Who knows better?

The boy had a pair of eyes of pure mischief and a heart of pure gold. There was something about the 23-year-old Jack that dragged people towards him. He had a spark in his smile and he was more than good-looking. There was nothing threatening about him. Nothing at all. He preferred working smart rather than working hard but he always gets his work done and that ideology of his was what made him oppose his opportunity of taking up his long-lasting family business.

Jack's mother was a task manager who decides everyone's direction of life in the family and organized chores of the house. His father did nothing but work. His world lied in his business which was a soft drink manufacturing factory. He had to deal with thousands of workers in a day and he would smile only once in a while and then sink back in his work. His sister was 2 years younger than Jack and was still completing her studies. There was no scope of their parents accepting their daughter to see the world like a man or let her manage any sort of business. So, Jack had a lot of pressure on him to take up something he was not ready to. He just wanted a strong reason to oppose his family and a strong motive to prove himself right.

Jack tucked himself into the blanket on his open terrace that night and the sleep pooled on his eyelids. He slowly buried in his sleep. In the middle of the night, Jack felt someone trying to wake him up by nudging his shoulder. He suddenly opened his eyes as if it was an emergency. He rubbed his eyes trying to give his brain a moment to allow his vision to be clear. His brain functioning had stopped at the exact moment when he saw a girl like an angel kneeling next to him and when her eyes met his, she smiled.

"Who are you?" he asked with a confusing expression. She beamed a soft dimpled smile. With a voice not louder than a soft whisper "I'm your guardian angel. You people call us fairies," she took his hand and stood up. His stomach did a leap and a twirl all at once. "I'm definitely dreaming!" he said hiding his excitement. He was looking at her flowing black hair and her deep blue eyes. There wasn't anything magical over there like wings on her back or rainbow in the sky or any wand in her hand with a star. Everything was normal and she looked so real, her touch was real and her words were so assuring that Jack started believing her. "Why are you here?" he asked. "I'm here to guide you with your life," she said in a sweet tone.

"How did you know that I needed guidance?" Jack said raising his eyebrows. "We don't have the whole night Jack. I'm here to solve your problems and help you decide which path best suits you," she said as if she was in a hurry to disappear. "Yeah! you are right. I need this right now. How can I convince my family that I am not the worthy person to takeup our family business?" he asked without wasting the opportunity he had in his hands. "Why do you think you are not worth it?" she politely questioned him back. "I believe in luck and smart work. I don't want to lead a busy life. I've seen my father work day and night for the business and I don't wanna live such a life," Jack let out his words filled with sorrow.

"You are just not interested, Jack. It doesn't mean you aren't worth it. I am giving you a secret mission for your own good Jack. Will you do it?" her words were so manipulative that Jack immediately agreed with her. "Tell your father that you wanna try how everything works in your business and that you wanna take up the business for a month," she said and started walking away. "What after that? What if my father feels I am interested in it? What if this is all a dream?" he squealed while walking after her. She turned back and gave Jack her finger ring. "This is not a dream," she said firmly and "Do what I said. I'll be there for you," she said. "Go back to sleep now," she added.

Jack obeyed her orders obediently and turned back to the entrance of the terrace for her trace though he knew that she had already left. He held the ring tight in his palm and fell asleep remembering her beautiful face. He woke up just the way kings wake. He had experienced consciousness and felt blessed by realizing, the ring was still in his palm. His eyes greeted the day shine. His heart and lungs expanded. He welcomed a new day in his life, the anticipation of whatever comes. Jack went downstairs and got himself ready in a decent white shirt and blue jeans within no time. He had his sandwich and juice just in time. He was ready to leave with his father.

"I'm gonna join you today. Would that be okay?" he asked his father as soon as he came into the hallway. His father wasn't a fun person but as soon as he heard Jack, he let out a wide smile and rested his hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack knew his father was proud but he couldn't resist saying that he was still not ready to takeup the business and that he just wanted to visit their factory for a month. Jack's father didn't seem to be disappointed. He at least felt happy for Jack taking an initiative and he thought it could be the beginning of something big. Jack's mother, who was looking at all this was overwhelmed with happiness and she packed some extra food for Jack. His mother's love was always a platform from where he could fly to a clear blue sky.

It was the first day of Jack at their factory. Everyone greeted him with a lot of respect and admiration which showed how much they adored his father. He learned, he would gain equal respect his father had earned with his hard work. He saw how everything worked and also noticed that some techniques they were using were old but he didn't utter a word. He saved everything in his mind. All he wanted to do was complete a whole month as the fairy had advised and get out of it. He wasn't sure, what he was gonna do in his life if not for the factory. He monitored everything for twenty successful days and he even gave his father rest for a couple of shifts by playing his role, supervising the factory. He felt responsible. He was losing traces of boyhood. Bit by bit he changed tough and matured.

On his twenty-first day, he couldn't resist but suggested ideas to his father which he had observed so far. The implementation took a couple of days but that decreased about half the effort and time the workers usually dedicate. All the workers appreciated Jack and his father was tremendously proud. The replacement of the old fashioned equipment was also done under Jack's assistance. Everything was great and Jack felt productive about his work. He now made their factory work easier and less hard-working. 

There wasn't a night he didn't think of those pretty blue eyes of his angel. He didn't know if it was his league or not but what he knew was, the more he was thinking about her, the more he fell in love with her. He sometimes even felt that he had seen the angel in the broad daylight on the way to their factory. He knew he was falling for her even more day by day. 

It was the last day of his mission. He saved one bottle of their soft drink whose bottle's design was recently changed following Jack's orders. Jack was unofficially running the business and it seemed like he was already the Chairman. He didn't even speak to his father about anything regarding him taking up the business. He was waiting very patiently for the fairy. He wanted to disclose each and every particular thing to her first. His priorities changed unknowingly.

The big night has arrived, he held the ring in his fist same as the previous twenty-nine days and closed his eyes under a sky of perfect midnight. He knew his wait was over when he heard his name in the same sweet tone he was dying to hear for so long. He opened his eyes and bounced immediately to sit parallely to her. "I did it!" he shouted. "And?" she asked eagerly. "You were right. I am worthy of our business," he said. The fairy smiled, "but I don't want to take up our business. I learned about myself in this journey. That is because of you," Jack said, taking the fairy's hands in his. 

The fairy's expressions showed that she wasn't expecting that. She herself seemed confused. "What do you want to do then?" she exclaimed. "I'm worth more. I am a quick learner and now I know that I deserve more. All thanks to you!" he said handing over the bottle of drink he had saved for her. She politely took it without refusing. "What's your next move?" she asked sipping it. "I want to start my own business," he said. "Then what about this one?" she asked. "I'm going to hand it over to my sister. Now that I have made everything easier, she need not spend many hours in there. I will try to educate my parents about women empowerment and give her a chance to set an example in our society," he said which was quite impressive.

"Why wouldn't you want to continue what you are good at?" she asked. "I want to start from zero and prove myself. All the respect and admiration I am receiving now are not my earnings. I want to succeed on my own skills and prove myself to this world," he said in a firm voice. "You look pretty confident," she said by raising her eyebrows for which Jack literally blushed. "What if you fail?" she questioned back, "You are not allowed to re-join your family business. Are you ready to play with these rules?" she added before he answered. "What if I win?" he seemed pretty sure on what he was going to do. "How much time do you want?" she asked. "Three months and your visit once a month," he was clear, "and... I'll ask you what I want once I succeed," he ended the conversation from his end. 

"Done!" she said and asked him to lie down. He did as she said, and then she placed her warm hand on his eyes. Jack's heart pounded like never before. He could hear his own heartbeat. As his consciousness ebbed, his mind went into free fall. The next morning, Jack went downstairs and knocked on his sister's door. As soon as she opened up, he went in, and they both had a deep discussion for almost an hour. Jack came out and dressed himself up and was having his breakfast when his sister, Judy dressed herself up and joined him nervously. Jack's mother was looking at all of this surprisingly but did not try to interfere in any of it. 

"What's up with you guys today?" asked Jack's father coming out of his room. "You take rest, today dad. I wanna take Judy with me today. I think that would be fine with you guys," Jack told his parents taking the lenience he had. "I'll come with you What's wrong? Why do you need your sister?" his father bounced back with questions. "I want to show Judy how good I am, dad. Is something bothering you?" Jack said indirectly that no matter what, he was definitely going to take Judy with him. "Fine. You are a grown-up now. I'll let you make your decisions, Jack," his father said with a fake smile. Though he trusted Jack, he was not okay with Judy going out to the factory like a man. According to him, the outside world is where men rule and women 's place in this world is the kitchen and sometimes he would also agree if the word "kitchen" is replaced with "house" in the previous statement.

Their father stayed back and these two kids took off to the factory. Judy was very hard-working. She was sincere and bold but never said a word against her parents. She didn't stumble entering the factory. Everything from the way she held herself, to the way she spoke to the factory members, to that look of unassailable confidence in her eye said she could do it. Jack was happy that he had predicted his sister's capability right. Judy even knew how to raise her voice against injustice or wrong deeds. She yelled at a worker on whom her eye fell while he was smoking inside the factory premises. Later went to him and made him understand the scenarios which could go wrong by his deeds. When Jack discussed Judy taking up the factory in the morning, he understood that it was always been a desire to Judy to achieve something as equally as men and that she had always been regretting being born as a girl for not being able to continue the family business.

It was dinner time when they reached home. Their father was already waiting at the doorstep. Keeping the three months he had in his mind, he cut everything short and told his father face to face that he wanted his sister to takeup the business and that he wanted to start a new business on his own. "What are you thinking about yourself?" his father raised his voice. "You told that you'll let me take my decisions," Jack pointed out. "How can a girl manage everything?" his father shouted. "Stop this gender-bias dad. She is stronger and sharper than me. Let her takeup the business for two weeks and then let the factory members vote for us," Jack said instantly without any second thoughts. His father agreed as he was confident that a girl could not win over a boy. Parents cannot see the world through children's eyes. Children see exitement and opportunity but they see danger and uncertainity.

Jack had planned everything for his business and took a bulk amount as loan from a bank. His father visited the factory often to look at how his daughter was managing everything. He slowly realized that she was no less than his son. Her work had impressed him pretty much, and he started accepting the truth that both men and women must be given equal opportunities. Judy decreased the need of men to their factory by installing softwares which did half of the work and that helped Jack. Those remaining half workers were hired by Jack for his brewing company. Their father was already convinced but the voting system was a formality. The workers elected Judy as their new chairman, and Jack was gifted the big building next to their factory by his father. Everything was going great, and within the next two weeks, the fist production of bottles was ready. 

 It was the day his angel would meet. He knew that he had to sleep for her to arrive. Soon, he was so asleep and so awake in his soul when the fairy appeared. He got up even before she called him. "I did it! I am the owner of Elixir brewing company" he said with pride-filled eyes. "I'm happy you did it. When I made a deal with you, though I knew you would succeed, I wanted you to try harder, so I told you shouldn't go back," the fairy said. "I know! So I win, right?" he waited for her confirmation. "Yes, what do you want?" she asked as if granting a wish. Jack kneeled and pulled out the same ring she gave him and asked: "Will you marry me?".

"Don't you wanna successfully sale your products in the market yet?" a voice from behind said. Both Jack and the fairy turned towards the staircase to see Jack's mom standing with folded hands. "Mom! NO, it is not what you think," Jack stood up and was trying to explain. "I know. She is a fairy. Isn't she?" she said suppressing her laugh underneath her words. "How do you know?" he whined like a little puppy. "YES!" the fairy said in between their conversation. "What?" Jack turned to her and asked. "I wanna marry you," she said blushing. "I am okay with it," his mom said from the other side. Jack had no idea what was going on. He stood still placing both of his hands on his head.

"She is no fairy son. She is the one whom I selected to get you married to," his mom said. "I'm sorry. I played along. But your mom believed that only something special and challenging could guide you figure out what you want in life," her words showed how sorry she was for fooling him. Jack pulled both of them together and made them stand side by side, right in front of him. "I am angry but do you know who knows me better?" he asked by looking at his fiance. "MY MOM," he said with a smile. "She even knows which type of girl I want. I'm blessed with everything in my life. You two guided me with my life. I want you to do the same whenever I need it," Jack said. Both the beautiful ladies hugged him under the infinite patterns of the stars in the velvet dark sky. "What's your name by the way, Ms. Fake Fairy?" he asked. "Rose!" she replied with shy.