Not That Kind of Ever After is a romance about the world of online dating. The protagonist, Bella Marbie, dreams of being a writer and finding a husband. A self-described hopeless romantic, she wants “what all those Disney princesses had before the producers and writers got better…a good old-fashioned man to sweep [her] off her feet and make [her] feel like royalty.” While Bella’s parents were high school sweethearts and her best friend Ellie is engaged to be married, Bella struggles to find her prince charming. She finally resorts to using a “Mirror Mirror” dating app that features the tag line “because the fairest of them all should be the right one too.” The novel opens with a steamy scene between Bella and one of her dating app matches, a man named Charles Wolf. Bella begins to document her lackluster dating experiences online, using chapter titles that correspond to the fairy tales she feels caught in. For example, her experience with Charles is titled My Night with The Big Bad Wolf). Her posts grab the attention of many readers which leads to some success in her writing career. The book is riddled with overt fairy tale references as Bella navigates a world that seems anything but romantic. Although I enjoyed the way Luci Adams wraps her narrative in fairy tale references, this book seems intended for a new adult audience who has some experience with the world of contemporary online dating. There are a few fun plot-based surprises and a happily-ever-after arc which provides closure to Bella’s adventures, but the book is not designed to offer any complex commentary on fairy tale messages. Not That Kind of Ever After might be a fun late summer read for those interested in the world of online dating. You can find the book here. Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis is the Special Projects Writer and Contributing Editor for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has appeared in Eternal Haunted Summer, Blue Heron Review, Forget-Me-Not Press, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. She teaches at Central Connecticut State University.

Hello Enchanted Friends: First, we want to thank everyone who participated in our first fundraising contest. We received so many fantastic submissions that the final decisions were extremely difficult! Below are the chosen authors for FTM's Flash Fiction & Poetry Contest for 2023: FLASH FICTION Grand Prize Winner Ella Arrow Runners Up Tish Black Katie Jordan POETRY Grand Prize Winner Margaret Fisher Squires Runners Up Cecilia Betsill Deborah Sage Look for their stories and poetry to be featured in the upcoming "Tales from the Night Queen's Realm" issue of FTM due out on September 1st!

Editor’s note: What fun this story is! You’ll see so many favorites alluded to in this delightful tale, which is filled with charming details. Enjoy! The old woman walked into her garden and breathed in the fresh air. The morning was as perfect as they come. The sun was rising over the horizon into the clearest of clear blue skies. The birds were singing and flitting from branch to branch in the trees that billowed out around the edges above her garden. She stopped to admire the flowers and the tiny tomatoes and the sage that were peeking up at the early morning sun. She was very pleased at how her garden was coming along. Her apple tree was filled with shiny red apples that were ready for the picking. She gathered a few and took them inside. There were many ways to use apples. She had a special order for one in particular. The Queen of a neighboring kingdom had ordered it herself. The old woman prepared it in the way that the Queen had asked. Cursed. Poisoned. She hated to do it, but she had bills to pay. But there were standards to keep. She made the apple to order, but with a cure. True love’s kiss. It was a longshot, but she had to do something for the poor girl who was going to have to eat the apple. And the extra magic would be undetectable by the Queen. She was a horrible woman anyway, so adding a touch of love would never be noticed through all of the venom and hatred that filled that particular Queen’s heart. She put the apple in a small bundle and took it outside. A large black raven with cloudy white eyes stood on her porch, waiting for the apple. She held up the bundle and the bird dropped a few coins in a small leather bag from his mouth at her feet. She handed him the apple bundle and the bird took it and flew off towards the east and back to the horrible Queen. It was a terrible thing to need money. She checked her to-do list and found the next task to be only slightly more to her liking. She had a request to create a cursed rose, to help to teach a handsome but nasty prince a lesson. It was a task asked for by a friend who had been treated badly by the rude and disdainful prince. She once again made a cure for the curse, by request this time. And once again, true love was the cure. She sent the rose off to her friend using a rabbit as her messenger. It didn’t have far to go to take it to her friend, and she thought it would be nice to get rid of the pesky little fellow for a while. She needed to gather some of the vegetables and herbs from her garden while he was away. The old woman spent some time in her garden and then some time cleaning up the inside of her house. She wanted things to be in good shape for when she returned home later that evening. The young girl that she had her eye on needed some help tonight, and it was always lovely to come back home to a clean hearth and home. Especially when it was filled with the wonderful aromas of fresh herbs drying in front of the kitchen window. When the time came, she gathered the things she needed and headed out to the young girl’s house. When she was sure that the girl’s stepmother and stepsisters were gone, she headed inside to talk to the girl. The old woman found her crying beside the fireplace, all covered with ash and soot. The old woman sat beside her and spoke encouraging words to the girl. She took her by the hand and led her outside. It took some creative thinking, but soon a pumpkin was a carriage, some brave mice volunteered to be horses, and the girl’s shabby dress became a beautiful ball gown. The old woman pulled out a pair of glass slippers. Which, of course, was the most important part of the entire evening. She had spent a huge amount of time on them, making sure that the enchantment was exactly right. The shoes had to be a perfect fit, and that kind of magic took time and patience. The girl was given her instructions and the old woman sent the girl on her way to the ball at the castle. She waved at the carriage as it headed down the road and then dusted off her dress and decided to call it a day. She was tired from all the magic she had to prepare that day, and she wasn’t happy with all of the jobs that had to be done. She was happy, however, to end the day on a nice note, knowing the sweet and lovely girl would be the one to become the queen of her particular kingdom. When the old woman went home, the pesky rabbit was already back in her garden, helping himself to a little dinner as a reward for his errand that day. She let him be and headed back inside. She put a kettle on the fire to make some tea and headed into her bedroom where she found a surprise waiting for her. A hungry wolf was waiting for her, wearing her nightgown, and moments later, she heard her granddaughter knock on the front door. It had been a long and busy day, and the old woman decided that she was not going to be eaten by a wolf. She was thoroughly annoyed by the wolf’s interruption, so she used her magic to change the wolf into a cat and picked him up and carried him out the back door. She tossed the wolf, who was now a cat, into the pig pen with her three piglets and went back inside to answer the door. It had been a while since she had seen her granddaughter, and she had a beautiful red cloak waiting for her. Born and raised in California, Judy now lives in Arizona with her husband and Giant Schnoodle, Amos. She writes with dyslexia and a chronic illness (Meniere’s Disease) and is a breast cancer survivor. She writes mostly fantasy stories and novels, and has been published in Promises in the Gold anthology. Image :“The Fruits of the Earth,” by Edward J. Detmold.

Make a wish. The moon’s words haunt Rashmi, even nineteen years after she missed the crucial opportunity to change her fate. She can never forgive herself for her failure on the night her mother died. Ever since then, she has embraced her grandfather’s mantra of science over magic. Desperate to somehow make things right, she throws herself into her studies and later her work as a Mumbai researcher, never allowing even her devoted boyfriend Darsh to get too close. But when she discovers a rare book of poetry featuring the Moon Garden, the very fable her mother used to tell her, Rashmi dares to hope she might have a second chance. Into the Moon Garden by Shveta Thakrar follows Rashmi and Darsh into a place of breathtaking beauty and dangerous bargains. Because, of course, even the smallest wish on a shining moon blossom comes with a corresponding price. Rashmi has her eyes on the costliest flower of all: the Silver Lotus. And she must have more than just her wits about her; it is her heart and soul she must summon if she is to get what she wants most. Thakrar’s Audible Original novella alternates Rashmi’s story with passages from The Many Faces of the Moon, a collection of tales of moon goddesses and gods from cultures all over the world, set to an addictive piece of music. I loved hearing these different myths, most of which were new to me. The Moon Garden, as brought to life in Thakrar’s luminous prose, is an exquisite world, and Bollywood movie-star Darsh is such a match for Rashmi it is almost difficult to see why she insists on keeping him at arm’s length. And yet the most compelling part of this story is Rashmi herself. She is complex, conflicted, and heartbreakingly human, and I related to her in an intensely personal way. Imaginative, evocative, and deeply moving, Into the Moon Garden is a journey not to be missed. Lissa Sloan is the author of Glass and Feathers, a novel that tells the story of Cinderella after the “happily ever after.” The Enchanted Press will publish it next February.

Editor’s note: We are fortunate to have Kelly Jarvis as our Special Projects Writer here at EC. She has enormous talent as a fiction writer, and, as you see in this essay, is just as talented at nonfiction. And who doesn’t love reading all about “Little Red Riding Hood”? Follow the links. They add the the richness the experience of reading this essay. Everyone knows the story of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Although the tale has never been made into a feature-length Disney film, we all remember hearing about the red-hooded girl who meets a wolf while carrying a basket of sweets to Granny’s house. Even the famous Victorian writer Charles Dickens was a fan of the fairy tale, writing, “She was my first love. I felt that if I could have married Little Red Riding Hood, I should have known perfect bliss.” The popularity of “Little Red Riding Hood” makes it the perfect opening text for my first-year college writing course titled Once Upon a Time. My students know the story from the PICTURE BOOKS of their childhood, have encountered it in FILM, and have recognized the plot in TELEVISION COMMERCIALS, but they believe that the “original” version of the story comes from THE BROTHERS GRIMM. The Brothers Grimm are as famous as the stories they told, but, like Little Red Riding Hood herself, their history is more complicated than my students initially understand. JACOB AND WILHELM GRIMM were scholars who collected and published oral folk tales to “preserve the cultural history of Germany,” but rather than scouring the countryside to capture the peasant voice, they collected many of their stories in middle class drawing rooms and altered details to better reflect their 19th century Christian morality. They edited their anthology, Kinder-und Hausmarchen, several times between 1812 and 1857, removing sexual details and adding violent punishments for evil actions. It is the Grimm’s story LITTLE RED CAP which features the heroic woodsman who saves a penitent protagonist that my students recognize. Of course, the history of “Little Red Riding Hood” extends far beyond the Grimms with variants from cultures all around the WORLD. My students are surprised to learn that an early oral variant recorded by the French folklorist Paul Delarue in Brittany in 1885 is titled “THE STORY OF GRANDMOTHER,” and features cannibalism, a striptease, and a plucky hoodless heroine who saves herself from the wolf. They are shocked to discover that the French writer Charles Perrault, who published the earliest literary version of the tale, “LE PETIT CHAPERON ROUGE,” in 1697, uses the story as a cautionary tale against elicit sexuality, allowing the girl he famously cloaked in RED to die in bed with the wolf, and warning his audience that “tame wolves are the most dangerous of all.” It is not without spirited debate that my students accept their cherished childhood story stems from a bawdy sexual tale first directed toward adults, but with the help of Tex Avery’s RED HOT RIDING HOOD and Johnny Depp’s HELLO, LITTLE GIRL from INTO THE WOODS, they soon learn that fairy tales shape and reflect the generational and cultural beliefs of the times and places they are told. Once my students come to terms with the sexual messages of the story, they are ready to explore complex retellings written by Anne Sexton, CAROL ANN DUFFY, and Angela Carter. Carter’s haunting story, “THE COMPANY OF WOLVES,” poses a feminist solution to the protagonist’s trouble by presenting a “strong-minded child” who embraces her sexuality and chooses not to be afraid at the crucial moment of attack. The story also reaches deep into the history of the tale type to explore the construct of the WEREWOLF, collapsing the wolf and the hunter, the predator and the savior, into one. Her text makes my students curious about the evolution of both the girl named for her fashionable headwear and the shapeshifting VILLAIN of so many folktales and stories. While the history and characters of every fairy tale we study are important, the real reason I begin the semester with “Little Red Riding Hood” is because of the famous exchange between the girl and the wolf disguised in grandmother’s nightgown. Variations of the dialogue feature in most “Little Red Riding Hood” stories and often unfold with the girl saying “Oh, Grandmother, what big eyes you have!” followed by the wolf reassuring her “All the better to see you with.” The dramatic irony of this scene sensitizes us to a crucial moment in the story. Little Red Riding Hood knows something is wrong when she enters her grandmother’s house, but she can’t define exactly what she fears. As the emotional tension builds and we dread the wolf’s inevitable attack, the girl uses her INTUITION to ask questions about her “grandmother’s” appearance, echoing the importance of listening to an inner voice that is sometimes symbolized in other fairy tales by the HEART. Asking questions, even when we don’t yet know the answers, is the foundation of academic study. Although some criticize Little Red Riding Hood for her ignorance, she is an excellent example of the inquiry-based learning I hope my students will embrace. When my students write their final class reflections, they often share that they see themselves in the character of Little Red Riding Hood. At the beginning of each semester, they sit quietly, waiting for me to tell them what to think and how to write. They journey through a class where assignments cluster like foliage beneath their feet and assessments reach out to trip them like the black branches of sinister trees. With perseverance, intuition, and a little help along the way, they become independent scholars who ask their own questions and find important answers by looking beneath the surface of literature. My students are surprised to encounter fairy tales in college, but once they discover the depth of these simple stories, they are ready to make observations and ask questions about every text they read and every situation they encounter as they move through the University and their lives. Everyone knows the story of “Little Red Riding Hood,” but it is more than a simple children’s tale. Its rich history sharpens our intuitive eyes, making them all the better to see with as we search for hidden meanings and discover the dangerous and beautiful truths embedded beneath the surface of our shared humanity. Kelly Jarvis is the Special Projects Writer and Contributing Editor for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has appeared in Eternal Haunted Summer, Blue Heron Review, Forget-Me-Not Press, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. She teaches at Central Connecticut State University. Image by Fleury Francois Richard.

The wind and the waves echoed her heart- constant and pure. The storm was her soul- wild and untamed... And when the tempest raged around her, she faced it until the rainbow appeared and a new beginning was born. ~ A. Bergloff The tempest and the rainbow are forever linked in nature and in our imagination. They are the balance to one another. The unpredictability of storms and life gives way to the beauty of the rainbow and dreams, and it is through stories that we understand this and are inspired. This month, The Fairy Tale Magazine is presenting ten imaginative tales in the second issue in our series of "weather-works" for 2022 that explore some element of weather - from rain to wind to snow and beyond. So, please enjoy, and as always dear readers... Stay enchanted! - Kate, Amanda, and Kelly "Remember, your wits are your true magic.." Bag of Onions Jennifer A. McGowan There is no wind spell for wishes to float free... Wind Spell Kristen Baum DeBeasi The Weather Witch obliges... A Change of Weather Deborah Sage The braised rage of the sun pierces a cloud in two places... Zeus Returns, Briefly Eric Pinder No one's ever really gone..." A Dance in the Rain Sarah Garcia Cloudy dreams forming May soon come true... Beware the Sly Mimics of Spring Maria DePaul My power comes in with the rain and the lightning... Like Thunder in My Head Gerri Leen What use are slippers against tempests... Tsunami Came in Sparkling Midnight Dyani Sabin MUSIC Sharing an enchanting and atmospheric rain-inspired favorite to accompany this issue ALL COPYRIGHT to the written works in this issue belong to the individual authors. The Fairy Tale Magazine Editor-in-Chief ~ Kate Wolford Art Director ~ Amanda Bergloff Special Projects Writer ~ Kelly Jarvis Cover Illustration ~ John William Waterhouse Graphics ~ Amanda Bergloff

Lilly Inkwood’s new novel, The Kingdom is a Golden Cage, is the first book in a fantasy series about the Red, Blue, and Green Kingdoms which are filled with magic, deceit, and intrigue. Heavily influenced by European folk tales and armed with a large cast of characters, the novel can feel confusing at times, and I was thankful that Inkwood chose to begin her book with a map of the Kingdoms and a description of the major players in the plot. I found myself turning back to the descriptions to help me keep track of the Game of Thrones style back-stabbing that took place throughout the story. The novel unfolds from the alternating perspectives of Celine, a young princess who is betrothed to a man she has not chosen, and Magali, a dowager who describes herself a “wife of, daughter of, mother of dukes, but never a duchess.” Through these female perspectives, Inkwell explores how the history of inheritance law in her fantasy kingdom has excluded women, leaving them to live in golden cages with little control over their own lives. The series sets out to change this, and in her final author’s note, Inkwell promises readers a Queen to come in her sequels. In addition to historical influences, Inkwell draws inspiration from fairy tales, most notably “Puss In Boots”. Celine, a water-twirler who has recently lost the power to command rivers and oceans, is in love with a man named Hugo, who has been transformed into a cat. She is desperate to break the spell which binds him. Magic abounds in the novel which features light-cantors (who bring forth light from the depths of the sea), fire-blazers, and shapeshifters. There is also a Fallen Court, which is a secret society that wields influence over the three kingdoms. Everyone competes for power and autonomy, and the ending of the novel, which sets up the rest of the series, offers more questions than answers. This is a fun book for readers who like plots with secrets, twists, and turns, and for those who are willing to invest in a new fantasy series. You can find the book here. Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis is the Special Projects Writer and Contributing Editor for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has appeared in Eternal Haunted Summer, Blue Heron Review, Forget-Me-Not Press, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. She teaches at Central Connecticut State University.

Stephanie Parent, the poet behind Every Poem a Potion, Every Song a Spell, has created a fascinating narrative that blends mystery, ghost legends, folk lore, fairy tale, poetry, and sexuality in her new novel The Briars. The book follows the experiences of Claire and her friends who are submissives and dominatrixes in a BDSM club called Briars and Roses. The club, which looks like an ordinary house covered in briars and roses from the outside, is full of secrets, and for years the dungeon in the attic of the club has been haunted by a benevolent ghost. When a new submissive named Mara begins working and an old client named Jack returns to the club after a twenty-year absence, the gentle haunting turns sinister. This book is for adults and is filled with graphic depictions of BDSM and some scenes that feature sexual assault, but the book is much more than just a steamy read. Parent artfully reveals the backgrounds of her characters, illustrating how their tumultuous pasts have informed their situation. She intelligently explores the impact of slurs directed toward women and their bodies. She gives her readers a touching queer love story alongside a riveting, ghostly mystery. Parent likens submissive and dominant sexuality to art itself, showing how the giving and taking of pain are related to ballet dancing and poetry, and she uses fairy tale, folk lore, and literature to spin memorable images that complement her fast-paced plot. Although contemporary sexuality has often been directed and dominated by the desires of men, Stephanie Parent offers readers a novel that celebrates female relationships and the bonds formed between women who are find themselves in difficult circumstances. Haunting, romantic, and superbly crafted, this story will stay with readers long after they have finished the final page. You can find the book here. Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis is the Special Projects Writer and Contributing Editor for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has appeared in Eternal Haunted Summer, Blue Heron Review, Forget-Me-Not Press, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. She teaches at Central Connecticut State University.

Editor’s note: FTM loves anything Persephone-related. The story of mother-daughter separation and reunion, the involvement of the seasons, the devoted love a mother has for her daughter have always touched us, and Gail has beautifully explored the heart of loss and renewal for Persephone herself. Enjoy! Earth thaws to mud, and now these trees’ dull twigs bloom carelessly their differences, hues spring like secrets rumored into being, coaxed to cover life in glory, hide the shame. The sky absorbs it all, scatters the rays through hopes nuanced with memories of fall so seamless yet inconstant, lets light mix in patina of ever-present air. But I walk more coldly, tuck my dreams back (I carry them, sure they can’t carry me) too bright for marking by these moods of light. Regally I’m stained with my past, my roles. I’ve such a power of formality that I must wield and yield to, so tell, Sun who begs the honor of my presence, what use have I for joy, for endless dance? And yet the breeze keeps playing with my cloak, flitting, but not to death, not petrified— one can move and yet not vanish—can change— for all my frowns, I feel suddenly free. Gail Kathleen Jardine practices mathematics and music by water and woods. Her poetry has appeared in Songs of Eretz, Octavos, and Sylvia Magazine. “With Blossoms Bare Bedecked Daintily,” by Constance Phillott, altered into black and white.

So you likely know that vampires haven’t always been sparkly in the sun. But did you know when their vulnerability to daylight first appeared? Or which pre-existing vampire traits Bram Stoker gave to his Count Dracula and which he invented? The Real History of Dracula, written and presented by folklorists Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman, is an in depth look at all things vampire: their folkloric origins and historical inspiration, Dracula and his literary predecessors, the symbolism of the vampire throughout history, its astonishing influence on today’s popular culture, and so much more. The Real History of Dracula, a ten-part lecture series from the Great Courses, is a comprehensive and fascinating study on everything you ever wanted to know about our bloodsucking friends but were afraid to ask, or, for me in many cases, wouldn’t have even thought to ask. Cleto and Warman take on topics like why vampires tap into our anxieties about sex, illness, and death, how they symbolize the threat of reverse colonialism, which fairy tales have vampiric overtones, and ask the question what makes vampires so damned (pun intended) compelling? If you have ever taken a course at Cleto and Warman’s Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, rest assured the Carterhaugh founders sink their teeth into this subject with the sharp intelligence, playful humor, academic integrity, and genuine love for their subject their students expect. If Carterhaugh is new to you, The Real History of Dracula is a perfect taste of Cleto and Warman’s work. This lecture series is available to either view on Wondrium or listen to on Audible. Whip-smart and highly accessible, The Real History of Dracula is truly a feast for the vampire fan. Lissa Sloan is the author of Glass and Feathers, a novel that tells the story of Cinderella after the “happily ever after.” The Enchanted Press will publish it next February.

Hello Enchanted Friends: As usual, the competition at the very top of the submissions pile was cutthroat. With all the money in the world, at least 10 more names would be listed here. Also, as usual, we received hundreds and hundreds of submissions, but many would-be published authors had clearly never visited this site or read the magazine. Tip to every writer: Always know the publication you are submitting to well, as that truly is one of the make or break aspects of publication. Despite what I’ve written above, we did have a bumper crop of excellent submissions for the September and December issues. Please note that I have not designated which issue the chosen author’s work will be in, but all will be in either the September or December issue. I’m proud to list the following as the chosen authors: Salinda Tyson Sara Cleto Hannah Greer Paul Stansbury Jayne Cohen Darren Lipman Alyson Rhodes Thomas Koron Jenny Thompson Zoë Mertz Robert Nimmo Julie Shiel Harley Capone Rosanne E. Lortz Sofia Ezdina Sarah Cannavo Leila Murton Poole Georgia Cook Jo de Groot A.J. Cunder They join Kelly Jarvis, Madeline Mertz, Laren Stover, Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman and Marcia Sherman as writers for the final two issues. If you are on this list and haven’t responded to my emails, please do ASAP! NOTE: We will be announcing the winners of the FLASH FICTION & POETRY CONTEST in a post on JULY 30th, so check back then. Yours in Enchantment, Kate And check out our SHOP PAGE with our all new DIGITAL DOWNLOADS HERE

Editor's Note: Love in its many forms can uplift or curse those that find themselves under its spell. It is a theme that resonates in fairy tales set in the past and the present. We hope you enjoy this unique tale as much as we did. Also, author Melissa Yuan-Innes recently was the featured guest speaker for the July Fairy Godparents Zoom meeting where she discussed her inspiration for this story, as well as her other fairy tale writing inspirations. For more information on joining FTM's Fairy Godparents Club for future meetings and other perks, check it out HERE. His mother never permitted his father to sleep. She would prod him awake with her elbow or kick him in the backs of the knees. In fairness, Da never wanted to sleep. He rigged up his own devices to keep his eyes open, including a bed of nails. He shivered under a thin blanket when the snow lay three feet thick outside. He tried not to lie down because if he did, he said, he would never wake up. "Why?” the boy asked. Neither mother nor father answered. All their energy seemed devoted to this strange task of keeping Da from sleeping. Ma made a meager living taking in laundry and doing embroidery. Da worked in the fields when he could, but he took a chill more often than not. His hacking cough kept all of them awake for weeks. Until one day Da fell asleep under thin blanket. "Da?” Michael said when he came through the door. He forgot the dirt crusted under his nails and the straw in his hair from weeks of harvesting. He saw only his father curled up by the dying embers of the fire. And his mother curled over his Da, weeping silently and saying, "I killed him." Michael ignored her. He shook Da's shoulder. Da rolled toward him, but his eyes had finally closed. Da's chest lay still, his lips slightly parted. "Da?” Michael repeated, in a higher voice. He wanted to tell his father about the harvest, that he had made enough money for wood and a bit of meat this winter. Tears dripped from Ma's face on to Da's blanket. "I killed him. I cursed him," she said. Michael finally held his mother while she blurted out some story about how she had been a nymph, had given up her immortality when she married his father and bore Michael. But when she caught Da cheating on her, she cursed him. "You promised me you would love me with every waking breath. So be it. When you fall asleep, you will die." Michael patted her shoulder. Poor Ma Ondine. Raving. In his head, he calculated how much a funeral would cost out of his new earnings. They would only have to feed two mouths this winter, but they could no longer count on Da's small income, either. He would have to take care of the family now. Generations passed. Ondines loved and cursed their mates. Michaels grew old before their time, caring for both of them. The cycle repeated without breaking. Always the Ondines. Always the tragic loves. And always the Michaels. If they survived their parents, they swore to work and never love anyone except themselves. The 21st century Michael loved women. He loved the way they ducked their heads and looked sideways up at him through their hair. He loved the way they walked, undulating in front of him. He loved the way they smelled. And there it ended. His parents had paid too high a price. He would not make the same mistake. Little did he know that his parents continued watch over him in every incarnation. And with each generation, the power of their combined love and protection grew stronger. They were his guardians. You might call them his seraphim. If only their power could overcome the curse. * * * "Abarka. Thank you.” Nina Chowdary flashed the final slide of her presentation, showing herself and the rest of the medical team surrounded by Gambian doctors and nurses and children. Dr. Nina's brown skin contrasted with both the ebony villagers' faces and the rest of the pale Canadian complexions. "From all the children in Gambia who can now smile, Abarka.” Nina massacred the Gambian words, but language wasn't her forte. Surgery was her strength. Microsurgery, to be precise. She'd been the only resident invited on the medical mission and she'd taken up her precious vacation and study time to go. While everyone applauded, a waiter handed her a glass and she downed it, realizing too late that it was champagne instead of water. She choked on the bubbles. Her microphone picked up the noise, and everyone laughed. She cleared her throat and croaked, "I'm not worried because if I have any airway trouble, about 90 percent of the people in the room know how to resuscitate me." The crowd laughed some more. "Sorry," said the waiter. She took a closer look at him. Blond guy, young, carefully spiked bangs. Deep blue eyes. A good body hidden under his uniform. But not a good waiter, although the champagne flute would've given the alcohol away if she'd been paying attention. "Don't worry about it--” She glanced at his lapel pin--"Michael." And that was that, except when she snuck a cigarette at the back door at the end of the night, she spotted the waiter tossing out a garbage bag. When he turned, he called, "Hey. You're a doctor. Don't you know those things are bad for you?" "Terrible," she called back, waving the cigarette at him. "Don't turn me in." "Hey, I'll just make you choke on some champagne again." She took a last drag and stubbed the cigarette out. "Good. That's one way to make people laugh and donate more money." "Glad to be of service." Their eyes met across the night air. * * * What surprised Nina the most was not that he turned out to be nine years younger than her, a barely-legal 21, or the fact that he'd actually read Emmanual Kant, which was more than she could say. It was the way he always closed his eyes in bed, squeezing his eyelids shut as if to block out everything except the sensation roaring inside his body. "Open your eyes," she coaxed him the third time, the tenth time, the twentieth time, until she finally gave up and figured there were worse things, like premature ejaculation. At least this way she could make whatever faces she wanted and he'd never know. * * * Until he left her ten months later. "No offence," he said. "I just don't do this.” He gestured around her sky blue bedroom, ending at her window, left ajar to permit the May breeze inside. "You don't do windows?" she said, even though her heart cracked in her chest. "I don't do love. Sorry.” He closed the bedroom door softly behind himself. Two weeks later, she heard he'd taken up with a high school student who catered with him. Young. Not too bright. But with big tits and a tinkly laugh, someone who might not do love, either. Or, if she did, he'd saw the heart right out of her chest. Well. Nina was a surgeon. She knew how to put things back together. She hoped. For weeks, she wrestled with strange dreams. A man who commanded her not to give up, that she and Michael were so close to “the beginning.” A dark-haired beauty who warned Nina that she was in danger of sealing over her own heart. “Forgive, start anew. Love.” Both the man and woman looked so majestic and yet hauntingly familiar in the shape of their eyes, the lift of their chins, or the twist of their lips. Sometimes, in Nina’s dreams, she heard a rush of wings. * * * Twenty years on, a blond man in a tuxedo offered Nina a flute of champagne at a fundraising dinner. She held up her glass of water, barely glancing at him. "I've got a drink, thank you." "Plus ca change," he said, and gave a crooked smile that tugged at her memory. "Michael?” she said, sloshing her water in its glass. She examined his broadened cheekbones, the looser jaw, the threads of white mixed at the temples, and his filled-in build. He still looked hot, damn it. But then, he'd only be about 42. Prime time for men. Unfortunately. He bowed his head. "Dr. Chowdary." She held out her hand as if he were an old acquaintance. Which he was. He shook it, holding on a little too long. His palm felt cool. "You look great." She shrugged and pulled her hand away. "I do all right.” Plenty of her colleagues had opted for Botox, filler, or a face lift or two, but Nina had resisted everything except laser therapy so far. "How are your wife and kidlets?" "I don't have any.” He swallowed the champagne she'd refused and dropped the flute on the tray of a passing server. "Are you wondering why I'm attending the reception instead of catering it?" She sipped her water. It seemed to hang in her throat before she swallowed it. Somehow, she was always choking around this man. "You were a lousy waiter." He laughed. "Yeah, you're right. Okay, I'll tell you why. I wanted to see you and make a donation to your foundation." "Thanks. You'll get a tax receipt.” She signaled the organizers that she was coming. He paused. "I guess I deserve that. Can I call you?" She adjusted the strap on her scarlet gown. "Sure. The foundation knows how to reach me.” And then she crossed to the podium with a practiced smile stretching across her face. He wasn't the only one who had learned to live without loving. But when she slipped out the back door and saw him leaning against a maple tree, silhouetted in the moonlight, she stared at him. He raised his head. "Sneaking a cigarette?" "No, actually. I gave it up ages ago." "Good for you.” He patted his front pocket with a rueful smile. "I was going to offer you a light." Just like that, she crossed to his side. Because although she had learned not to love, she also knew how to heal. And she was willing to try one more time. Because everyone knows that once in a great while, a curse, instead of a true heart, may be broken. Ondine and her lover spread their wings around Michael and Nina—wings too far and to ephemeral to be felt by mere human flesh. And yet, in that precise moment, all four of them smiled. Melissa Yuan-Innes is a doctor who loves fairy tales. As Melissa Yi, she writes werewolf thrillers (Wolf Ice), teenagers who save the world by talking to animals (High School Hit List), and the critically-acclaimed Hope Sze medical mysteries. Cover Design: Amanda Bergloff @AMANDABERGLOFF And check out our SHOP PAGE with our all new DIGITAL DOWNLOADS HERE