Far Far Away (46 page)

Again we fall silent.

“Will you come back?”

I do not know
.

I see the contortion of his face, the swell and slide of the first tear. He rushes a hand to his face.

It is all right, Jeremy. There is no one here to see but me
.

“Yeah,” he says in a small, snuffling voice, and suddenly he seems the boy I found years before, “and when you’re gone, there’ll be no one here to see at all.”

You have Ginger. Your father. And then there will be more people at university
.

He wipes at his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. “I’ll remember to study.”

Yes. It is important to study. But also to enjoy
.

Again he snuffles, but he has composed himself. He takes a deep breath and clears his throat. “Okay,” he says. “I’ve been thinking about this. I didn’t get to say it to my mother or to my grandfather before they left, but I’m going to say it to you.”

But, oh, I cannot bear it.
I know. You do not need to speak the words. I know
.

He looks toward me with watery eyes. “Okay.”

And you know. You know, too
.

He nods, and tears again swell in his eyes.

I must go, Jeremy. I must go now
.

“Okay.”

Your grandfather was right, Jeremy. You are a dear, good boy
. This is all I have set out to say, but something draws me further.
And I love you more than the sun and the moon
.

He tries to smile. In spite of his wretched state, he tries to smile.

“I love you, too,” he says, and it is upon these whispered words, as upon a magical carpet from some ancient tale, that I have traveled on.

The author would like to express his gratitude to the National Endowment for the Arts for its support during the writing of this book; to Jack Zipes and, especially, Maria Tatar for their extensive and illuminating research in the field of fairy tales; to Mimi Sidwell, Christine Stotz, and Françoise Bui for their expert assistance with the Swedish, German, and French translation; to Jacki Rhoton for her demonstration of at least one female’s invincibility in the art of Indian leg wrestling; to Sam and Hank McNeal for odd notions that found their way into the book; to Dana Reinhardt, Allison Wortche, and Jeremy Medina for their critical assistance; to George Nicholson, Joan Slattery, and Nancy Hinkel for their belief in the book and their assistance in bringing it to print; and, as always, to Laura McNeal, for everything, first page to last.

Tom McNeal has written several young adult novels with his wife, National Book Award finalist Laura McNeal:
Crooked
,
Zipped
,
Crushed
, and
The Decoding of Lana Morris
. He has also written two critically acclaimed adult novels,
To Be Sung Underwater
, named one of the five best novels of the year by
USA Today
, and
Goodnight, Nebraska
, winner of the California Book Award. He lives near San Diego with his wife and two sons. To learn more about Tom, as well as his books with Laura, please visit
mcnealbooks.com
.