He stepped out from the shadows. “Your boy, Luke?”
What about my son? I searched Edwin’s eyes for a clue, then turned to Henry, unable to hide the accusation. “What’s he talking about?”
Henry’s eyes clouded for a moment, then he nodded toward Edwin. “He’ll tell you his part of the story and then I will tell you mine.”
I nodded at the shopkeeper. “Please, go on.”
“He visited my father, long ago, a bit more than a hundred years. He brought my father some potion that lasted years. It healed me and my sister from the ravages of polio. He left a letter with my father about you. He was the last Cavanaugh and worried about who would care for you, if something happened to him. John overheard Pepper and I talking about you and the letter in the shop and must have pieced some things together.”
“But you’re not young.” I shook my head. It made no sense. Although he did look a bit younger than he had. “And I saw you in a wheelchair just weeks ago.” Finally some answers to the questions I couldn’t ask before.
“A few years back we were nearing the end of our supply, so Father and I were saving it only for my sister. The longer I went without the potion, the sicker I got as the effects of my disease returned to my body.”
I nodded. That must have been when I stopped allowing Gretta access to my hairbrush. She'd run low on potion. “Why you, though? Gretta was never known for her charity.”
Edwin shrugged. “Is it really so hard to imagine? Gretta brought us some because she wanted my Father—she loved him in some strange way—but it was too late for him. He…well, we can talk about that another day.”
The pieces began to fit together like a puzzle.
Henry squeezed my hand. He deserved my attention, but I wasn’t done with Edwin just yet. “Your sister? Is she alive? Where is she?”
Edwin’s eyes sparkled and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Rustling leaves and crackling twigs came from behind the clearing in which they stood. My grip tightened on Henry’s hand.
“I’m his sister.” Pepper stepped from among the bushes, a wavering smile spread across her face. “I’ve been looking out for you for years. We all have.” She peered intently into my eyes as though waiting for a verdict.
Was I hearing things? Seeing things? I searched Henry’s face. Give me a sign. Something to tell me if I’ve lost my mind. “What are you saying?” My voice cracked and my hands shook.
“What Pepper says is true.” Henry smiled. “She’s been a good friend to you. Watching. Protecting.”
I stared at Pepper’s smiling face. So my hair had kept her young all these years, and I didn’t know it? Should I be angry? I didn’t even know how I felt. “But how—? What about the people?”
Pepper shrugged. “Life’s too short to worry about that kind of thing. I just took it one day at a time as I lived mine.” Her eyes held sympathy for me, who had let fear control my comings and goings, who had let anger consume me. I embraced her with a hug just as a sister would.
I returned my gaze to Henry, my brain like a yo-yo. “Where's John?”
Henry encircled my body with his arms and whispered in my ear. “Your friend is not dead. Look up.”
I slowly lifted my gaze to the tops of the trees. What was I looking for? Where was John?
A dragon circled above the tree line in the night sky, his tail a silhouette against the moon. He swooped, and dived through the air, his roars almost like laughter.
“Is that…?” My breath caught.
“John is the dragon now.” Henry smiled as he watched John’s aerial theatrics. Having been a dragon himself, he could see that John’s curse was more of a blessing. I remembered our conversation in the bookstore—John had wished to be a dragon in my story, and now he was.
“How did this happen?” And why?
Henry shook his head. “He wished it upon himself.”
The dragon—John—swooped from the sky and let out a happy roar.
“I told you Rapunzel would have her hero one day.” Edwin smiled.
“That you did, sir. That you did.” I reached around his ailing body and squeezed. “Thank you, Edwin. I'll never forget what you did for me. For us.” I looked at Henry.
“You're welcome. Now you get to live your happy ending.” Edwin shook Henry's hand, then he and Pepper said their goodbyes.
“But…” I shook my head. “Luke?”
Henry lowered his gaze and gripped my hands. “Yes. It’s true, my love. It was the fire from my mouth that killed your son. I cannot change that. I would give my life if I could bring him back to you.”