“Maybe we never discovered the Land of Stories,” Conner said. “If we had stayed in this house, maybe Grandma wouldn’t have had a reason to give us her storybook—if you know what I mean.”
Alex absolutely knew what her brother meant and nodded. Suddenly, the sound of clanking pots and pans came from the next room—the twins weren’t alone. They walked down the hall and peered into the kitchen, and both froze in the doorway when they laid eyes on the person making the noise.
“Daddy,” Alex gasped.
It wasn’t until she said the word that Alex realized how long it had been since she had last said it. The twins’ father, John Bailey, was standing just a few feet away from them behind the kitchen counter. He wore an apron covered in flour and was in the middle of mixing ingredients in a large bowl. The twins noticed that their father was slightly older than their memory of him; his hair had started to gray around his temples and his crow’s-feet were more pronounced than they used to be.
“Hi, guys!” their father said. “You’re just in time. I know we promised your mom we’d try eating less sugar, but I left work with the biggest craving for chocolate chip cookies. I’m going to need help eating them before she gets home.”
He looked at his children with a smile they hadn’t seen in four years. Seeing their father again made Alex so happy, she cried harder than she had ever cried in her life. The tears of joy washed away all the specks of magic dust in her eyes, the warmth in her heart disintegrated all the magic dust in her lungs, and every trace of the witches’ curse was erased from her body. Their father had barely said a word and had already done exactly what Conner had hoped he would. Even though it was only a story, Conner couldn’t help becoming emotional himself. The person he had missed every day since he was eleven years old was standing right in front of him—how could he not be moved to tears?
John was very surprised to see the tears running down their faces. He wiped his hands on a washcloth and stepped out from behind the kitchen counter to take a closer look at them.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked. “Did something happen at school today?”
“No,” Conner answered. “We just really missed you—that’s all.”
“It’s so good to see you again.” Alex sniffled.
The twins gave their father the biggest hug physically possible and cried some more into his shoulders. John eyed the twins suspiciously. Even in Conner’s fictional world, John knew his children better than anyone.
“Are you sure everything’s okay?” he asked. “I’d love to hear what’s on your minds.”
“Well, Alex had a rough day,” Conner said. “Some girls at school were really cruel to her. They made her feel bad and do some stuff she regrets. And even though it wasn’t her fault, she won’t stop blaming herself for what happened.”
“Oh, really?” John asked. “Well, if it wasn’t your fault, why is it troubling you so much?”
Alex shrugged. “Even though I didn’t intentionally hurt anyone, people still got hurt because of me. I didn’t know I was capable of so much damage. It’s changed how I look at myself.”
John dried his daughter’s tears with the edge of his apron.
“Well, the good news is it’s never too late to rewrite your own story,” he said. “If you feel like something is wrong, there’s always a chance to make things right, no matter who’s to blame. But you should never feel responsible for other people’s choices. That’s too big a burden for anyone to carry.”
“I know,” Alex said. “I just always want to be doing my best—I hate looking back and feeling like I could have done better.”
“But, sweetheart, that’s how we grow,” John said with a laugh. “What makes you think you have to be so perfect?”
“I suppose it goes back to the stories you used to read us,” Alex said. “You raised us to believe that if someone is kind, generous, and responsible, they’ll have a happily ever after. So ever since I was a kid, I tried my hardest to be one of those people. I thought being perfect was the only way I could guarantee a happy ending.
“But now that I’m older, I realize life isn’t a fairy tale. And no matter how much work you put into it, happily ever after doesn’t exist.”
Of all the things his daughter had said so far, this concerned John the most. He took Alex by the hands, sat her at the kitchen table, and had a seat beside her.
“Sweetheart, happily ever after does exist, it’s just not what you think,” he said. “Happily ever after isn’t a solution to life’s problems or a guarantee that life will be easy; it’s a promise we make ourselves to always live our best lives, despite whatever circumstance comes our way. When we focus on joy in times of heartbreak, when we choose to laugh on the days it’s hard to smile, and when we count our blessings over our losses—that’s what a true happily ever after is all about. You don’t get there by being perfect; on the contrary, it’s our humanity that guides us. And that’s what fairy tales have been trying to teach us all along.”
“But what about death?” Conner asked. “How do you keep living a happily ever after when you lose someone you love?”
“Now you’re troubled over something you can’t control,” John said. “The only power we have over death is how we choose to define it. Personally, when someone dies, I don’t believe they cease to exist. The people we love the most will always be alive, thanks to the stories we tell and the memories we share. As long as we keep our loved ones in our hearts, their pulse will continue to beat through our own.”
The twins knew their father was telling them the truth. If death was the end to a soul’s existence, then how could he be sitting in front of them giving this advice? Conner barely had time to write the setting of the story—his father’s words of wisdom weren’t coming from his imagination.
“Well, I hope that was helpful,” John said. “Are there any other questions I can answer for you?”
There were millions of questions Alex and Conner wanted to ask him. However, instead of taking the moment to ask him anything, the twins were both compelled to tell him something.
“I just want to say I love you, Daddy,” Alex said. “With all my heart.”
“Me too, Dad,” Conner said. “And always will.”
John was very amused by his teenagers’ loving behavior, but the sentiments touched his heart nonetheless.
“I love you guys, too,” he said. “And don’t worry, I’ll always be right here, whenever you need me.”
A soft rumble came from another part of the house. The twins didn’t recognize it at first but eventually remembered it was the sound of the garage door opening.
“I guess your mom got off work early,” John said. “We are so busted! Quick, help me put away the cookie dough before she comes inside!”
Their father quickly got to his feet and ran back behind the kitchen counter. Strangely, the rumbling of the garage door never stopped. It became louder and louder, and soon the whole house was vibrating strongly. Object by object, the twins’ former home turned back into the words in Conner’s story.