The Keeper of Happy Endings

by Barbara Davis

Faith is the essential ingredient. If one loses faith in la magie, one has lost everything.

I have always grieved the ends of things. The final notes of a song as they ebb into silence. The curtain falling at the end of a play. The last snowflake. Goodbyes. So many goodbyes.

“Dreams are like waves, babe. You have to wait for the right one to come along, the one that has your name on it. And then when it does, you have to get up and ride it. This dream has your name all over it.”

“I am young, but I’m not a child. I’ve seen things no one should see. Countries overrun with evil. Entire families imprisoned and murdered. Men shot to pieces and women who have lost everything they hold dear. There are many tragedies in the world, monsieur. I do not count gossip among them. You boast that you will never be broke, but you are clearly broken—because you choose to be.”

I think of Maman and her belief that we are irrevocably connected to those we love. That our echoes will always tether us. Across years and miles and even death. Is that what’s happened? A collision of echoes? I suddenly realize it doesn’t matter.