As Old As Time

by Liz Braswell

It wasn’t that he overlooked the oddity of the father and daughter; it was more like it was irrelevant compared to Belle’s status as prettiest girl in town. Plus he felt he could fix her. Make her normal. His overwhelming masculinity and presence would exorcise her desire to read and think and be alone.

It was like what she did when she read. As soon as she opened a book, this little town disappeared into a vast map of countries both real and imagined.