Smile!

It was a nice coat.

It had tons of pockets, both inside and out, most of them filled with crumpled-up bits of paper in order to make the coat look more appealing. It had buttons on top of a zipper on top of strips of Velcro, all of which ran all the way down the front. It had sleeves which would go past the fingertips of most people. And it had a HUGE detachable hood. Clearly, this garment was meant for people about three times Elcian’s size.

He tried it on.

It was very roomy inside.

He twisted this way and that in front of the mirror, checking it out from all angles. The front view rather pleased him. The gigantic hood overshadowed his entire face. He turned, and looked down. The coat ended down at his knees, which meant that it almost completely covered . . . well, I can always hide it in a pocket, he thought. He turned again. Awkwardly trying to see his entire back in the mirror over his shoulder, Elcian struggled for a moment, and then stood still, studying his reflection.

He frowned. A minute later he looked again, after sticking the Velcro together and zipping the zipper and buttoning up and removing all the wads of paper from the pockets.

Better, but . . .

No, he decided. There’s no kidding myself. Anybody could see. I might as well try to hide my backpack under here.

Sighing, he removed the coat and hung it back up with all the other coats and jackets. He rubbed his arms; the coat had been so warm that the air temperature of the store seemed freezing now. He considered buying it, if only for the warmth it could provide, but decided against it. Besides, he had only tried it on in the first place out of curiosity. He couldn’t afford a nice new jacket like this.

Nevertheless, disappointment must have shown on his face, because he heard a raspy voice say, “Young man, what in the world could be worth being so glum about?”

He turned, and further down along the wall of coats stood an old woman, who stared questioningly at him.

This alone was enough to intrigue him. The stares he usually got weren’t friendly enough to be described as “questioningly.”

The woman’s face lifted and she beamed at him. “Now, there, that’s better. You have a lot to be happy about, I wager. Don’t forget that.”

Elcian wasn’t aware that he had smiled, but whatever his face did, it seemed to please her.

“Now, then.” She said, peering at him and moving closer. “It’s a little early for Halloween, isn’t it? It is September, right? I’m not going senile and forgetting the months yet, am I?”

This made Elcian chuckle a little bit, but he quickly silenced himself in case she wasn’t making a joke, though her playful expression suggested that she was. “It’s September.” He said, simply.

“Well. No harm in getting an early start about your preparations. Wait, wait, let me guess.” She squinted and looked him up and down. “You’re a . . . you’re an angel, am I right?”

Elcian almost swallowed his tongue. He had expected her to guess a demon or a vampire or something along the lines of that. Nobody had ever compared him to an angel before. Elcian the angel?

He turned it over in his mind and found he liked the sound of it.

“You got it! I’m an angel.” He said, and smiled.

“My! Those are lovely wings. They look so realistic! And your tail looks very lifelike, as well. The way you get it to wag and curve like that? Very convincing. And what’s this – ears? How nice! They even go up and down.”

Elcian absently put a hand up to an ear. They automatically flattened against his neck if he didn’t want attention drawn to himself. It wasn’t easy getting them to move when and how he wanted. They pretty much positioned themselves according to his emotions. Most of the time he wasn’t even aware of the change as they slid smoothly into each pose, and there were times when he’d completely forgotten they were even there.

Yes, out of all the – alterations – made to his body, his ears were definitely the least troubling.

“And what a vivid color your eyes are! Not many children are so committed to their trick-or-treating costumes that they use color contacts. I commend you.”

“Th-thanks.” Elcian stuttered. His eyes were not as unobtrusive as his ears. They were, in fact, the first thing anybody noticed about him, being such a bright blood red. It annoyed those who were under the impression that he wore color contacts all the time, and frightened those who knew the truth. He had, in the past, attempted to hide them, and he had tried everything from color contacts that were as similar to his original eye color as he could find to sunglasses. The contact lenses bothered his eyes, and they were so small that he often lost them. And the sunglasses’ dark lenses obstructed his already-poor vision, especially since he had to wear them in place of his eyeglasses. In the end, he had realized that nobody really cared whether or not he hid his eyes. They knew what was under the sunglasses.

“That’s v-very kind of you to say.” He said, and smiled. His smile was awkward, with too much lip and too little teeth. He had to be very careful when he smiled, and he had become very skilled at hiding his teeth. However, he had focused so much on that that he had forgotten to work on making his smile look sincere. The smile that was on his face now looked lopsided and forced, both of which it was. Elcian knew this, and hoped that the old lady wouldn’t take notice.

Unfortunately, she was much too outgoing to let it slide.

“Here. I’m the only one out of us who has any reason not to smile with teeth.” She smiled, revealing her five remaining teeth. The sight would have startled Elcian if not for the old woman’s clearly friendly intent.

“I . . . I’m smiling . . .” He said, hoping she wouldn’t press the matter.

“Come now. All an old lady’s asking for is one real smile. Make her day brighter.” She said.

“I . . . I . . . um.” He stalled. He highly doubted a smile like his would brighten anyone’s day, but he was sure that it would at least leave a lasting impression.

“Don’t be shy.” She urged.

She does seem rather more accepting than the others, Elcian thought. I can’t remember the last time anyone wanted me to smile for them while I was like this.

But she’s elderly. I don’t want to give her a heart attack or anything.

She thinks I’m fake, anyway.

“Please?” She said, and gave him her best puppy stare. She had been practicing that look from an early age, and it showed.

“I . . . don’t . . .” He played with his hands nervously behind his back and looked down shyly.

Just get it over with, Elcian, he thought to himself. Make her day brighter, so to speak, and hope she really is as accepting as she seems.

Slowly, his mouth curving upwards and inwards in an unnatural, distorted manner, he grinned.



Elcian adopted from QueenPaige, from THIS. http://www.fanart-central.net/pic-793797.html
Elcian belongs to me and to her. Story written by me. Credit to Jackismyman for the coat idea. DON'T STEAL ELCIAN. He's mine, hopefully, if QueenPaige lets me have him. ^w^