Every Man Or Woman Who Makes A

A Wonder Tale Can Be Truer Than True," I Said. I Had Learned (...) That The Deepest Kind Of Truth Can Be Found In The Strangest And Wildest Of Stories. One May Not Meet A Fire-breathing Dragon On The Way To The Well. One May Not Encounter An Army Of Toothed Snakes In The Woodshed. That Does Not Make The Wisdom In Those Tales Any Less Real.

Hope Is Such A Tenuous Quality. To Feel It And Then To Be Denied What One Most Longs For ... Better, Surely, Not To Hope At All, Than To Open The Heart To A Hope That Is Impossible.

He Was Sitting Not Far Away, Watching Me, And I Surprised A Smile On His Face, The First Real Smile I Had Ever Seen Him Give, A Smile That Curved And Softened The Tight Mouth, And Warmed The Ice-cool Eyes; A Smile That Brought The Blood To My Face And Made My Heart Turn Over.

I Had Learned How It Felt To Want More Than The Sweet Touch Of Hand To Cheek Or Lips To Palm, More Than A Kiss, More Than An Embrace. I Was Starting To Discover That It Is Not Only The Mind That Understands Love, But Also The Body.

Perhaps He Could Still Weave Together The Broken Threads Of His Life. And Yet, I Wanted Him Here Now. I Needed Him Here. In The Darkness, If I Sat Very Still, I Could Almost Feel His Presence By Me, Quite Near, But Not Too Near. Didn't I Promise To Keep You Safe, He Would Say Softly. I Have Never Broken A Promise. Don't Look So Worried, Jenny. And Yet, He Would Be Careful. Careful Not To Move Too Close. Careful Not To Frighten Me. Waiting Still. I Am Your Shelter. Don't Be Afraid.