by L. J. Smith
He came in the door quietly—he always moved cat-quietly now. She smiled at him. He looked so wonderfully dear with his golden hair and fairy-tale looks and leopard-green eyes.
“I wrote you a poem,” he said, sitting down beside her. “Well, no, that’s not true. I kind of stole what your mother wrote and made it into…something. I don’t know what. But I think maybe it’s what she really meant to say, after all.”
Keller blinked at him, then looked down at the piece of paper he gave her.
People die…so love them every day.
Beauty fades…so look before it’s gone.
Love changes…but not the love you give.
And if you love, you’ll never be alone.
“Actually, I was going to say, ‘And you will always be alone…so don’t rely on others for your happiness, but don’t stop loving, either, because then you’ll end up empty and alone instead of alone and strong and able to give without worrying about what you’re going to get back.’ But that was kind of long, and it didn’t scan,” he said.
Keller stared down at the paper blindly.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “If you don’t like it—”
Keller threw her arms around him, and her tears spilled over. “I’m going to burn the other one,” she said. “And I love you. Kiss me.”
He grinned. “Yes, Boss.”
And he did.
One from the land of kings long forgotten;
One from the hearth which still holds the spark;
One from the Day World where two eyes are watching;
One from the twilight to be one with the dark.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L.J. Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of The Vampire Diaries and has written more than twenty-five books for young adults. She lives in the Bay Area of California, where she enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, and communing with her cat Suzie. Her favorite place is a cabin in Point Reyes National Seashore. Come visit her at www.ljanesmith.net, where she has lots of free stories for downloading.
