~The townspeople came by to say hello as well, despite my not being visible to most of them,~Curtis went on with a smile.~When they heard that the necklace had been recovered, they wanted to deliver their well-wishes in case I disappeared all of a sudden. And Miss Margot showed me some old pictures of the town, which were very interesting to look at.~
Whether the pictures had been more or less interesting thanBelow Deck, Ethan didn’t dare ask. But he was glad that the people of Girdwood Springs who had encountered Curtis had come to say their farewells.
Ethan set his jaw. As hard as this all was, there was no point in delaying further.
Yes, do it,his pegasus said, its voice catching.
He cleared his throat.
“Are you ready to go, Curtis?”
Curtis nodded serenely.~Yes. While I wish I could divide my time between the afterlife and the wonders of your time, I cannot. I would very much like to return to my family.~
Eula sniffled loudly. “We’ll miss you, Great-Grandpa,” she said. “If for some reason you ever find yourself back here, drop by anytime. You’re always welcome – you, and all your family.”
~They’re your family, too,~Curtis said.
Eula looked like she was one step away from bawling, and even Janie was looking misty-eyed, though she was clearly trying to cover it up with teen bravado.
“Well, we’ll see you all again one day, won’t we?” Janie said. “I mean, when we’re dead and all.”
“Janie!” Eula hissed. “Good Lord. That girl will be the death of me.”
Curtis laughed.~I sure do hope so, Miss Janie. But not for a very, very long time.~
Janie held her hand up for a high five – and, shockingly, Curtis reciprocated the gesture, his hand passing through hers.
“Yeah!” Janie said. “You the man, Curtis.”
Just what has that girl been subjecting him to?Ethan thought despairingly… but in the end, he supposed it didn’t matter. The two of them appeared to be enjoying themselves, and that was the important thing.
“I’ll just go get Chloe,” Ethan said.
He went outside to fetch Chloe from the front yard, where she was admiring an enormous golden-orange beech tree.
She turned to face him, and her beauty took his breath away.
“Is it time?” she asked.
Ethan nodded. “He’s ready to go.”
“Okay.” Chloe nodded determinedly, though Ethan could see that she was also having some pretty mixed feelings about the situation. It was turning out to be a bit of an emotional day for everybody.
They entered the house, heading back into the kitchen.
“Hey again, Curtis,” Chloe said, raising her hand in a wave. “I’m not sure how any of this is going to work, but – here.”
She laid the locket out on the table, opening it carefully.
~Hello again, Miss Chloe,~said Curtis, who hadn’t popped out of existence – though Ethan thought that maybe he was looking a little more transparent. It was hard to tell how much of it was real, and how much was his expectations.
Everyone crowded around the table to look – and a collective gasp went up.
“Oh, my,” Eula said, leaning forward. “I was always too scared to try and force it open – I never realized those pictures were inside.”
“They’re okay, I guess,” Janie said, with a poorly disguised sniffle.
Curtis just stared at the pictures for a long, long time, his eyes misting over with a mix of emotions that Ethan couldn’t even begin to describe… though he could definitely identifylove.
