Dreams -- Fiction; Fantasy fiction; Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories; Subconsciousness -- Fiction
"You said I'd know when the time came."
"How did you find out?"
"I kept wondering where it had all started, and then I remembered that
foods sometimes cause certain kinds of dreams. Then too, I remembered
that you had said that your father was a Welsh. I didn't have to be
clever to put it all together and get welch rarebit, especially since
it was the very thing I had eaten the first night. It all seemed pretty
silly, but somehow it sort of fitted in with what's happened. You're
not angry are you?" He looked down at her affectionately.
"Of course not, Marc. There's something you've forgotten. I exist only
in your mind. I am as you see me. If I had stayed longer, if I had
come to stand in the way of your happiness, I should have become ugly
and wretched. I've served my purpose and it's time for me to return.
Really, you haven't so much to do with it as you suppose. It's been a
wonderful adventure for me, Marc."
"I'm glad, Toffee," Marc said simply. "I'll never forget what you've
done for me."
"Just remember Marc, that I'm not so unlike other, ordinary women.
There is none of us who can remain lovely unless she does so in the
eyes of a man whom she loves. Be good to Julie."
"You knew about Julie?"
"Of course," laughed Toffee. "I knew from the beginning, before you
did. I know more about you than you do yourself. That's another point I
hold in common with other women."
They had reached the edge of the valley and suddenly Toffee stopped.
"This is where I have to leave you." She smiled up at Marc. Suddenly,
he took her in his arms, very tenderly, and kissed her. As he released
her, the bell began to ring in the distance, as it had before.
"Goodbye," Toffee said softly, starting toward the valley.
As she moved, the earth seemed to dissolve behind her, leaving a narrow
chasm between them. With each step the bell became more and more
distinct. Suddenly, impulsively, Marc turned toward her.
"Wait!" he called, and reached out a hand to her.
* * * * *
Marc's hand fell to the alarm clock and he awakened to a bright, new
morning with a vague sense of loss. Suddenly he swung his legs over the
edge of the bed and got to his feet.
Julie would be at the office. He didn't want to be late.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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