Chapter 30

-CHRISTIAN-

From far away Christian heard her words and rejoiced. She loved him.

“So,” said a voice, old and bitter with time, “you have found someone to love you.”

Opening his eyes Christian saw a crone standing in front of him, her body outlined in a red glow. Looking down at his hands, his human hands, he saw that he himself was surrounded by a blue glow.

“Am I dead?” he asked the woman, fear clutching his heart.

“That is up to you,” the crone replied, hobbling towards him leaning heavily on her cane.

“What do you mean?” he inquired.

“Two hundred years ago you killed my little Alamina,” she said, prodding him sharply in the chest with her cane tip. “Is your heart still as cold as stone?”

“My heart was never cold,” he sighed, closing his eyes. “It was just missing a very important piece.”

“And what piece would that be, eh?” she demanded, striking the ground with a resounding thump.

“Love,” he replied, looking down into her wrinkled visage. “I never understood love until it was too late.”

The crone looked him up and down, her expression unreadable.

“Dah,” she said finally, nodding her head.

Hobbling to the edge of light, she turned and motioned for him to follow.

For the first time Christian found he was able to move. Staggering slightly he hurried to catch up with her small form.

Soon they stood in front of two doors. Motioning to the one of the left, the crone said, “This one will take you to heaven, to your final peace.”

“This,” she continued, pointing to the right door, “this one will take you back to Anna, to a world that can be cruel. The choice is yours, but understand that if you go back to the world, your entrance into heaven is not guaranteed. You will have to earn it every day, and you will be judged harsher than any other.”

Looking from one to the other, Christian pondered the idea of the peace he would find to the left, no more struggling to do the right thing, just eternal and blessed tranquility. Then he thought of Anna, her smile, the sound of her voice, the twinkle in her eye when she teased him.

Without another moment of hesitation, he walked through the door to the right.

-ANNA-

Anna sobbed uncontrollably into Christian’s paw, wishing he would come back to her. She didn’t know how long she’d been in love with him, it had grown so slowly, but now at the moment of his death she knew it was true.

“I love you,” she sniffled, leaving one final kiss in the center of his palm.

Opening her eyes, she saw a stranger laying on the table in front of her. Gone was the fur and horns, the misshapen features and crooked teeth she had come to know; replaced by the most handsome man she had ever seen. As she stared at him with open mouthed amazement, the man opened his eyes and stared back at her.

“Anna,” he said, pushing himself off the wooden surface.

“Who are you?” she asked, stumbling back from the table.

“Anna,” he said, swinging his legs over the edge. “It’s me, Christian.”

Looking into his eyes, she saw the truth of it. There was only one man in the whole world with eyes so blue.

“Christian?” she said, reaching out a shaking hand to touch his cheek. “Christian, what happened to you?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, holding up his hands, his human hands.

“My god,” he breathed, touching his face lightly. “My god, it’s over.”

“What’s over?” Anna asked, confused.

He turned to face her.

“The curse,” he cried, jumping from the table and lifting her up, spinning around. “You broke the curse!!!” He was kissing her again, her lips, her cheeks, her entire face.

“I love you,” he said breathlessly into her neck. “I love you so much!!”

“I love you Christian,” Anna replied, clinging to him.

Behind them, running footsteps could be heard coming towards them, cheers of joy echoing through the halls. Throwing open the door Agnes came running in, almost flying into them, a young boy on her hip and a crowd of people following close at her heels.

“Christian!!,” she cried, tears of joy running down her cheeks. “Look who’s back!! They are all back!! Everyone is back!!!”

Christian tenderly lowered Anna to the ground as the room continued to fill. She found herself shuffled aside as more and more people tried to get closer to Christian.

Soon she was jostled out of the room entirely, and still people kept coming.