Every One of Them

"The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished."

"Grandma!" 8-year old Charlie uncrossed his legs and stood up from the floor with a huff. "You promised, no more baby stories." Without waiting for a reply, he shuffled across the floor. Charlie didn't even see the near-miss of Jessica's dainty fist lashing out in his direction at the moment he turned away.

Jessica puffed out her cheeks, trying to think of a biting remark, or something that would pass for a biting remark to a preschooler. Grandma reached out a hand and affectionately tapped Jessica on the head, drawing her attention back.

"Now," she began, gently, "what do we say?"

The little girl grinned as they recited in unison: "You're never too old for magic."

Along the far wall, Charlie practiced his impression of a disappointed grown-up. He paced, looked at his feet, and shook his head, making his silky blond hair whip from side to side across his forehead.

"The river ran backwards the day the Queen vanished. It was noticed at midday by a tired laundress, who, after hours spent with red hands in the cold water, finally realized something was different. Before that, it was observed in the morning by a miller, who stood and stared in confusion at a water-wheel rotating in reverse."

Jessica smiled. She liked when Grandma added details about the story world. It felt more real that way.

"But even before dawn, a yawning nanny strode around the castle courtyard while doing her best to comfort the baby Prince, who started their fussing at least an hour earlier than usual. She stood beside the river, which ran through the courtyard, bouncing the little boy and staring at the water. She witnessed the very moment the river reversed its flow. Thinking it an ill omen, the nanny rushed to inform Her Majesty, but the Queen was nowhere to be found."

"What happened to her?"

"Nobody knows," said Grandma, in a silly, spooky voice. "It's a mystery."

"No, it's not!" interrupted Charlie. "Last time you said the Queen was kidnapped by a lava dragon and taken back to his volcano lair."

Grandma pursed her lips and searched her memory. "Did I?"

"And the time before that," he continued smugly, "she was captured by another kingdom to start a war." Charlie liked being right more than he disliked baby stories.

Jessica was shooting him a death-glare.

"Hmm." Grandma hummed loudly to get Jessica's attention back before either child could decide to initiate a wrestling match. "Well, now, that doesn't sound right. Neither of those sound quite right."

"So, what really happened?" Jessica's voice carried a tinge of worry for the Queen and her uncertain fate.

"I think it was a little bit of both, and more," Grandma leaned in. "That's my favorite thing about stories, especially the magic ones. They're all at least a little bit true. Every one of them."

Jessica didn't understand, but she nodded anyway. It felt true, especially coming from Grandma.

"So," Grandma straightened in her chair, "what do you think happened to the Queen?"

---

Years later:

It was a Tuesday afternoon, and time was moving too slowly. Jessica sat slumped in a desk toward the back of her last class of the day. The class was American Literature, and as much as Jessica enjoyed reading, there was little that a modern 16-year-old could appreciate in Walden. Her teacher, Mr. Henderson, was totally jazzed about this "transcendentalism" concept. The back half of the period was for open discussion about the assigned reading. Mr. Henderson didn't seem to mind that he was the one doing most of the talking. Clearly, he had a lot to say.

Most of her classmates were good scouts - they had at least attempted to read the homework. Nearly all of them gave up part-way through, but a few *very* good scouts took the time to Google some talking points to keep Mr. Henderson occupied until the end of class. Jessica definitely read the whole thing, but after a night of sleep, she couldn't remember a thing about it. There was a disconnect so severe that Jessica might call it "profound"; here was the story of a man, who claimed to see the beauty in the mundane and the pleasure in simplicity, buried by prose practically designed to hide the magic.

"Hey, that might be worth saying out loud," she thought through that end-of-the-school-day haze. It was too late, though. The bell finally rang.

---

Jessica parked her bicycle in the garage and went inside the house. The kitchen was quiet. Her eyes went directly to the counter. There was a note from Mom -- a common occurrence on the weekdays. Jessica saw it, but she didn't actually read it. Mom was probably just working late again. That's okay.

She went upstairs and banged on Charlie's door.

"What?"

Neither of them moved to open the door. Jessica would rather skip getting a nose-full of weed, and Charlie would rather keep it all to himself.

"Need dinner, or anything?" she half-shouted.

"Nah. I'm good. Thank you!"

Jessica smirked and left him to it.

She headed to the back yard with leash and dog-mess bags in hand. An excited Irish wolfhound bounded up to her. "Hey, Huan! My pretty boy." Jessica showered her companion with kisses. Walk-time was a favorite activity for both of them.

Jessica hooked the leash to the collar and started across the yard. The house was practically on the river, but there was a great big fence between the house and it. Sometimes -- not every time, but sometimes -- the reveal of the river when she opened the gate still felt brand new and unexpected.

At least, it felt that way for Jessica. Huan just seemed glad to get his paws wet and see some critters.

But this was one of those days. Something felt different as she approached the gate. She opened it, and they went through. She closed the gate. Something still felt different, but the view was the same. Right? Huan barked and started to run for the river. Jessica unclipped the leash and let him go. He must have seen something. She took her time catching up to him.

The dog was splashing around in a shallow part of the water. When he saw Jessica, he waited and wagged his tail.

"Okay, buddy. Let's go!" Jessica bent to reconnect the leash. As she did, something changed.

Right before her eyes, the river began to run backwards.