Some fairies have taken residence on your property, and have grown fond of you, as much as those with such alien morals can. And they are not happy when the bank tried to foreclose on you.
“Excuse me!” The new suit and tie came up to the banker and the sheriff. “Sorry I’m late! Just had to finish up at the courthouse.”
The sheriff said, “And who are you?”
“Mr. Smith’s laywer. Hugh Mannington, from Faeman and associates.” He handed them both a card. While the banker and sheriff were looking at them, he winked at you. They didn’t recognize it, but you knew what this lawyer was.
Oh. Oh no.
When you left out those scones that night wondering how you were going to afford your home with the layoffs, you found them gone the next morning. You thought some animals ate them. When you had cupcakes that your mom sent you, the eaters showed themselves. You thought that circle of mushroom were just something decaying in the backyard. But the have real fairies living there? That certainly surprised you.
You questioned whether you’d be more or less surprised if it turned out a walrus lived there instead.
After that, you shared some of your little treats you got now and then. They were happy to have you with them and introduce them to new sweets. So when they learned about the foreclosure, they promised they would help.
The banker put the card away. “Well, you’re a bit late. We have the foreclosure notice. Nothing to stop this.”
“Actually, I think this will be more than enough to stop this.” The ‘lawyer’ reached into his jacket and produced a folded up paper. “This is an injunction issued by the judge. Timed and dated before the scheduled foreclosure.” He handed it to the sheriff.
The sheriff looked it over for a few minutes. “Looks like it’s legit. County seal and everything. We’re done here.”
“WHAT?! We were never given notice to oppose this! This can’t be legal,” fumed the banker.
The sheriff looked at him over his shades and just said, “That’s for the courts to decide. I’m outta here.”
The banker looked back at you. “You’ll regret this! I’ll make sure we take everything you have for this!”
As the banker got in his own car and left, the ‘lawyer’ giggled. “That was more fun than I thought!”
You smiled sadly and said, “Thanks, but this is just gonna delay things. I mean, no way that was actually legal.”
“Oh dear friend, one thing you’ll quickly learn through all this, everything is legal if the paperwork is filed. The emergency injunction? The court has all the paperwork to back it up, so even if they don’t remember, the paper trail says it all happened legally!”
“You mean you planted the paperwork?”
“Yup! And they can’t argue with the paperwork. We understand human laws, have for centuries. And we know how to manipulate them. Given everything, it’ll take about… oh, 78 years for this case to finish all the discovery, cases, appeals, and what not. During which time, you won’t be allowed to pay the mortgage and the bank will be responsible for the taxes. Which, they’ll have to pay or they forfeit the property. Is that long enough for you to enjoy your home?”
“Wha– I mean, yeah! Seriously?”
“Seriously. Now, we have a small request. What is this thing called ‘flan?’”