different somehow. Three weeks in, her appetite returned. The food in the larder was fresh and plentiful. She grew especially fond of salad greens and fruit. The fish she discovered to be too oily. The sweets made her teeth ache. To pass the time, she read the books left for her. One morning she discovered a journal and pens. At first she found it almost as hard to write as it had been to get out of bed. Soon, however, she began to record her day’s events. Every day, almost every waking moment, she thought of him. Every night in her dreams they talked and kissed and touched. She wrote to him, letters full of promises and longing, and counted down the days until they would be together. Finally, after many, many weeks that day came. In preparation for leaving, she cleaned and put the house to rights. A satchel appeared and she packed clothing and shoes, journal and letters, a few books, and her shell collection. One hour before he was scheduled to arrive she sat in her favorite spot on the porch, and with her best pen she composed a letter to her family. They needed to know the treatment was successful; she was healthy and whole. When he appeared on the rise behind the house, how her heart leapt. He ran down the dune, laughing, and engulfed her in his arms. Her kiss told him all he needed to know. “Speechless with happiness, my pearl?” She pressed the contract into his hands, when he finished reading he looked in her eyes with concern and compassion. “So, this was the payment. I feared it was not so simple as advertised. I can walk with you now. I can admire your strong lovely body. But never again can I hear you say my name or whisper your love. Oh sweet, little fish–I will just have to do the talking for both of us. Wait..What’s this bottle? Ah, I see…” and he threw it far into the ocean “…only way to get a message to your family now. Time and tide should act as any land-bound mail service, for sure.” Allene looked out at the bobbing glass and, for just one second, thought she saw a tail fin. A single tear fell, then she and Cameron turned and walked up the dune to their happily ever after.
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