We stood at the edge of the southern town line this morning. Vivian had
prepared coffee and breakfast to take with us. It was so early, the sun still
hadn’t come up, but it was light enough outside to stand without flashlights.
She and I leaned against my car and watched the morning breeze blow the leaves
over our border.
“Do you see how easily they cross over?” Vivian munched on a piece of
crisp bacon. In the short time we’d known each other, bacon was all I’d seen
her eat. I had no idea how a woman with her frame could eat so much bacon and
stay so small. “It’s no problem for objects to enter Storybrooke. But living
things…” a flock of birds flew straight for us, then turned as a group away
from us and flew west instead. “Living things can’t come in. The curse confuses
them.”
“I know.” I thought back to Owen, trying to convince the police that there
was something before them that none of them could actually see. “But this
doesn’t explain how outside mail gets here. Or food or anything that needs to
be delivered by a person.”
“The curse does it. It reaches farther than just Storybrooke. It has to
in order to protect us.”
“So the curse allows us to subscribe to a magazine?”
“Yes.”
“And it just goes and gets us the magazine?”
“Ultimately, yes.”
“How?”
“It confuses people.” She pulled up the collar on her coat as the breeze
picked up. “Obviously I haven’t been able to see this on the outside. But you
remember the butcher. He knew he received shipments every morning, but who
delivered them didn’t matter to him. I think the same is true for the post
offices, magazine companies and anyone else who is supposed to send things to
us. They know they have items to send us, but we are forgotten once our items
are prepared. The curse takes them after that and makes anyone involved
forget.”
“And the items just magically appear?”
“Yes. I’ve seen it.” Vivian glanced at her watch. “You can, too. It’s
still early. Let’s go back into town.”
On our drive back, Vivian munched
on her last three slices of bacon.
“Should you be eating all of that?”
“What’s it going to do, your Highness?
Give me cancer?” Her frankness made me laugh. I think it was the first time
I’ve genuinely laughed here.
“My physician back home told me of my condition long before the curse
brought us here.” She continued. “Nothing new is allowed to form here. Have you
had one cold since arriving here? Have you seen anyone else have one? People
only have what they’ve already brought over; it just progresses slower here. My
physician back home said I had weeks to live. But here, I’ve lived three years
I thought I’d never see.”
“Maybe you’ll live through the entire curse?”
“I hope not. You wouldn’t put me through the final stages of cancer for
twenty-eight years, would you?”
We pulled up behind the butcher’s shop, but far enough away that we
couldn’t be seen. Not that anyone would see us. Only a few people were out
preparing things for the town to open up for business. I asked Vivian if we
should get out of the car, but she assured me we didn’t need to and she wanted
to sit anyway. She looked like she was ready to fall asleep and I offered to
take her home. She refused and insisted I watch.
I would have missed it if she hadn’t pointed and made me look right then.
At 6:05 exactly, a purple glow appeared before the back entrance to the
butcher’s. When it vanished, crates and boxes two feet high sat in its place.
On cue, the butcher walked out of his shop and began to take the boxes inside.
“How is that possible?” I almost felt upset. “There was supposed to be
no magic here.”
“Even a land with no magic has to have some magic in order for a curse
to work,” Vivian said.
“But no one’s supposed to be able to use magic here.” I neglected to mention my pieces for
emergencies.
“Do you think the butcher did that?” She laughed and then caught
herself. “Pardon, Majesty, but the curse is not a person. It doesn’t follow the
same rules as us. Does a tree need money to buy its food? Does it need clothes?
But it can still live on this earth.” She adjusted herself in the car seat. “Would
you take me home now, please? I think it’s time I lay down.”
I stopped by again after work to check on her. Ashley let me in and took
me into Vivian’s cozy living room. Vivian was propped up in a very fluffy chair
with plump pillows and a blanket. I sat on a less-fluffy sofa. Ashley kissed
Vivian goodbye before leaving for work.
“She’s the only daughter I ever see.” Vivian’s voice became strained. “I
have two daughters of my own, and I know they’re under a spell, but they never
visit me. I was so mean to that girl and she’s the only one who takes care of
me. I couldn’t see how innocent she was when we lived back home.”
I thought about what Vivian had just said as she composed herself. “What
happened to that book that gave you back your memories?” I asked.
“I hid it the same day I found it in the library. I realized its
potential to greatly change things, but the curse isn’t supposed to be broken
until the savior arrives.”
“I don’t think she will arrive.”
“She will.” Vivian sat up away from the pillows, which by now were
threatening to swallow her petite body. “You think this will be easy, but
before twenty-eight years have gone by, you’ll want the savior to get here. Do
you know what’s supposed to happen if she doesn’t?” I shook my head. “Everyone
will stay as they are and become lost to the world. In your case, you’ll become
the curse’s idea of who you should be.”
“That’s not true!” She knew I’d been lying about that anyway. I calmed
down; the thought of being trapped behind that frightened version of myself
scared me. “I just mean that I know how
to prevent that from happening to me.”
“That won’t last. The curse will only get stronger until the savior
arrives.”
There was a knock at the door. Vivian leapt out of the chair with an
energy she didn’t have this morning and checked herself in a mirror on the wall
by the door. She opened the door to Marco with a bouquet of flowers. He could
see me and stepped back.
“The mayor was just about to leave, darling.” Vivian took the bouquet
and set it in a vase by the door. “Would you mind if I just said goodbye?”
“Of course, angel.” Marco pecked her on the cheek. “I’ll be waiting
outside.”
I must have looked absolutely stunned as Vivian closed the door and
turned to me.
“I’m sick, but I’m not dead.” She shrugged.
“You’re dating him?”
“I love him. Every afternoon, the curse made him come and repair
something on my house. Once the curse was broken for me, I decided to ask him
to a movie. That was all it took.”
“But you support my decision for casting the curse. He actively fought
against that.”
“He’s a good man, your Majesty. You could try befriending some of the
people who were against you, yourself.”
“There’s no point. If the curse ever does break, they’ll hate me.”
“It will break, but they’ll remember the good in you if you choose it.
Not everything’s black and white. Add as much grey as you can.”
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