“And Ben,” he said.
Seth carefully walked over his words, needing silence for his reverence. Kinsey thought about the tiger crossing the lawn and wondered if it had been real at all.
“Ben?” Kinsey asked.
Seth nodded. “Ben and the palace,” he said. “Gavin and Eddie. Malcolm and Albert. I wonder how all of them are now?”
Kinsey stepped closer, knelt, and put her hands on his knees, looking into his eyes. He beamed. Something was different about him, his eyes recalling an old transition, a piece of magic. His brows furrowed, angry brows she’d come to know suddenly vanquishing every cynical, angry thought. For a split-second (if she didn’t know any better) she’d say Seth was exactly the child he’d been before they went on their quest. The man sitting here now was the old Seth, an overnight miracle somehow returned fully to her by the presence of Ben.
“You didn’t think I would completely forget, did you?” Seth asked.
Kinsey’s eyes were like softballs. “But you…all these years…” Kinsey shook her head.
“I told you to keep it safe. Everything would be okay if you did. I knew that. I knew about everything from the moment you showed it to me in high school. I just…I just don’t think I really believed it. I don’t know how it happened…but I knew it would. The Dragon, the land we traveled through…it was as if Ben knew my small mind couldn’t quite handle it. That’s what the snapdragon is for. Holding on and keeping something precious alive, something sacred, despite the horrors that mar us into the people we become. Ben knew that. Ben didn’t want us to lose what made us the children we were. And we were magical children. All of us. The snapdragon works for each of us. It was vital, probably the most vital aspect of defeating the Dragon in general. That’s why it was so important we go there.” Seth paused. “Sometimes,” he said. “I think the snapdragon was something to keep me from going insane. That’s why I forgot. Because I couldn’t handle it without the magic. When I saw Ben outside the window just now, some…acceptance came over me. As if Ben were telling me, ‘You’ve forgotten for long enough. It’s time to be a child again.’ I felt it all in a split-second. The beauty we experienced, how perfect everything was, how…how I asked to never forget the beautiful things…the…”
“Magic,” she finished.
“Yeah,” he said. “The magic. And I remembered how I wanted to remember, even then, at ten. I never wanted to forget the palace, the journey. Ben knew. It happened to the others. I bet they remember now, too. I bet they remember, and they’re glad they remember.”
Seth paused for a second, then continued:
“Things were fine for a while…I felt okay, but…I remember standing at the edge of town when we came back, and it was just me, Malcolm, Eddie, and Albert. And I felt something.” He shook his head. “Something ripped away from me, something deep inside, something incredibly important, the most important thing of all. And as many times as I tried to get it back, I just pushed it further and further away. All this time, the most important thing I felt as a child was gone. Like presumption, I guess.”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought I would hold onto the magic forever, and I was wrong. I would lose it. But Ben came around and proved me wrong. He said I didn’t have to lose it if I didn’t want to. In fact, I could hold onto it for as long as I wanted. Maybe it was my fault that I felt what I did…when the rip happened inside. I caused it, and Ben knew I would cause it. And that’s what the snapdragon is for. That’s what the snapdragon is. Ben, just now outside the window proved that to me…showed me. I felt the change, the old familiarity when I saw him. And speaking of magic…” Seth took a deep breath. He seemed exhausted and energized at the same time. “God, it was such a long time ago!” he said. “But now…I know what that blue flower is for.”
“Holding on to the good things,” Kinsey said. “Childhood. That no matter how far away you get, you will and can always come back to it. It’s okay to hold on. You never lost what you had. It was just sort of…put on hold for a while, until you were ready for it. But it’s not so much remembering as it is…believing. I think that’s what it’s really all about.”
Seth nodded, grinning.
Kinsey Auburn, in her early twenties, threw her arms around her husband’s neck. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. “And you do now?” she asked.
“What?” he said.
“Believe?”
“Yes,” Seth said, nodding. “Because of that. Of course I do. How could I not?”
“I was so scared,” Kinsey told him. “I thought it might…do something. Bring back something bad. I thought maybe that’s why you couldn’t remember because it would…”
“Drive me insane?” he said. Seth held onto her biceps and looked into his wife’s eyes. “No harm here, babe.”
Kinsey’s heart swelled. Her tears were abundant, but she didn’t care. They were good tears, happy tears, tears proving life was full of magic. Tears proving no good thing ever had to be lost forever.
They continued to laugh and hold onto each another in—what seemed—a moment of celebration.
Seth thought about how strange it all was. Seeing Ben outside, he suddenly saw his companions in the banquet room of the palace. Celebration, dancing, music, feasts, and merry-making surrounded him.
“Now,” Percy said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Now you have completely defeated the Dragon. It took some time, lad, but we were with you. We never lost hope. We always believed.”
Some magic touch had encased him, but whatever it was, had lifted now. No harm had been done, and it was for the better. He had not changed, not the way Kinsey had thought, the way she’d feared. Maybe for a while…but not now.
She couldn’t wait to talk to him about it all. She couldn’t wait to relive every vibrant, powerful moment they’d shared together as children.
Seth was vibrant, still unmarred by the horrors of the quest. The snapdragon and its silent magic had kept him from the horrors for a time, but it had brought him back to the imaginative child he’d always been.
The child you will always be, Ben said. Full of wonder, promise, magic, and inspiration. Full, more importantly, of imagination.
Kinsey cried in relief. She had him back the way she’d always wanted, able to believe, able to talk about it. Able to be the children they were and would always be.
“What’s the best thing you remember?” Kinsey said.
Seth thought about it for a while and looked at her. “Finding you alive in the palace.”
Kinsey hugged him tight. Could she harbor any more love for him? Could she feel any more alive than she did at that moment? She thought she might explode with sheer joy if she did!
Kinsey kissed him and pulled away. “The next best thing?”
Seth paused, staring into past, into the long ago journey of yesteryear.
“Ben,” he said, after a time. “Always Ben.”
If you liked Snapdragon, you might try, All the Gods Against Me, Calliope and Worlds Away.
About the Author:
Brandon Berntson was born in Boise Idaho, but grew up in various towns throughout Colorado, where most of his stories take place. A fan of dark fantasy, horror, magical realism, and young adult fantasy, he is the author of Castle Juliet and When We Were Dragons, enchanting, magical reads for all ages, along with Body of Immorality, a cryptic collection of horror stories, and the raw, adult-themed, All The Gods Against Me.
A fan of ice hockey, Beethoven, Black Sabbath, classic horror films, and Star Trek, he makes his home in Boulder, Colorado. Visit him at www.brandonberntson.com or his Amazon Author Page.
Independent authors need all the love and support they can get, and it’s dedicated readers who are helping them out more than anything. Leaving a review on Amazon, especially if you liked the tale, is one of the best ways to help out, and it only takes a minute or two.
Thank you for taking the time to curl up with this story, Dear Reader! I hope you enjoyed coming along with me,
as much as I enjoyed leading the way.
Also by Brandon Berntson:
Urban/Dark Fantasy:
All The Gods Against Me: The Story of Clarence Manning
Calliope
Worlds Away
Snapdragon Book I: My Enemy
Snapdragon Book II: In the Land of the Dragon
Horror:
Corona of Blue
Body of Immorality: Tales of Madness and the Macabre
Donny’s Day
Silly Girl
To Disturb the Dead
The Battle of the Elect
Literary/Magical realism:
The Smoky Dragon (a love story)
Blue Sky Winter (A Christmas Tale)
One World
All It Will Always Be
King of Forgotten Land
Comic Horror:
Buick Cannon (A Joke From the Moon)
Fantasy/Young Adult:
When We Were Dragons
Castle Juliet
Snapdragon Book II: In the Land of the Dragon Page 30
