“Go away,” I told the blond child who had parked himself right beside me, to the point where he had decided to sit right beside me as I smoked maryseed, “Didn’t we already go over this, Nix?”

Nix looked right at me, and made a funny face, before poking me in the face.

“I’ll keep coming back unless you hand over the maryseed,” he asserted, trying to take the cigarettes from me.

“I could never give these to a child,” I said, exhaling the green mist.

“I don’t want them,” Nix stood up, “I want to get rid of them,” he said.

“These cost good money,” I said, recalling the price I paid for these cigarettes, “It’d be a shame to put them to waste,” I put the roll back to my lips, inhaling it.

Nix looked at me with rebellious eyes, and he suddenly pulled his leg back.

What the hell was this child doing?

And kicked me, knocking me to my side.

Hold on. That couldn’t have just happened, right? No kid was so stupid… right? A boy barely fourteen, kicking a twenty eight year old man onto his side? Was he looking to get beaten?

Nevermind that. It was more serious If I didn’t beat him, I would be the laughingstock of the village.

Nix grabbed a carton of maryseed cigarettes that cost me a pretty penny and ran off.

I was so infuriated that I wanted to curse at him, but I refrained. It seemed kind of improper to say, “Calling a child a bastard… that’s taking things too far, isn’t it?”

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Then I ran after the little bastard.

***

The child surrounded me like I was a hero who defeated an evil king.

Holding Nix in the air, he looked at me with an ever defiant face. He had won the battle--stealing my cigarettes--but had lost the war. I reclaimed the maryseed, but not before looking at all the children around me, and harrumphed strangely.

With an uncharacteristically deep voice, I directed my body toward Nix, “This is the face of evil!” I said, “And he has been conquered!” The children laughed at Nix, who looked embarrassed--not because he had been scolded by an adult but because he had been bested by me, who could only be described as a man-child at this moment.

Unable to help myself, I snapped my fingers, casting a little trick of magic, making it appear as if a deity had sent light down to me from the heavens.

“I heed your cry, fallen angels~!” I said, not embarrassed the slightest bit, basking in the light.

***

Since that day, rather than just attracting Nix to myself, the entire playground had decided to gather around me, hoping that I would show them another trick.

I was a little bothered.

With the crowd of children forming around me, I couldn’t smoke in good faith.

I should have held back.

Nix--the rat bastard strangely adamant on making me break away from maryseed--the leader among them, kept the children around me, knowing that I wouldn’t smoke in front of them

This bastard knew what he was doing. I was sure of it.

I stood up, retreating into my house, away from them. I tapped my foot impatiently, holding a maryseed cigarette in my hand.

“I don’t want to stink up my house,” I muttered, walking over to some odd window in the house, opening it. I leaned over, lighting the cigarette, both of my hands to my side as it lit up.

I didn’t need a lighter.

I exhaled the verdant mist, and the feeling of impatience was eased.

“There’s nothing like maryseed after a long day,” I said, a little pleased.