Penny & the Guardians

1 - Release

Here we go enjoy. xx

Penny

I was suffocated in this little community. An outsider in a community of outsiders. The abnormal weakling.

I scanned the crowd in the town's courtyard. Over two hundred people laughed and chatted in the cobbled square. The fetes were always lovely. At twenty I had only seen two of their annual celebrations. They seemed to find an occasion each month to celebrate.

I was glad I was allowed to help this year. The large floral bouquets and ribbon displays really made it pop with colour.

"Ok look there's a little bottle of booze and books in the bouquet!" One woman said, smiling as she looked closer. Mirages of different colour flowers, pinks, oranges, yellows, my mum had named them tropical bouquets, I was happy with that.

I squeezed my lips shut so I didn't giggle. I'm glad people were finally looking at them, I had bought items from local stores and paid Choi to shrink them down to little doll house sizes. He was one of the first abilities I witnessed here when I was still eighteen. Choi can change the size of pretty much anything. When I came in with my arms full yesterday, he had arched his perfectly shaped and tinted brow at me as I placed all the items on his shop counter.

"All of these please," I said to him and pulled cash from my purse now my hands were free.

"Penny, do you really need all these changing?" He asked not believing me. He charged per item obviously. His business is quiet. But it's hard to advertise when most of the world has no idea that someone could do this.

I placed my cash down on the table, the full amount. No freebies with potential friends, I wanted to properly support him whilst I could afford it. Choi took a deep sigh and rang up my 'purchase' of his services. I got home that night, excited to show Mum, we went through all of them books, lotions, cakes and bottles of booze all shrunk to almost dollhouse sizes. It was soo cute.

"I'm glad you are fascinated by all this and not freaked out." Mum had commented placing a bowler hat on her finger with a smile. Ignoring my back rippling at her words.

"Of Course" I give her my best 'I'm fine' smile "I just wish I could do something."

"You do many wonderful things," mum squeezed my shoulders "just being near you makes me happier" Mum comforted beside me a smile on her face. I rolled my eyes, however lovely that was, it really couldn't count for much as she was my mum, my number one fan.

After I had set up in the medical station ignoring the huffs and tuts at my presence I ran the band through the timings and think they understood as no one answered me. I walked through the parade with the little ones from the school I had time to put the bouquets out. I wanted to celebrate the smaller independent stores that didn't get much foot traffic on they're tucked-away streets.

Was I the next crafts superstar? Absolutely not. But I wanted to help and if I was honest I was desperate to be accepted in this community. Since we had moved here for my brother's job. I had been trying hard for two years to be part of it, but I was different, a risk.

One week before my eighteenth birthday my world unravelled as I knew it. Slowly I've been piecing it back together for two years in the small secret community.

The unravelling began when I found out my brother's true nature. Part creature his human form with an ability to read if people identify their abilities, I heard him be called a real-life lie detector. This was very useful in particular to someone I would learn is the leader of what's loosely known as the otherworld community. True descendants of species that came to earth centuries ago. I'm still learning all the different abilities in this community. Ted is the only one with abilities in my family, our parents and me are total normies' as the more polite members call us here.