Eileen couldn't believe her eyes. She rubbed at them, thinking the glare on the snow might have somehow deceived her, but the apparition remained. She pointed her skis downslope and glided smoothly across, a rasping hiss in her wake.
"Is it you?" she asked, tentative and somehow frightened, when she stopped in front of the woman.
She smiled back, stately and timeless. "Hello, Eileen."
Her gloved hands went to her mouth and failed to stifle a quick, high sob. "It's been so long! Where did you go? You never told me anything! You just disappeared, and I was worried, and scared, and I didn't know if you were hurt, or if I'd done something wrong, or--" A quiet smile from the other woman brought her frenzied stream of frets to a soft close. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, a child hiding under the kitchen table. "Magdalene... I didn't know if I'd ever see you again."
"Here I am." Warmth radiated from her smile.
"But where did you go? You were the one who always played with me when everyone else left. My only really constant companion... my fairy godmother. And when you left..." Her voice broke. "What did I do wrong?"
Magdalene leaned forward in her boots. When she brought the handles of her poles together at her stomach, Eileen could easily imagine her in a sumptuous Victorian dress, her hands in a muff against the London chill. "You didn't do anything wrong, Eileen."
"Then why did you leave??" Tears formed behind her goggles, and she bumped the handle of one of her poles against the lens when she reflexively reached to brush them away.
"I had to, Eileen. Eventually, everyone outgrows the need for their fairy godmother. When we're not needed, we move on, and find someone else who needs us."
"But I still needed you!! Everyone else left me! You were all I had! After Daddy went, and Janey left for college, it was only you and me! When you left, I... I was so lonely."
"What about after that? You grew up. You made a life for yourself."
"You know about that?" Eileen sniffled, her goggles now on her helmet and a tissue clenched in one cold-reddened, ungloved hand.
"Tell me anyway. I want to hear your story as you tell it."
Eileen smiled. Magdalene had always been so wise. As much a grandmother as she was a friend. Blotting at her nose with the tissue, she told the woman in the flowing white dress about the first boy she kissed, the first boy she loved, and the man she eventually married. She told her about the the beautiful daughter they had together, who had just started college this year, leaving her feeling anxious and alone again, but not as lost as she had felt as a little girl. She told her about the dark mass they had found in her husband's abdomen, and how they were waiting for the results of whether it was malignant, and she told her how scared she was of losing Jim. When she finished talking, she was surprised to find that her eyes were dry.
Magdalene smiled back at her. "That's wonderful, Eileen. I'm so proud of you." The other woman beamed with sudden quiet pride. "Do you understand now why I left?"
This puzzled her. "No... can you tell me?"
"Fairy godmothers are as real as you need us to be, Eileen. You clung very tightly to me because you were afraid of being alone, but what you really needed was to learn how to handle people moving in and out of your life. That boy you kissed was not the man you married, and your Alicia is going to college because you made her strong enough to be on her own, not because she's abandoning you. If you were still dependent on me, you might not have learned how to cope with those small losses in your life. Our time together was like training wheels for all your future relationships. Coping with my absence taught you to cope with the absence of others. And I can tell that you've done very well."
"Thank you, Magdalene. I..." she laughed. "I guess I'm glad you left me. Would you like to ski with me for a while? Just a couple runs?"
Ending one: happy
"I'd like that, Eileen. I've missed you, too."
Ending two: sad
"I'd like that, Eileen. I've missed you, too."
Eileen looked at the older woman, marveling at her agelessness. When she was a little girl, she had always thought of Magdalene as grandmotherly, or an older aunt willing to indulge a little girl with tea parties and story-telling and endless stacks of coloring books. Now, thinking of the wrinkles around her own eyes and the growing stiffness in her fingers, she realized that they could be sisters. She had caught up with her childhood friend. Then she noticed that Magdalene was still staring intently at her.
"What is it?"
"My dear, there is still something else I can teach you." Eileen was shocked to see the other woman's eyes glisten with new tears. "There is another kind of letting go."
"I don't understand, Magdalene. What do you mean?"
"Your Jim will be fine. They'll have to operate, but he'll survive, and see your daughter graduate. She's going to be a wonderful doctor."
"Why, that's great! Why do you look so sad?"
"He will see all that, Eileen. Just him." She paused as sudden recognition bloomed in her charge's face. "There's a blood vessel in your brain, Eileen. There's no way anyone could know, but it's going to burst. You won't feel anything. You won't even feel the fall. I'm sorry, love. I just found out myself."
"How long do I have?"
Magdalene managed a shaky smile. "We can get a few more runs."
A deep calmness flooded through Eileen. She had been anxious about death in the past, but now she felt a great peace. Nodding calmly, even reassuringly, she shifted her weight with the skill of an experienced skier and twisted smoothly downhill, with Magdalene right beside her.
Ending three: the most likely
"You don't need me anymore Eileen. I just wanted to check in with you. Have a wonderful life." Without another word, Magdalene slid away and glided smoothly into the trees. Moments later, after Eileen passed her hiding place, she slid back out just as smoothly, and another skier came down the run, skidding to a stop at her side.
"Who was that, Susan? You guys were talking for a while."
"I have no earthly idea, darling, but she had a name tag. Perhaps she works here. I think that spot up there would be a good place for the wedding photos. There's nice light, but we'll have to hurry onto the lift to get back up in time to finish before it gets too dark."
When I saw the lady in the dress, I did ask if she was my fairy godmother--she said she was, so I asked for a puppy. Then she admitted that she was getting married. Her outfit made my day. I wish I had gotten a better picture, but this one gave me a nice story.
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