“Why—why do you ask?”
“No reason,” he said with a smile. “You’ve just seemed a little tense lately. And I’ve noticed you haven’t been spending as much time at the Home for the Hopeless as usual. Is there anything you need to talk about?”
“Oh, I’ve just decided to take a little break,” she said. “Something happened—nothing serious, of course—but I thought a little distance would be helpful. It would give me a chance to think about things and figure out what to do next.”
“Figure out what to do next?” Barrie asked with concern. “All right, now you have to tell me what’s going on so my imagination doesn’t fill in the blanks.”
Brystal was so exhausted from worrying that she didn’t have the energy to put on a show. So she told her brother a story that was as close to the truth as possible without giving anything away.
“I recently discovered something about myself that’s a little hard to live with,” she said.
Barrie’s eyes went large. “And that is?”
“Well, I… I… I’m not sure I like charity anymore .”
Barrie did a double take at his sister’s odd response.
“You’ve been tense because you don’t like charity anymore ?” he asked.
“Um… yes ,” Brystal said with a shrug. “And quite frankly, I’m not certain how much longer I’ll be able to hide it. Now that I know, I’m afraid other people are going to find out, too. I’m terrified about what might happen to me if I’m ever exposed.”
“ Exposed? But, Brystal, disliking charity isn’t illegal. It’s just a preference.”
“I know, but it’s practically a crime,” she exclaimed. “The world is very cruel to people who don’t like charity —but that’s just because they’re misunderstood. Society thinks that disliking charity is the same as disliking kindness , when in reality, disliking charity and disliking kindness are very, very different! Oh, Barrie—I wish I could tell you just how different they are, because it’s fascinating! One of the greatest misconceptions of our time!”
According to the expression on her brother’s face, he might have been less concerned if she had just told him the truth. Barrie was looking at his sister like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown, and to be fair, she was.
“How long have you disliked charity ?” he asked.
“Almost a week,” she said.
“And do you remember the incident that changed your mind?”
“Yes, it all started when I accidentally covered a room in flowers,” she said, forgetting to alter her story. “Um—I mean, there was a homeless woman who was feeling ill, so I filled her room with flowers to cheer her up. But it was the wrong room—a room I honestly had no business being in. So I had to throw all the flowers away before someone caught me.”
“Right…,” Barrie said. “But prior to that moment, you had never disliked charity before, had you?”
“Not at all,” she said. “Before that, I didn’t think I was capable of disliking charity.”
“Then that settles it,” he said. “You just had a bad day. And you should never let one day change who you are. We can never be certain about anything in life—especially if we only experience it once.”
“We can’t?” Brystal asked with hopeful eyes.
“Of course not,” Barrie said. “If I were you, I would go back to the Home for the Hopeless and give charity another try to make sure you genuinely dislike it. Then, and only then, would I worry about being exposed for it.”
Although her brother had no idea what was really bothering her, Brystal thought he had given her excellent advice. After all, it took more than one trip on a boat to turn someone into a sailor—maybe magic was similar? Perhaps it would take years of practice before she had to worry about it putting her life in danger. And like Barrie suggested, there was always the chance the whole ordeal had been a fluke and would never happen again. Right or wrong, for her own
“No reason,” he said with a smile. “You’ve just seemed a little tense lately. And I’ve noticed you haven’t been spending as much time at the Home for the Hopeless as usual. Is there anything you need to talk about?”
“Oh, I’ve just decided to take a little break,” she said. “Something happened—nothing serious, of course—but I thought a little distance would be helpful. It would give me a chance to think about things and figure out what to do next.”
“Figure out what to do next?” Barrie asked with concern. “All right, now you have to tell me what’s going on so my imagination doesn’t fill in the blanks.”
Brystal was so exhausted from worrying that she didn’t have the energy to put on a show. So she told her brother a story that was as close to the truth as possible without giving anything away.
“I recently discovered something about myself that’s a little hard to live with,” she said.
Barrie’s eyes went large. “And that is?”
“Well, I… I… I’m not sure I like charity anymore .”
Barrie did a double take at his sister’s odd response.
“You’ve been tense because you don’t like charity anymore ?” he asked.
“Um… yes ,” Brystal said with a shrug. “And quite frankly, I’m not certain how much longer I’ll be able to hide it. Now that I know, I’m afraid other people are going to find out, too. I’m terrified about what might happen to me if I’m ever exposed.”
“ Exposed? But, Brystal, disliking charity isn’t illegal. It’s just a preference.”
“I know, but it’s practically a crime,” she exclaimed. “The world is very cruel to people who don’t like charity —but that’s just because they’re misunderstood. Society thinks that disliking charity is the same as disliking kindness , when in reality, disliking charity and disliking kindness are very, very different! Oh, Barrie—I wish I could tell you just how different they are, because it’s fascinating! One of the greatest misconceptions of our time!”
According to the expression on her brother’s face, he might have been less concerned if she had just told him the truth. Barrie was looking at his sister like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown, and to be fair, she was.
“How long have you disliked charity ?” he asked.
“Almost a week,” she said.
“And do you remember the incident that changed your mind?”
“Yes, it all started when I accidentally covered a room in flowers,” she said, forgetting to alter her story. “Um—I mean, there was a homeless woman who was feeling ill, so I filled her room with flowers to cheer her up. But it was the wrong room—a room I honestly had no business being in. So I had to throw all the flowers away before someone caught me.”
“Right…,” Barrie said. “But prior to that moment, you had never disliked charity before, had you?”
“Not at all,” she said. “Before that, I didn’t think I was capable of disliking charity.”
“Then that settles it,” he said. “You just had a bad day. And you should never let one day change who you are. We can never be certain about anything in life—especially if we only experience it once.”
“We can’t?” Brystal asked with hopeful eyes.
“Of course not,” Barrie said. “If I were you, I would go back to the Home for the Hopeless and give charity another try to make sure you genuinely dislike it. Then, and only then, would I worry about being exposed for it.”
Although her brother had no idea what was really bothering her, Brystal thought he had given her excellent advice. After all, it took more than one trip on a boat to turn someone into a sailor—maybe magic was similar? Perhaps it would take years of practice before she had to worry about it putting her life in danger. And like Barrie suggested, there was always the chance the whole ordeal had been a fluke and would never happen again. Right or wrong, for her own
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