Free Grimm's Last Fairy Tale by Becky Lyn Rickman Page B

them to convey not only a message, but to make people really feel something in the process. You make them think and feel.”
    “Thank you, Jacob. That is so kind of you to say. I confess I am feeling some release in doing this. Sometimes it is hard. Writing finds these buried pockets of emotion and pain and drags them very close to the surface.”
    “I understand—I really do.”
    Maggie made herself a plate of vegetables and dip and began to munch.
    “I wish you could eat something with me. There is something so innately pleasurable about sharing a meal with someone.”
    “I wish I could as well, but just sharing your company is nourishment enough for me.”
    Maggie could contain a deep-seeded pleading no longer and blurted out, “Jacob, please don’t break my heart.”
    He looked at her thoughtfully and his response could be seen in his eyes.
    “I promise not to. I have known for some time who I wanted and I’m just sorry that the circumstances had to be such before I finally got to appear to you.”
    “I’m not. I would face death a thousand times to be with you.”
    This time it was Jacob who bowed his head and blushed.
    “I’d better get back to it, I suppose. When you leave, do you just disappear from my sight but still linger and watch over me, or do you actually go somewhere else?”
    “Sometimes one; sometimes the other. I do still enjoy seeing the faces of the children as they read our works. But mostly, I love to see the intent on your face as you are creating. Before you knew about your illness, I could not have come to you without an invitation. Now things are different and I feel a need to watch over you just in case. I have taken liberties in doing so, and I understand if you are upset. If you wish me to only appear to you and not silently watch over you unnoticed, I will abide by your decision.”
    I don’t mind. I have gotten to the point where I can kind of sense you are here and it makes me smile. I feel safe and secure, even though you are the one to escort me from this life. That probably doesn’t make any sense, does it? I should loathe you, but I can’t. I love you too much.”
    “Thank you for the privilege. I’ll just make myself invisible then?”
    “I don’t think that will work. Now that I’m aware of that you are here even when you’re not visible to me, I won’t be any less distracted than if I were looking at you. Might as well make yourself comfortable. Go read a book or something.”
    She found herself motivated enough to continue without distraction and typed a couple of hours before she could write no longer. As much as she was enjoying this time, it drained her emotionally.
    “Jacob?”
    “Here, sweetest.”
    “I’m tired.”
    “I know, my love.”
    She brushed her teeth and crawled into bed without uttering another word and slept through the night.

Chapter 15,
    in which a trek is begun, spontaneity is experienced, and
    another gender-based altercation
    is nipped in the bud

    “Jacob,” Maggie called out quietly. “Are you there? I need to talk to you.”
    “Yes, dear, what is it?”
    “What is it like?”
    “What is what like?”
    “The afterlife.”
    “Oh, well, I can’t speak much of that either, I’m afraid. It is sacred. But I can tell you that you will be happier and more at peace than you have ever been.”
    “Thank you.”
    “How did you sleep?”
    “Very well, I think. No nightmares. I still feel tired, but I suppose that is probably going to become the norm with the cancer.”
    “Perhaps. Shouldn’t you be seeing about starting some treatment?”
    “Yes, I suppose so. I just know that this is going to cause some disruption to my routine and I’m not looking forward to that. I’m thinking about things that might need to be accomplished before I begin.”
    “Like maybe you should call your children and let them in on this?”
    “Yes, I need to, but that will definitely cause a disruption. They will want me to come and live with them