Satan shuffled the cards and glared at the other players. “Hellfire will rain down upon any cheaters in this game. I’m looking at you, Drac.”
“What can I say?” The vampire shrugged. “I’m just lucky tonight.”
Goddess Gaia rolled her eyes and popped a candy in her mouth. “Bringit, big boy. I need to schedule some earthquakes and tsunamis with Poseidon, so this is my last round. You know how cranky he gets.”
“Endingon a high note, Goddess?” Satan nodded toward her pile of chips. “Or maybe you’ll go bust.”
Gaia glanced at the cards he had just dealt to her and smiled. “We’ll see.”
“Enough bantering.” Dracula shoved a huge pile of chips to the middle of the table. “I’m all in.”
She had nothing better to do, so she went with the others to the book signing. The nurse said it would be only a short walk from the bus stop to the bookstore, but it was windy, which exacerbated the chill. By the time they stepped inside, she was too cold and achy to care about a book, even one written by a famous writer.
“Aren’t you buying one?” her friend asked. “Jim Warren will sign it himself!”
She picked up a copy from the stack and stood in line with the others. At least it was pot pie day. That would warm her up. She smiled thinking of the delicious flaky crust and bubbling chicken and veggies tucked inside. Hopefully it would be ready as soon as they returned from this outing.
“You have a beautiful smile.”
She realized she was at the front and it was her turn to pay and have the book signed. The writer was old, much more ancient than he had appeared in the flyer she’d received. His face was a map of lines, and when he smiled they radiated out to the ends of the earth and beyond. His hair was a puff of snow, haloing his head. But his eyes! They glittered like aquamarine jewels, as if an ocean bubbled beneath his skin.
“Thank you,” she said, handing her credit card to the bored-looking cashier.
“To whom shall I dedicate this book?” the ancient writer asked.
“To Daisy.” She felt herself blush for the first time in thirty years as he studied her face and repeated her name. When he handed the book back, their fingertips touched briefly.
On the bus ride home, she opened the jacket to see what he wrote. She turned in her seat so no one else could see.
Dearest Daisy, you have brightened up my morning with your lovely smile. Let’s meet again in these pages and have a wonderful adventure. Yours, James
Daisy skipped lunch and went straight to her room to begin reading the book. Within a few pages, his words swirled her through the mists of her imagination to the beach of his dreams. She was young and beautiful with long golden hair and a body that had no pains. Her pillow was sugary sand; waves of aquamarine flowed over her like a blanket. When a villain materialized from the rocks, a hero galloped out of the clouds on a steed made of fire. He swept her away to the ends of the earth and beyond.
“I hoped I would find you here,” she said.
“Our adventure is just beginning,” he told her. And he kissed her as they headed into the wind.
There she was again, talking to the shoes. What a strange thing for a beautiful girl to do every afternoon. The craftsman knew he shouldn’t speak to her, but he couldn’t resist.
Princess Titania shrugged off his question. “An evil wizard turned my lover into a pair of shoes when I refused to marry him. He said that Michael was fit only for me to step on.”
“They are… lovely footwear,” the craftsman said.
“Honestly, I think he looks better as shoes.”
“Many do, milady.”
“Mm.” She gazed at his shabby clothes and worker’s tools. Her eyes widened. “Indeed.”
“What have you brought me tonight?” asked the demon of the maiden.
“I bring you all the stars in the sky, and I humbly beg you to spare my beloved,” said the maiden to the demon with tears flowing down her translucent misty gown.
“It is not enough,” growled the demon.
The maiden departed and returned in a thousand years with another gift to present in trade.
“What have you bought me tonight?” asked the demon of the maiden.
“I bring you all the music from the spheres, and I humbly beg you to spare my beloved,” said the maiden to the demon with tears flowing down her translucent misty gown.
“It is not enough,” growled the demon.
The maiden departed and returned in ten thousand years with another gift to present in trade.
“What have you bought me tonight?” asked the demon of the maiden.
“I bring you myself, my final offering, all I have left, and I humbly beg you to spare my beloved,” said the maiden to the demon with tears flowing down her translucent misty gown.
“I accept,” said the demon, “for I am your beloved. Welcome home.”
