Paying the Rent

They wrote three stories to live in the third story of a run down apartment

There was a couple overspending every month, sharing a rundown studio in an exurban apartment complex. Every month the girlfriend raised a little bit extra for rent with plasma donations and Uber deliveries. The boyfriend was over 60 and retired. One day, the girlfriend said, “I found an ad on Craigslist for stories. We send three short stories and we get $50.”

“Is there any limit on length?” the boyfriend asked.

“At least 50 words. At most, 500,” the girlfriend read. “I have one to start us off,” she exclaimed. Her boyfriend pulled out his phone and began to auto-transcribe her narration.
She said:
“Once upon a time there lived an immense and strong giant, in a castle at the top of a hill. He was proud of his strength but afraid of smaller people’s reactions when they saw him- flinching away uncomfortably, giving him a wide berth. He decided one day to attempt a powerlifting competition, deadlifted 3,000 lbs, and won. As he put his first place medal around his neck, he boasted to his girlfriend, “This is what I will be remembered by,” and she smiled sadly, knowing it was true.”

The girlfriend, proud of the dialogue at the end especially, finished her story.

“Very good, but it’s my turn now,” the boyfriend said, and he told a story about a fairy.
He said:
“Once there was a purple fairy who was born with a broken wing. Try as she might, she couldn’t get the wing to heal. She took a magic potion every day that enabled her to fly anyway, and it made her very tired, but she visited birds’ nests, and saw the emerald foliage of the rain forests, and gathered the juiciest berries for breakfast and the prettiest flowers for her bower. “This is how people will judge my worth,” she told her boyfriend, and he winced a little bit, knowing he found her beautiful at least in part because of this.”

He finished this way because he was a philosopher, and he had some insight into less-liked parts of even himself. Since his girlfriend previously ended her story with a quote, he chose to do the same, and along the same lines- thinking of her and their ten year history, their lovey-dovey moments, and their many arguments.

His girlfriend began to pace across the floor, as a third story came to her mind.

“One day the purple fairy flew over the giant’s castle. She saw how well built and strong the giant was and how the giant’s girlfriend seemed effortlessly beautiful, with no broken limbs. The giant looked up as the fairy flew over, regretting that he had spent such a huge portion of his now long life cooped up within walls, only occasionally emerging for his contests, never seeing foreign lands or a bird’s eye view.”

“I think we have our stories,” the boyfriend said, formatting and adding punctuation.
“Can you imagine paying the rent this way?” the girlfriend said, rubbing her arm where it was sore from the plasma donation. “Being a writer makes me feel like I have wings.” She rubbed her fingers against his bicep, which felt very strong.