Eilis and the Gift
Y/N lay on the creaky bed for what seemed like hours, as they watched their mother work. She had stayed up almost the entire night; doing nothing but searching through articles in the paper, circling and crossing them off.
"Mama?" They whispered.
The mother shot herself up from her daze, and looked over to her child. "Yes, sweetie?"
"Why aren't you going to work at the factory?"
Grace sighed, then stood up from her spot at the table. She kneeled in front of the child, and rested a hand on their head. "Mummy was...fired from making dresses. Do you know what 'fired' means?"
"You get burned?"
She chuckled. "In a way, yes. But, it also means that I'm not allowed to work their anymore." She swallowed a sob catching in her throat. "But, I'm going to try my hardest to find another job; one that's better than the stinky dress factory."
Y/N smiled as they felt a kiss on their forehead. The child snuggled themselves more into the bed, and stared up at the ceiling for a bit longer as the mother continued to look through the paper.
As the mother and child were eating their small breakfast, Y/N pushed the hair out of their face, and spoke. "Mama, can I work at Eilis' bakery?"
Grace stared at her bowl still full of cornflakes; the child noticed she hadn't touched her food at all.
"Mama?"
The woman flinched, and picked up a spoon and stirred her cereal. "Yes?"
"Can I go to Eilis' bakery? I can help her make things again." The child begged.
Shaking her head, the mother sighed. "Y/N, you don't have to work because I-."
"But I like it there!" They interrupted. "She gives me lollipops and other sweets sometimes. She doesn't even let me cook a lot, she just makes me clean."
"It's very early, I don't know if she's even opened."
"She says that I can come early anytime."
"How do you know that for certain?"
"She told me." Y/N said with an 'obviously' tone in their voice."
Grace clenched her jaw, and closed her eyes, taking a breath. "Fine,"
The child smiled, and hopped out of the chair to get dressed, and put on their new boots.
"But wear your best cothes, do as she says, don't casue a mess," the mother listed off 'don't's as she stood up. "and for lord's sake, please don't take that much money from her."
Y/N smiled, and opened the top drawer with their favorite (suit/dress). "Of course i won't, mum."
The mother turned around and finished her breakfast as Y/N changed. When they were finished, they began tugging on their boots, and trying to lace them.
"Here sweetie, let me help." Grace said, kneeling down to tie up the boots. Y/N stood up when she was done, and grabbed the door handle.
"Y/N," the mother called again. Grunting, the child turned around to face their mother. "I want you to only go to the bakery, and come back from the bakery; no dawdling allowed."
They nodded." Yes, mummy." They opened the door.
"Y/N,"
"What?!" They whined, turning around again.
Grace laughed. "I love you,"
They smiled. "I love you too."
Leaving the house, the child walked slowly as they passed Angela King's house. It was almost like the blonde woman never that porch, always smoking her cigarette, or sewing ribbons onto costumes and shoes for little girls who took ballet.
Hands gripping their sides, the child timidly sauntered passed the woman, only glancing at her once or twice. "Good morning, Ms. King."
Angela King looked up from her work, and took the cigarette out of her mouth. "What did you say to me?"
The child began to shake as she stood up from her rocking chair, and leaned over the fence of her porch. "Go on, you can tell me."
"I-I just said good-good morning, ma'am." They stammered.
She smiled. "Thank you very much, and a good morning to you too."
Y/N returned the slight smile, and continued walking; they didn't get very far.
"Oh, Y/N." Angela called.
"Yes?"
The woman walked closer to the child. "Does your mother ever go out at night to meet someone?"
Y/N squinted their eyes in confusion. "No,"
"And word has gone around the neighbors, that she just lost her job?" She asked.
Again, the child nodded in confusion.
Angela smirked. "Dear Y/N, do you what a streetwalker is?"
The child's eyes grew bigger than plates at the name. Their mother has only told them so little about what a streetwalker was; someone will find them on the streets (mainly at night), and give them money. Then, they would bring them to their homes, and not leave the house until the next day. The mother has only referred to them as "bad" people almost every time they came across them.
"Is that your job? Is that why the milkman knocks on your door every other night?" They asked, innocently.
Angela King's jaw dropped. "You are such a little bastard!"
Her voice raising sent the child to sprint away from the shouting woman, and down the road. Almost in no time, Y/N was standing outside of Eilis' bakery.
The child walked through the red door, and heard the 'ting' of the familiar bell in their ear as they traveled throughout the small bakery. Because of it being in the middle of two apartment buildings, Eilis' bakery was just a tiny part of another apartment on top of it.
"Ms. Eilis?" Y/N asked, walking into the small kitchen in the back.
"Is that you, Y/N?" An Irish accent, belonging to a younger woman, echoed through the kitchen. She appeared from behind a cabinet, covered in flour, and a hint of chocolate on her cheek. "Ah, I was hoping to see my favorite worker today."
The child smiled, and blushed at her words.
Eilis' eyes traveled down to the child's nice clothes. "Dear, it isn't Sunday. Why are you wearing your church clothes?" She joked, and pulled an apron off the coat rack, and passed it to Y/N.
"Mama wanted me to wear it," They rolled their eyes as they tried their best to tie the apron.
The woman smiled, and tied the apron for them. "There we are," she sang. "now, I don't open for another hour. So, would you like to help me with some baking?"
Their eyes lit up, and the hugest smile spread across their face, and they nodded. Eilis returned the smile.
"Oh!" She remembered, pulling a hair tie off her wrist, and quickly tied their hair up.
"This looks weird." Y/N frowned in the mirror, playing with the new hairstyle.
Eilis shook her head. "My sister says plenty of people in America wear it. It looks like the tail of a pony, if you ask me." Giggling at each other, the two finally got to work baking.
...
"Thank you so much, Ms. McNeil. How on earth did you bake this today?" The older gentleman asked the young girl, as he took the boxed cake.
Eilis shrugged. "If I am honest sir, I could not have done it without the help of this one." She smiled, and laid a hand on the child's shoulder.
He grinned down at them, and tipped his hat. "You look awfully young to make such a masterpiece. I say that deserves a little extra reward." He took out his wallet again, and took out a twenty pound note.
Y/N's jaw dropped to the floor as he handed it to her. "Sir, no."
"Buy something nice for yourself, small one." He winked at them, and smiled kindly. Picking up his cake, he thanked the duo one last time, and left the bakery. He was maybe one of the only costumers to not stare at the child for wearing their hair in a different way.
Eilis smiled down at the child, still staring in awe at the note. She squeezed their shoulder, and caught the time on her watch. "Y/N, sweetie, did you bring any lunch?"
Y/N stared at Eilis, and slowly shook their heads.
The woman grinned, and squatted down, whispering. "Because Thomas isn't here yet, go clean up the kitchen, then pick out anything you like out of the pantry for lunch."
The child smiled, and ran to the kitchen, picking up the mop and quickly washing every inch they could see. After quickly cleaning, they ran into the pantry, and picked a loaf of bread, a fruit scone, and a cinnamon roll, putting them all in a paper bag.
They sneaked through the line of customers, and out the front door. Sitting on the steps, they opened the bag, and began eating the bread.
Until, a small, twig-like creature crawled right next to them.
With an unknown sense of fear growing, the child only stared down at it, as he came closer to them, never taking his eyes off the bread. "Oh," they began. "are you hungry?"
The creature came closer, and Y/N ripped a piece off the bread, and handed it down to the creature. He took it, and ate it greedily. Instead of fear, the child was filled with innocent curiosity.
"Pickett!"
At the frantic voice, Y/N's head snapped up to see none other than Newt Scamander pushing past people.
"Mr. Newt?" They asked, but couldn't help slightly cheering. He ignored the child, and picked up the animal, or "Pickett" by his little arm.
"What did I tell you about running off?" He gently scolded him, and put Pickett in his sleeve coat. Sighing in relief, is when he finally noticed Y/N. "Oh, hello again."
They smiled at him. "I like your pet."
His face fell for a second, but then he chuckled. "Oh yes, me too. He can be a bit nippy though."
"He seemed nice to me."
Newt smiled at them, then his eyes traveled to the top of their head. "Your hair."
Quickly feeling self-conscious, they twisted their hair. "I know, it looks dumb."
He shook his head. "No it doesn't, it just looks-." He pursed his lips, trying to find the best word. "-different."
They gave him a small smile, and looked over to see him still clutching the same suitcase. "Mr. Newt?"
He glanced up. "Yes?"
"What's in your case?"
He gulped, and looked down at it. "Oh, this? Not-nothing really."
"Why do you carry it around everywhere?"
He pursed his lips. "It's for work."
The child slightly gagged. "It's boring then."
Newt smiled not only at the child's reaction, but at them dropping the subject. "Perhaps to you, but not to me. How do you like your boots?"
They looked down at them, and noticed the laces untied. "Shoot," They quickly tried to retie them, but got nowhere.
"Here, let me show you." Newt commented softly, and took the laces away from them. "Alright, so you'll take these two laces, and criss-cross them." He did. "And then, you put on through the small hole right here." He did again. "Now you make one loop, tie it, then another loop. There you are."
The child stared at the work in shock; he made it look so easy.
"Now you try."
Nodding, Y/N grabbed the two laces on the other boot, and tried to replicate Newt's way of tying them up. Sure enough, they weren't exactly successful. So, the man slowly tied the other boot for them.
He looked up. "McNeil's Family Bakery." He read.
Y/N glanced behind them. "My mama's friend owns it. Her mama and papa died, so they gave it to her."
Newt nodded. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I have-" he paused. "-had a friend who owns a bakery. I helped him with it."
They smiled. "Do you still talk to him?"
"No, I cannot." He shook his head with a hint of melancholy.
Y/N frowned at his face, but then smiled, remembering something. "Look," they pulled the crumpled 20 pound note out of their pocket. "a nice man gave this to me before lunch."
Newt smiled at the child's enthusiasm. "That was very kind of him. What are you thinking of using it on?"
They shrugged. "Probably something for my mum."
"That's very sweet. Now, I believe I should be on my way." He gave the little child a nod, stood up, and continued on the sidewalk. Soon, he felt a much smaller presence walk beside him.
They looked up at him, still walking. "What animal is Pickett?"
Newt swallowed, trying to quickly think. "Oh, he is a simple...leaf bug. Do you know what those are, Y/N?"
Nodding, they said. "Mama showed me a picture of one in a book. But Pickett looks like a twig."
"Pickett is," he paused again. "a very special kind of leaf bug. But, I can not tell you, because it is a secret."
Y/N grinned like a Cheshire cat. "I have a secret."
He nodded. "Alright,"
"But I can't tell it."
"You usually don't tell anyone secrets." Newt pursed his lips, and walked a bit faster; hoping for the child to leave him alone.
But, Y/N still followed him, every once in a while, eating a treat out of their paper bag. Soon, Newt turned to face the child, and looked down at them.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" He asked.
Y/N shrugged. "Can you help me find something for mama?"
He sighed. Did he honestly have time to run around London with this child? To answer himself, he turned around to look at a nearby clock tower. "12:13." it read. He looked back to the child.
"I suppose I have some time. But only for an hour." He couldn't help but smile a little as the child skipped in their step as they continued down the path.
"I want to go in this one," Y/N tugged on Newt's coat sleeve, and pointed to a jewelry store.
He pursed his lips. "I think that might be a bit expensive."
"Nonsense!" They cheered, and pulled him into the store with them. It must have been a ridiculous sight; a small child with long hair pulled up into a different hairstyle, wearing a decent (dress/suit), carrying a paper bag; and a tall, well dressed man, timidly walking through the store as the child was in awe of all the jewels.
"Sir," a man wearing a vest marched over to Newt. "would you kindly tell your daughter to put her hair down, and not gaggle every time she sees her reflection."
Newt's mouth parted. "Oh, they're not my dau-daughter."
"Well," he scowled. "tell whatever they are to you, to quiet down." He left in a huff.
Sighing, Newt tiptoed to the child. "Y/N, please put your hair down."
Looking away from the bracelets, they frowned. "Why?"
"It just, it doesn't look professional." He bit his tongue.
"Professional?" They asked.
"It means grown up. You want everyone to think you're grown up, don't you?"
They stared at him, then nodded before pulling the hair tie out, and the long hair dropped to their shoulders. Nodding, the two continued to look around the store together.
"Y/N," he finally spoke. "why is your hair so long?"
They shrugged. "Mama says it's too much money for haircut; and she says she's scared to give me one."
"I see," Newt said, and they returned to their search.
"I found it!" They cheered, holding up a tiny, silver locker.
Newt grinned, and looked at the price; just enough.
"I like it because of this," they open it, and reveals to be a small space in the hearts. "you can hide secret pictures in it!"
Once again, Newt couldn't help the smile on his face at the child's enthusiasm, and they walked to the cash register. They bought the locket, and began walking back to Eilis' bakery.
"I found out what happened to papa," Y/N said ever so suddenly, walking with heavy steps.
The man looked down to the child's new attitude. "Really?"
They nodded, and began their story. "Mama said that she met him a long time ago, and that she loved him very much. He was different from anyone she's ever met; she said that I'm a lot like him. People were mean to him, but he was okay as long as he had my mummy. They wanted to get married, but then she found out that she was going to have me. A lot of people didn't like them because of that, and her mummy and daddy told her to never talk to them again; they were angry at her. Other people they didn't even know didn't like them; especially my papa. Mama told me that he wanted to go swimming one night, so he jumped off the bridge to swim in the ocean. But, then he died."
Newt stood in silence at the story that a tiny child had just told him. It didn't take him long to put the pieces together; no child should go through what they had been through.
"I'm," he couldn't speak. "I'm terribly sorry."
They shrugged their shoulders. "It's okay. Mama says it's alright, because papa had the same secret." They covered their mouths.
Newt squinted his eyes in confusion. The child stared up at him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry," they apologized, and sprinted away from him. There stood Newt, confused and wondering if he should have ran after them. But, he sighed, and looked at the small newspaper article he cut out.
221A Baker street room for rent
Ruby Hudson, Available times:
8:00 a.m-9 p.m.
Rent: 200.52 pounds every two months
...
The child sprinted down the sidewalk, constantly trying to avoid running into someone. They were successful, and ran into the bakery, and behind the counter. Thankfully, Eilis was still there.
"I see someone is back from their lunch break." She sang with her accent, handing a customer a loaf of bread.
They nodded. "I got something for my mum." They held up the small, heart locket.
Eilis grinned. "It's really pretty, Y/N. I think she'll love it."
A smile perked on the child's lips, and for the rest of the day, they helped Eilis bake, sell, and clean.
"Alright, eight hours of work, I believe this is how much I owe you." The woman said, passing down a handful of notes and coins to the child.
"Do you think this is too much?" They asked.
Eilis shook her head. "Of course not dear. Come on now, your mother is probably worried sick. Thomas!" She yelled.
A scrawny boy of fourteen stumbled, and poked his head through the storage door. "Yes, Ms. McNeil?"
"I'll be taking Y/N home, and I'll only be out for fifteen minutes. Do you think you can hold down the bakery until I get back?"
He nodded. "Ye-yes ma'am. Good-goodbye, Y/N."
Y/N smiled sweetly, and waved as Eilis and them left. "Bye, Thomas!"
The two walked down the path, talking joyfully amongst themselves. When they must have been halfway there, Eilis spoke up.
"You know, I believe you and your mother would love America. My sister lives in New York, and she says that she absolutely adores it."
Y/N shrugged. "Mama said we don't have much money. Boats at scary too."
Eilis chuckled. "I would be more than happy to buy the two of you tickets, and I would come along to scare those nasty boat fears away."
"Really? Can I ask mama then?" They asked.
The woman smiled. "Please do. Alright, is this your house?"
"Yes," Y/N smiled, and ran to knock on the door.
In almost a flash, Grace L/N opened the door, and smiled at her child and Eilis. "Oh Eilis, thank you so much for taking care of them."
She smiled. "It's no trouble at all, they are always so helpful."
"Mama, can we go to America?" Y/N asked.
Grace laughed. "Oh darling, it's so far away. Besides, we don't enough for even one boat ticket. Perhaps when you're older."
"That won't be necessary." Eilis cut in, and the mother and child gazed at her. "My mother and father left me plenty of money, and I would not mind to pay for you and Y/N to visit America."
The mother shook her head. "Oh no, you have done so much for us already. I also think it is not the right time; I have just lost my job."
Eilis sighed, defeated. "Fine then, but if you ever change you mind, don't be shy to tell me. Good night, Y/N."
"Good night, Ms. Eilis." Y/N bowed, and she left.
The mother brought her child into the house. "How was your day?"
"Okay. It was fun baking and selling."
"That's nice. I took a small job today." The mother smiled, taking out an almost empty jar of jam, and a few slices of bread.
"So you have a new job?" Y/N asked with a huge smile on their face.
Grace shook her head. "It was only an odd job. I can only do those for a bit, until I can find areal one."
Y/N nodded. "Mama, why did you lose your real job?"
The mother stopped spreading the jam on the bread, and paused for what seemed like an eternity. "Let's-let's not talk about that."
"Okay then, what's a bastard?"
The butter knife dropped with a 'clang!' onto the floor, and Grace turned around, hands on her child's shoulders. "Dear, where did you learn that word?"
"Miss-miss Angela called me it today." They stuttered.
Grace's face fell, and she embraced her child. "Oh sweetie, oh sweetie, oh sweetie. That word is a very mean word to call people. I don't want you to call anyone that, okay?"
Still feeling confused, Y/N nodded slowly. To try and change the subject, they took the locket out of their pocket. "I got you a present."
She stared at the pendant, and took it, mouth still wide open. "This-" she paused. "this is so beautiful, thank you so much!"
Y/N giggled.
The mother looked at her child, then smiled. "I was saving this for your birthday," she began, and opened a nearby drawer, then took out a similar locket, but just a bit bigger, and was a circle instead of a heart. "but, it seems fitting to have it now." She handed the pendant to her child. "Open it,"
So Y/N did. Inside the locket, was a small lock of hair; her mother's hair.
"Your father and I had similar ones, but I lost his." She wiped her eyes. "So, we gave each other lockets, and cut off a piece of our hair, just in case we were ever separated."
Y/N smiled slightly. "It's kind of gross. But, can I give you mine?"
"I would love that." Taking out a sharper knife from the drawer, Grace carefully sawed a small lock off Y/N's long hair. Then, she opened her locket, and slipped the hair into it. "A perfect fit,"