Genuine Sweet (25 page)

But I do like to think better of people. Take you and me, for instance. Here we are, me talking till I hardly have any words left, and you listening for all you're worth. Thank you kindly for that, by the by.

Now you know my story. The ups, the downs, the shiny, and the grimy.

So if the gift comes your way—and there's a good chance it might—I know you'll remember. You'll think on star song and Cornucopio and all the weather. You'll recall the way the right wish can raise a smile, and how there are some troubles wishing can't fix. But most of all, I hope you'll remember what Gram said about finding your own way. Even if I never fetch another wish, even if no fetcher teacher ever appears in your town, there's nothing in the whole world—except our own selves—that can keep us from our good.

That's what I've learned, at least.

That, and how to mill some downright magical flour.

F
AITH
H
ARKEY
travels the back roads of America in search of Story. From Mississippi to Montana, Colorado to Kansas, she is drawn to places where the pace of life is unhurried and the milk comes fresh from the cow. Her adopted hometowns include Tiger, Georgia (population 406); Grangeville, Idaho (population, 3,151); and Istachatta, Florida (population 116). Faith is a graduate of the Writer's Workshop at Eckerd College, and thinks better with her shoes off.

 

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