I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

I nod with a pleased hum.
We eat together, me in silence, him telling me his fairytales. They’re
grand stories, ones with neat endings and no loose ends to tie. I ask
him why stories in real life don’t end that way. He tells me fairy tales
end however we want them to. He says fairytales are meant to teach
people lessons like his nurse, Ella, says, but he doesn’t believe that.
He thinks stories are meant to make people feel things.
I ask him what that’s like. To feel.
The wind passes between us, stretching his grin.
He says I ask good questions.
Sam slides his hand across the stone on his last bite of bread.
“This is our castle,” he says. “Will you protect it with me?”
I blink. The knights in all his fairytales are brave. They conquer
kingdoms and rescue all in danger. For all I am, I am not brave. I
chew on my lip, chew on the question.
Sam senses my doubt.
“There’s a lot of sick people here, you know,” he says, creeping a
little closer. It’s the first time I notice how golden his eyes are, flares
of yellow across a dark background. It’s a detail you can only see
from up close, not just by admiring a painting but by being a part of
it.
Sam smiles. A smile you can feel. “We can protect them, you and I.
Would you like that?”
I would. Even without bravery at my side. Already, from a single look,
a single span of a day, I know so much about him.
Sam. A name, simple and warm, but at once musical in the right
tone.