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A Simple Exchange

What happens when the monster in your closet wants to make a deal?

By Kelsey JohnsonPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
1

Emerald smoke coiled lazily around the monster in Emmeline's closet.

Peeking between trembling fingers, she could see that this monster wore fancy shoes. Unusual, but not unheard of. She took a quiet breath in and risked looking a little higher. She knew better than to look at its eyes - she was seven and a half years old, after all, and this wasn't her first closet monster - but there were no rules against looking at a monster's knees. At least, she hoped not.

Moving her eyes as slowly as possible, she was able to see that this monster also wore striped pants, which looked quite a bit like Dad's business suits. Interesting. Monsters didn't usually have office jobs.

"Emmeline..." the monster whispered in a low voice. "I have come to make a deal."

Please. As if she'd fall for a trick like that. This must not be a very experienced monster.

Emmeline did not move a muscle.

"I will not hurt you, Emmeline. I will not harm you in any way. I only wish to make a simple exchange."

Emmeline gripped her blankets a little tighter, but said nothing. The monster stepped out of her closet.

"I know you are awake, child." It took another step forward, tendrils of green smoke still pooling around its ankles. "I cannot leave until I make a deal, and you cannot sleep until I leave.” Another step. “It would be so much easier for us both if you stopped pretending." Another step, and it was already next to her bed.

Emmeline knew how to handle many different kinds of monsters (like scorpion things, boogeymen, and even snakes with arms), but this monster was better at talking than most. Honestly, the fact that it was talking at all, rather than growling or hissing or slobbering all over the rug, made it seem a teeny tiny bit less frightening. She still wasn’t about to look in its eyes or anything, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to hear what it had to say.

She sat up slowly, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the monster’s midsection and steadying her nerves by counting the buttons on its jacket. “What kind of deal?”

"You have something that I want, child. Something small. You will not miss it. And I am prepared to reward you handsomely if you will give it to me."

Emmeline folded her arms. "Everyone knows not to make deals with monsters. You'll trick me."

"I will do no such thing. I take my job very seriously. If I went around tricking good little children like you, it would ruin my reputation as a responsible monster. That would make my job much more difficult.” The monster folded its arms as well, but something about the action seemed stiff - as if it wasn’t used to having arms, or using them quite like that. “Besides, why would I want to lose out on a potential repeat customer?"

"Well, what do you want?"

"I only want the precious little thing you have tucked under your pillow."

Emmeline stiffened, one hand unconsciously drifting towards her pillow. How did it know about that? Perhaps she could...

"Do not try to deceive me, child. I know it is there. I can smell it."

She reached one hand under her pillow, grabbing the small bundle there and clutching it tightly in her palm. "And what would you do with it, if I gave it to you?"

The monster laughed - a low, rasping noise that made Emmeline's hair stand on end. "I would use it for magic. I am a tooth fairy, after all." The monster held out one slender hand, palm facing up expectantly, tendrils of green wrapping around each pale finger.

Emmeline silently considered her situation, running her tongue across the small gap where her loose tooth had been just hours before. According to Gramma’s stories, bone fairies were very rare, and tooth fairies in particular were even more so. Not many monsters had a use for teeth, and the ones that did were strange and mysterious enough that all the stories about them differed.

She had hoped that keeping her lost tooth wrapped under her pillow would be enough to keep it safe until she could take it to Gramma’s to bury it like she was supposed to, but clearly she hadn’t hidden it well enough. And now that the monster was here, well...she didn't seem to have many options.

Maybe the tooth fairy was right. Maybe it would be easier to make the exchange.

"What will you give me if -- IF -- I give you this tooth?"

"Anything you want, Emmeline. Anything at all. What do you desire? A pony? Amusement park tickets? An entire box of chocolate cookies, all for yourself?"

Anything? Anything at all? She could work with that. Chocolate cookies were VERY tempting, but Dad always said the best gifts came in the form of "cold, hard cash." She wasn't entirely sure why it had to be any particular temperature, but Dad was very smart so there must be a good reason.

"I want money," she said, using her best grown up voice. "Hard, cold money."

"Excellent." Emmeline heard a change in the monster's voice, and even though she couldn't see its face it seemed like it was smiling. It lowered its outstretched hand to a pocket in its suit jacket, and pulled out a small, black notebook. "Now, how much money does an incisor go for these days?"

"Umm..." Emmeline said, gesturing towards the small book, "excuse me, but what is that?"

"This? Oh, this is where I keep track of currencies and exchange rates. Children all over the world lose teeth, you know. Even a few unlucky adults. So much to keep track of. Why do you ask?"

"I just didn't know monsters used notebooks, that's all." Emmeline suddenly felt embarrassed for having asked. "It just makes you seem less...spooky,” she huffed. “It takes away some of the magic."

"Nothing is more magical than accurate accounting, Emmeline." The monster sniffed delicately. “Now, what year is it? Do you still use dubloons here? Or haypennies? No, no, that isn’t right… Rupees? Talents? No...”

“We use d-”

“No, don’t tell me. I’ve almost got it.” Pages rustled as the tooth fairy continued to eagerly consult its book. “Aha! Here it is. Well then, let us commence negotiations. What do you say to ten?"

Ten dollars? That was an entire month's allowance. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. It's not like she was using that tooth anymore, and what's the worst thing a monster could do with a tooth? But she couldn't let herself be swayed so early in the negotiation. Just how much could she get out of this deal? She took a deep breath and straightened her spine.

"Fifty."

"Fifty? Hmmm..." The tooth fairy ran one bony finger down the open pages of the book. "That seems a bit excessive. You do look to be in good health, but it is only an incisor. I can give you twenty, but that is my final offer."

With twenty dollars she could finally afford the stuffed unicorn she'd had her eye on, and probably have enough left over for a couple boxes of chocolate cookies, too. "I suppose that's acceptable," she said haughtily, trying to mimic the way Dad sounded on important grown-up business calls.

"Excellent!" The tooth fairy was suddenly holding a very shiny, lime-green pen, which it extended to Emmeline. "Simply sign your name here," it said, sounding almost giddy as it turned to a blank page in its notebook, "and then hand over the tooth."

Emmeline steeled herself and did as the monster instructed, using her best penmanship and dotting the i with a small heart. She took one last peek inside the dainty bag that held her tooth, took a deep breath, and placed it in the fairy's outstretched hands. "Just don't use this to curse me or anything, okay?"

"I would never." It tucked the bag gently into one jacket pocket, and then reached into another and pulled out what looked like a very fancy wallet. "Now for your payment. Do you take cash or check?"

"Erm, cash?"

"Ah, right. 'Hard, cold money,' you said. Very well." The tooth fairy pulled an improbably large, neatly tied stack of bills from its wallet and handed them to Emmeline. "Twenty thousand dollars, extra cold, as promised."

"W--wait...what?" The bills felt icy as they hit Emmeline's palm. "Twenty thousand?"

"Uh-uh," the fairy wagged a graceful finger as it turned around and headed back towards the closet. "We agreed on twenty, Emmeline. Do not try to trick me now. You won't get any more from me. At least, not until you lose another tooth."

Emmeline watched, bewildered, as the monster stepped back into her closet. Just before it disappeared behind her hanging coats and dresses, she saw two moss-green wings erupt from its back. Then she blinked and the monster was gone. A few wisps of smoke trailed slowly along the bedroom floor until they, too, disappeared. Emmeline looked down at the pile of money in her lap, then back up at her closet.

"I’m gonna buy so many cookies."

fantasy
1

About the Creator

Kelsey Johnson

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