My Name is Rapunzel(69)

“Rapunzel. Rapunzel,” John said the words slowly, like if he spoke fast he would lose his grip on the vines. “Throw down—”

“Don't you dare say it!”

“Throw down a rope or a sheet or something,” John said keeping his voice level. The sheet wasn't long enough and I certainly didn't have a rope up there. Who did he think I was?

I heard it then. The vines started cracking. They were going to break under his weight. If I didn't do something, he would fall to his death. He was too high up to survive a fall like that. I scanned my room for something, anything, but nothing I had would help. It wouldn't be long and the vines would finally break under the stress.

I had to make a decision. Save him or let him fall.

I unclasped my long braid, and then threw it out the window toward him, “Grab hold of my hair!” I said. My hair wouldn't break, and it was stronger than any vine. I crouched down below the window, planted my feet at the base of the stone wall and held on to my hair—no need to have my scalp yanked off or go flying out the window.

I struggled against the weight of John pulling his body up with my hair as the rope. Finally, he made it. He was safe inside.

“What do you think you're doing?” I demanded after I stood up. “You could have been killed! If it weren't for my hair, you’d have fallen to your death. Did you ever think of that?”

“I had to see you.” John took my hands in his. “I needed to see that you were all right.”

“I'm fine.” I looked away. But I wasn't fine. I didn't know what to do. Me being safe in my tower was the only thing that subdued the dragon. John wanted something to happen between us, but it was impossible. He had to see that.

“John, this will never work. If I'm not in my tower each night to light a candle, the dragon will go crazy. He would go into a fit of rage and burn everything down looking for me. I can never leave this place. What kind of life would that be for you? And what about my age?”

“What about your age?” He still held my hands. “I don't care about that. We could be together. We could leave this town and move far away from here where the dragon wouldn’t find us. We could move every so often so nobody would ever know the difference.” He kissed the back of my hands.

“Eventually people would notice.” I said and the tears welled up in my eyes. “They would see you as an old man kissing a young girl. And what about children?”

“What about them?”

“If we were to have children, they would eventually look older, much older, than their mother. Then what? It would never work.”

“We don't have to have children.” John kissed me softly. “Everything will be fine. You'll see.”

“What about the dragon? He would burn the town down and I would be to blame!” I said. “What about the witch? She'd find me, or she'd do something to the dragon.” Tears tickled my neck as they dripped into my shirt.

“Trust me. I think the witch is more scared of the dragon than the dragon is of her. If she wanted him gone, she would have done something by now. I have a plan. Look…” John reached in his back pocket. He held out a plastic candle with a cord attached to it. Then he pulled out another cord with a dial on one end. He plugged it in to the wall socket near the window and then plugged the candle into the end with the dial. “It's a Christmas candle and a timer. We plug it up and set the timer to automatically turn the candle light on around dark. The dragon will never know the difference.”

Could something so simple actually work long enough to let us get far enough away that the dragon couldn’t find me? John was brilliant. I could actually have a real life. A life away from Paradise Valley with freedom to travel whenever I wanted to. I wasn’t sure what John and I had together, but it was something. We could build our relationship and it could turn into love. Like the love I had with Henry. John could never replace Henry, but I could learn to love him in a different way. We liked each other well enough and he wanted to help me. That stood for something.

“Meet me by the stream tomorrow night. We’ll leave and go somewhere nobody will find us.” John pulled me over to the window and dropped my hair down the side. He cupped my face with his hands and kissed me again. “It's time for you to live, really live, Rapunzel. I'll take care of you.”

“All right.” I smiled as the realization hit me. “Tomorrow is my birthday,” I whispered.

“Then it'll be the best birthday you've had in a long time.” John wrapped his arms around me and placed a gentle kiss on the top of my head. He sat on the windowsill and swung his legs over the side.