For the Love of
Fairy Tales
I’ve
always loved fairy tales.
They
were the stuff that my childhood was built on. Hans Christian Anderson and The
Brothers Grimm were my favourites. They managed to teach something in the
story, hold a gem of knowledge within them that you could pluck out and hold to
your heart, should you be brave enough.
The
stories contained in When Love Blooms started in a peculiar way. I had only
meant to write one short story and leave it at that. I wrote it when my
marriage was failing.
We
had grown so far apart and I was convinced that love didn’t exist anymore. So,
doing what writers do, I turned to the written word to bring myself comfort.
The story that came out
During
the break up of my marriage, my ex had convinced me that I was ugly, that I was
inhuman and not deserving of love. So when I wrote that first story, I wrote
about a maiden that hid a powerful secret, one that she was ashamed of and
wanted to hide.
I
felt like that maiden, wanting to hide from the world instead of engaging with
it. After that story was written, I felt better, more at peace with myself and
who I was. I figured that if one story could help, more could help even
further.
So I
resolved to write about all different kinds of love: self-love, interracial
love, love from afar, gay and lesbian love. Even the love of someone departed
that stayed with you.
The
collection was further shaped by two men I had dated throughout the writing of
it. I thought it was done three years ago when I put out the first edition but
this year, I wrote three new short stories set in the small village of
Inglewood Hamlet rounding out the collection to fourteen stories. I wanted to
put out a second edition of When Love Blooms so that people could read the
entire collection.
It
was a joy to be back and to finish off the collection with the love that I have
found with my partner Michael. He taught me what real love was and I’m forever
grateful to him
You
can get a copy of When Love Blooms in ebook or paperback here:
And
you can find me at www.jamiesonwolf.com
Here’s
that first fairy tale, titled The Maiden’s Secret. It was the one that started
it all…
Once
upon a time, there was young maiden. She was very astute young maiden who had
lots of things to say about everyone that lived in the small village of
Inglewood Hamlet, which was nestled inside the walls of a great kingdom.
Every day on her way to market, she would
run into Mafalda Hopplekirk, who was sleeping with the baker while already wed
to the candle stick maker. Ickabod Ingleberry was sleeping with one of the
scullery maids and even though he was betrothed to Paxton Plumwood, who was the
daughter of the richest family in town.
Everyone had secrets, the Maiden thought.
However, it took a special person to keep these secrets. She knew a lot about
the people in her small hamlet, but she thought of herself as a keeper of
secrets.
She would gather her knowledge of other
people as if she was collecting trinkets or stamps. Secrets held power. She
knew this more than anyone else in the village, for she had the most difficult
secret of all.
Every morning, before the sun would rise
above the stone walls of the kingdom’s barriers, she would wander out of her
small cottage and go to the water’s edge that ran along her property line.
Every house and cottage was close to a body of water; water brought life.
The Maiden knew this better than anyone.
Each morning she would slip off her shift and slid slowly into the water. Once
inside the waters depth’s, she would only have to wait for a moment before the
change began. It was no different today as she slipped into the water, letting
its coldness wake her.
It always pained her when the change
came; no matter how many times her body transformed itself. Closing her eyes
she tried to will the pain away as her legs began to fuse together, as scales
began to grow on her skin.
Soon, the water was filled with sparkling
light, the magic that changed her creating a physical manifestation. Though her
change filled her body with pain, it never failed to fill her with awe. - it was beautiful as well.
When the pain left her, she looked down
into the water. The light of her magic was gone now. The only evidence that
remained was the long tail of a fish, its scales winking at her from underneath
the water.
She laid on her back in the water and let
her tail splash about. She always felt more whole when she was her true self.
She did not mind walking on two legs like the rest of the mortals, but always
felt freer in the water.
Closing her eyes, the Maiden made a deep
dive and came back up, the water splashing like diamonds around her. When she
opened her eyes, she spotted a man looking at her, standing on the water’s
edge.
The Maiden experienced a moment of panic.
She had been so busy keeping everyone else’s secret that she hadn’t done enough
to protect her own. She stared at the man with eyes that were wide with fear.
She knew that he recognized her, that he knew who she was.
“It’s you.” He said.
She recognized him too; he was the
blacksmith’s son and his name was James Ingleton. She knew that he had a kind
heart and a bright spirit.
The Maiden watched with growing panic as
James began to undress. Once he was completely unclothed, he walked into the
water towards her. “No,” she said. “Stay back please.” She swam a little
further out into the water. “Please stay away.”
“I know what you are.” James
said.
The Maiden’s eyes widened when lights
began to bubble under the water where his feet were. As he made his way further
into the water, the light around him intensified. When he was finally in front
of her, the light faded. She looked down at the curving, graceful tail topped
with fluttering fins.
“You’re like me,” the Maiden whispered.
Her heart beat loudly in her chest and she wondered whether its vibrations
could be felt by all of the other creatures that lived in the water.
“I am.”
“I thought I was the only one.” She
looked into his deep greenish blue eyes and found herself looking into the sea.
Instead of being turbulent, the sea that moved inside of him was calm and
serene.
“So did I,” he said, “Until I
saw you change.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m
hideous.”
“That’s not true,” James replied. He
moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I think that every
part of you is beautiful.” He kissed her softly on her lips and the Maiden
experienced a rush of heat that ran along her skin.
“I’ve been waiting my whole
life for you,” he said.
When he kissed her again, she gave in
this time, letting the pleasure run through her body. As they kissed, neither
of them was aware of the light that began to bloom around them underneath the
water.
They were both completely unaware of the
transformation that was coming over their bodies, as their fish tails and
scales faded away, leaving only mortal legs.
Instead, the Maiden had a random thought.
‘Let other people keep their secrets,’ she thought. ‘I will take love over
secrets any day.’
Still wrapped in James’ embrace, the
Maiden gave in completely to the power of love and let go of all of the secrets
that she had held.
Taking a deep breath, she released them
into the water - like a dream where they
would flow away from her into the great beyond.
So the story goes…
About the Author
Jamieson is an award winning, Number One Best Selling Author of over sixty books.
Jamieson is also an accomplished artist. He works in mixed media, charcoal, pastels and oil paints. He is also something of an amateur photographer, a poet, perfume designer and graphic designer.
He currently lives in Ottawa Ontario Canada with his cat, Tula, who is fearless.
Jamieson is also an accomplished artist. He works in mixed media, charcoal, pastels and oil paints. He is also something of an amateur photographer, a poet, perfume designer and graphic designer.
He currently lives in Ottawa Ontario Canada with his cat, Tula, who is fearless.
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