A Fragile Enchantment

by Allison Saft

“I couldn’t! I will embarrass you.” “That’s half the fun, isn’t it?”

“It really doesn’t bother you?” “No. I’ve never cared what other people thought of me. I have no desire to twist myself into knots to please people I don’t even respect.”

Niamh had spent all of her life sorry for taking up space, guilty for inconveniencing anyone with her emotions or needs. She supposed she had often felt tempted to apologize for breathing, but no one had ever made her feel so absurd for it.

“Is this a dream?” “I don’t know,” he said huskily, his eyes aglow. “Let me kiss you until dawn, and I suppose we’ll find out.”

You have to choose your own happiness, whatever that looks like. You can’t live your life for other people.

“You may be the only good thing I’ve ever wanted.”

She had always believed life was what slipped through her fingers while she was idle. That life was something she wasted, not something she had. But now, she understood how wrong she’d been. Her heart beat. Her lungs swelled with air. Life was here, right in front of her.

“When you’re on your deathbed, do you think you’re going to reflect on how proud you were to put everyone’s needs before your own? Do you think you’ll wish you’d given up more?”