It wasn’t that long ago that she found out that her name was not Mina Grime but Mina Grimm and she was descended from the Brothers Grimm. Her mother had changed their name and moved constantly, trying to hide from the Story. But it didn’t matter; it had still found them. Mina was now tasked with completing hundreds of fairy tale quests was in order to end a generational curse on her family.
Her first fairy tale quests had been the most challenging. She had imprisoned an ageless Fae named Claire, defeated a wolf pack and saved her best friend’s life. All while secretly dating the hottest and most popular guy in school. But their whole relationship, the whole experience was gone. Completely forgotten, this was a horrible side effect of her curse. Apparently, the Story, to protect itself and the Fae from humans, could erase memories and alter events. And it did, to Mina’s horror, and she lost her boyfriend and the few blissful weeks they had been together.
Her mother, Sara had tried to explain it to her. “Well, honey, it’s similar to walking somewhere and being lost in thought and all of a sudden you arrive at your destination with no recollection of the journey. Your mind fills in the blanks, and it will fill it in with what is the most plausible scenario.”
“What does he think happened?” Mina asked in desperation.
“He thinks whatever the Story pushes him toward thinking. If he normally would have gone home after school each day, then that is what he did. Honey, at your age, hundreds of your days are so similar and repetitive that it is easy for the Story to make us believe we lived the same pattern over and over again.”
Mina’s lip quivered as she whispered, “it’s not fair!”
Sara reached over to her daughter and pulled her into a hug. “There’s no such thing as fair when it comes to the Fae and their tales.”
“Will he ever remember, Mom? Will he ever remember the dance, the rides to school? Will he ever remember he kissed me?” It was becoming too much for her to fathom.
“Sweetie, the Fae are powerful and so is the Story that drives all of the Grimms’ futures. But let me tell you that nothing is more powerful than true love. And until you find out whether he is your true love or not, I can tell you from experience that those caught in the Story’s web will have intense moments of déjà vu. So don’t give up.”
And that is exactly what Mina had been hoping for-- a chance, a glimpse, something that would spur a moment of enlightenment--and then he would turn to her, take her in his arms and say, “I remember!” But after a few days of awkward and confused glances, Mina began to think it wasn’t going to happen.
“He must think I’m some sort of creeper,” Mina mumbled under her breath.
“Um, yeah, he probably does,” Nan answered.
Mina was startled by her friend’s voice. She had become oblivious to Nan and hadn’t noticed when she came and sat on the desk next to her to stare out the window at Brody.
Nan took a sucker out of her mouth and pointed the sticky ball at her friend. “You, dear Mina, need to get a life.”
Mina’s eyes crossed as she took in the wet, red, candy ball on a stick. “Where did you get that?”
Nan rolled her eyes and pulled three more out of her purse. “I’m trying to lay off the cupcakes, too many dyes. So I switched vices. Want one?” She fanned the suckers and waved them enticingly in front of Mina.
“No thanks.”
“It wouldn’t solve your problem anyway!” Nan spoke with the sucker still in her mouth.
“What problem?” Mina asked, slightly confused.
“The one where you’re turning into a square.” She held up her pointer fingers and thumbs to create a square and looked through it at Mina.
“Compared to what? Are you saying I wasn’t one before?”
Nan turned her head to the side. “Well, you always were more of a triangle. But ever since the dance, you’ve been different.” She pointed a thumb at the aquatics building. “Is it because of Brody, that you’re so broody? Ha! I made a joke…get it?”
Mina turned back toward her desk and put her books into her new backpack. She paused as she remembered a similar backpack with safety pins holding it together. Her mind was flooded with images of Brody falling, her reaching out and grabbing his backpack and saving his life, and all of the days after. The onslaught of memories made Mina frustrated, so she violently tossed the books into her bag.
She needed to quit living in the past and start worrying about her future. Who knew how long before the Story gathered power and unleashed another fairy tale quest on her?
“Okay, I’m a square and I need a life. What do you, oh Wise One, suggest?” Mina tried to smile and play along.
Nan pulled out her iPhone and started typing. “Next weekend the hottest band is playing, and I am determined to get tickets to the show.”
Mina groaned aloud. “Don’t tell me it’s that band that sounds like screeching cats? What are they called? Um Royal Flush, King’s Council?”