The Thief of Always: A Fable

by Clive Barker

Evil, however powerful it seemed, could be undone by its own appetite.

‘We’re all tempted to do things we regret once in a while. Sometimes we choose badly and make mistakes.’

Things slip from your fingers and when they’re gone you regret it.

Time would be precious from now on. It would tick by, of course, as it always had, but Harvey was determined he wouldn’t waste it with sighs and complaints. He’d fill every moment with the seasons he’d found in his heart. Hopes like birds on a spring branch; happiness like a warm summer sun; magic like the rising mists of autumn. And best of all, love; love enough for a thousand Christmases.