I CAN TELL THE MOMENT SHE BELIEVES ME. HER whole face changes, like the sky after a storm, open to possibility. “But Edgar…?” she says.
“It was his idea,” I tell her. This time, I’m the one opening the book. It feels odd, as if I’ve suddenly been granted a phenomenal amount of power.
The story falls open to the illustration on the final page. All the characters are gathered on Everafter Beach, but there are some significant changes. For example, Seraphima is wearing a form-fitting suit of galactic armor. Frump-now human-is wielding a laser beam. And standing in the middle of the fray is someone who looks a great deal like Prince Oliver, holding a sword in one hand and the severed head of the mighty Zorg in the other.
“How fortunate they were to have learned that the intruder in their midst had never really been a royal prince at all-but actually, a seasoned soldier from the future,” Delilah reads out loud. “Once the last Galactoid from Planet Zugon was dispatched by the guerrilla fighters of the kingdom, Edgar swung his blade and with one mighty blow brought down the monstrous Zorg. ‘Victory!’ he cried.”
I am pretty sure that both Delilah and I see Edgar wink at us.
Gently, I close the book, imagining Frump yelling “Cut!” and everyone grinning and congratulating each other on a job well done.
“Funny,” she says, “that’s not quite how I remember the story.”
“Oh really?” I clasp my hands behind her back and draw her closer. “How do you remember it?”
“Something like this,” Delilah says, and she reaches up on her tiptoes and kisses me.
She’s right. This is exactly the way the fairy tale was supposed to go. Except this time, when I glance up, I don’t see the words THE END written above my head.
I guess that’s because it’s just the beginning.