s hand that gently sat on my shoulder.
“You’ve done it again, Dysnomia. I don’t know how, but you’ve done it again.” said the knight.
I received a large sum of thirty thousand dollars for capturing an armed and dangerous shooter. The knights were impressed at the fact that no one other than the shooter was injured or killed. As far as they knew, anyway.
The next thing I knew, I was slamming my fist against Husky’s scratched and chipped wooden door. He swiftly opened the door like he was ready to punch the teeth out of my mouth.
“What do you want, Dysnomia? It’s like five in the morning. I hope this is serious.” said Husky.
Even though it was an ugly one, I let the cat out of the bag. I knew that the cat would probably leave scratches and bruises on his face, but I couldn’t handle the viscous feline alone. The entire story spilled out of my mouth like hot tea. He heard about break-ins, poisonings, and murders. I didn’t miss a detail. I knew that such tea would be hard to digest, but I had to do something with the hot water that I was stuck in.
“Here’s what I can do,” said Husky, after staring at me in silence for a few seconds.
“Tell me the addresses of the houses that you went to. The Ice Killer gang has sets of fake knight armor. They might be made of plastic, but they look real enough to fool the average citizen. I can get some gang members under me to pretend to be knights and investigate the houses. The residents will believe they are investigating while they are really just cleaning up all the evidence of your crime that you left behind.” said Husky.
Like magic, Husky’s plan was smoothly put into action. Most people would tell me to leave the past behind me, but I couldn’t get Alora off my mind. I had a relationship with her that I had never had before. I wanted to hate her so badly, but I couldn’t. If I saw her, I would arrest her and throw her to the knights, but for some strange reason, I wouldn’t be able to harm her.
“What! I didn’t get evicted?!” said Bryce. “How?”
“I guess a certain little somebody had something to do with that,” I said.
“How did you make enough to pay off my rent? I thought for sure that we would be on the streets today.” said Bryce.
“Don’t worry about it, Bryce. That’s the least I could do for you.” I said.
I stepped into the bathroom and picked up the silver pistol that I hid behind a couple of boxes in the bathroom closet. I slipped the pistol into my right jean pocket. I looked at the tattoo of Alora’s death date on my arm through the mirror.
The thought of Alora filled me with the desire to punch anything or anyone besides her. I felt like screaming, but I didn’t know who to take it out on. I felt sick to my stomach. I had to swallow the pill of truth. I shared something that I never thought I would with a crazy murder. Understanding.

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