So I hope most of you read some of this excerpt at the end of Darker Water. This is the very first time I've shown anyone the second part of the fairy tale that will appear as a mini epilogue in Virtually Impossible. In case you forgot, VI is the story of Hayden, Carson's older, far-better-behaved brother. It's a (big) twist on the story of Snow White, using the symbols of the magic mirror and the glass casket Snow White is put in after she bites the apple.
~~~intro~~~
Once upon a time there was a woman who made the mistake of trusting the wrong man. And that mistake led to another. And another and another, each more damaging than the last. But the woman was as ignorant of her mistakes as she was of the damage they caused. Until she was punished for them. But because all knew she'd acted out of youth and nativity, imagined love and true stupidity, her punishment was not grave.
However the woman believed she had not paid enough for what she'd done and how stupid she had been. So the punishment she gave herself was far, far more severe.
She locked herself behind glass, only coming out from behind it when she was forced to, which wasn't often. And the longer she stayed behind the glass, the safer she felt until she didn't see it as a prison at all. Until she loved it for its beauty and depended on it for its clarity.
For, you see, her cage was made from one-way glass and the mirror faced out, so the woman never had to look at her own reflection. And when she looked at the world beyond the glass things were clear and simple and fair for she was not part of the world but separate from it. And from behind the glass, there was nothing hidden from her and everything to hide behind.
Day after day she toiled, working hard to repay the wrong she'd unwittingly done and the people she'd unwittingly hurt. And thus she was so focused that she didn't know how the glass pressed in on her, how hard it became for her to breathe. And when she finally did realize, it didn't matter anymore for she believed the tiny box was what she justly deserved for believing the lies told to her. So of her own volition, she remained behind the glass, knowing that one day she would have no more mistakes to make, no one left to hurt, no more sins to pay for, and no more air to breathe.
~~~epilogue~~~
Once upon a time there was a woman who lived in a glass box, believing she would remain there for the rest of her days to pay for mistakes of long ago. And there she stayed until she met a man who had been living in another cage built by his and the hands of others. Wall after wall after wall. Until it was impossible for anyone to get through. But when he heard the woman's true voice, he knew her to be good and kind and caring. And because his desire to reach her was so great, he broke down wall after wall after wall of his prison.
And though she feared him getting too close, she knew he would never be able to see through her glass and thus he would never see what a horrible thing she was. But the man wasn't content to stand outside her cage, knowing she was suffocating within it. So he began to chip away at the mirror, day by day hour by hour he toiled.
When he finally got through, he didn't think her ugly, he thought her the most beautiful thing his eyes had ever seen. To help her understand her beauty, he brought her to the other side of the glass and stood beside her. Piece by beautiful piece he showed her that she was no longer the woman she was and no longer deserved to be punished.
And when she looked at the glass from the outside, she saw the man holding the hand of a woman she didn't recognize. Only understanding after she looked down and saw that the hand the man held was hers…and he would never let it go.
~~~the end~~~
I don't have a release date for this one yet (or for Laney and Carson's novella – Troubled Water…or for Unearthed (The Heights Vol 2). But I will definitely let you know as soon as I do. And keep your fingers crossed for me because evidently, my karma sucks! :)
ark on social media for a little while. I'll be checking my email and messages, but please don't take it personally if I don't get back to you right away. If you need to get hold of me for some crazy reason (painful Hyde-induced reading injury or something), email me with “Singles in your area are looking for you” as the subject line, because I never miss any of those. ;) Kidding. Put “urgent” in the subject line if it's actually urgent. If you're looking for singles, I wish I knew what to tell you. Truly.