WARNING! This contains spoilers to events that have happened in my story, “Forever in Tine.” If you wish to read that story, you can find the link to that blog in the Other Works by Me section on this blog.

Dear Emily,

It was such a joy to open my mail and find your letter. It’s always nice to hear from a friend and to know she is doing well.

Now, don’t worry about the way you write to me. Sometimes writing stream of consciousness packs more of a punch than sitting and planning out every detail. No need to stress about editing yourself. I want you to feel at ease when writing to me and to know that you can say anything you want to me. Also, know that whatever you say will be kept in strict confidence if that is what you wish.

I am very blessed to have the family I do. Yes, I’ve lost a lot in my life, especially good, decent people. In a way, I guess I was kind of like Job in the Bible. I’d lost a lot but now, I have an abundance of family and friends to love. The people who have gone on can’t be replaced, but at least I now have others to help fill that void.

I will give the children your condolences. You, especially, know how they are feeling right now. I can only hope they will adjust in time just as well as you have. Little Cedric is too young to remember very much of what happened, which is a blessing, really. You’re right that being too young to really remember makes it a little easier. I was too young to remember my parents, so I didn’t understand what that entailed. I had Grandda, so I never wanted for love and affection.

Anyway, I’m glad Tyrone and I are in the position to adopt them and help them as best we know how. They have a lot of people who care about them, so I’m optimistic that they’ll be okay.

There is no need to apologize about what you feel comfortable divulging. The Internet and even the world, in general, can be a dangerous place. The wrong information in the wrong hands can be very frightening. As I said earlier, I want you to feel at ease writing to me and anything you say will be treated with great respect.

Your family sounds like a wonderful, big, happy one. I’m so happy for you to have acquired such a fantastic place after sustaining such traumatizing losses. Thank you for telling me more about them.

I’m sure you play beautifully! It takes a long time to grow proficient at playing an instrument, but it is well worth it. The guitar is perfect for those melancholic songs. My friend, Debbie, enjoys playing and singing, As Tears Go By by the Rolling Stones. She likens herself to sounding like a bullfrog with the croup, but she says it’s therapeutic and soothing. Nobody says you have to be an Eric Clapton. As long as it gives you pleasure, that is the important thing.

Och, the laser rhythm-a-con is an absolute blast! I never imagined it could be such fun, but it always makes me smile. I’m sorry you were unable to find one. Just keep looking and maybe one day, circumstances will work in your favor to get one.

I had to chuckle a bit when you mentioned you and your brother dancing to death metal music. I can’t say it’s my top choice in listening pleasure, but there’s a lot to be said for dancing to something growly to vent frustration and blow off some steam. .Sometimes, the calm, easy-listening kind of stuff just doesn’t cut it. Just the other day, Aurora was visiting, and she was hopping mad about her agent raising his rate to represent her. “Aurora, your career is skyrocketing and I helped make it happen. It’s only right that I reap some of what you’ve sown.” That’s a story in itself and she’s looking for another agent. Anyway, I told her to go pound something out on the piano, so it was Rachmaninoff we were treated to. No, it wasn’t death metal but with the kind of music Aurora plays and sings, some of Rachmaninoff’s pieces are about as close as you’ll get to that. His music is terribly difficult to play. She felt much better after that and is prepared to do what needs doing. There’s nothing wrong with needing to let loose.

I’m partial, of course, but I so love Irish music. You’re right that it’s so pretty, and it’s very cheerful. Grandda taught me all the dances when I was young, and I still enjoy dancing a jig with him when the occasion arises.

Och, so ye’ve been writing to Grandda now, have ye? You will absolutely love him. He’s the gentlest, kindest man you could ever know. I was so utterly blessed to have him for a Grandda and blessed a hundredfold to have gotten him back after losing him. He was my rock and oh, I loved him so! I still do and always will.

I think every performer gets nervous to some degree, no matter how many times they’ve done it. Me, I tend to get butterflies right before I go on. However, once I’m up there and the show starts, that’s all behind me. I concentrate on what the song is saying and just let the music flow over me. Many times, even though there’s a large audience, it’s just Tyrone and me. It’s him I sing to, so it’s easy to put my heart and soul into what I’m doing. The first time is always the hardest. It gets easier after that. Still, stage fright is very real to some, and there are others who never quite get over it.

Oh my, yes! I’ve had to deal with more than my share of…ah…overzealous fans. The paparazzi can be absolutely nightmarish. Tyrone and I live on a nice estate and have gates around our property, which are supplied with extra security. If someone does happen to get in, I’ve got wards positioned around the property to transport them out of harm’s way. The wards are designed so that the more aggressive they are, the more aggressive they are ejected. It doesn’t hurt them, but one such individual got a bit of a shock when he was crafty enough to get through and attempt to break my living room window and crawl through it. Needless to say, Tyrone was furious and security was amped up.

There was a time, however, when I did fall victim. Not only was there someone who had a fixation on me, but there was a diabolical plot to exact revenge for a wrongdoing that never existed. You see, Tyrone cane from a wealthy and loving family, but his sister had a lot of issues. She believed that Tyrone and his twin sister, Theresa, were the proverbial golden twins while she, Valerie, was nothing more than a sort of red-headed stepchild. She made a lot of mistakes in her life and couldn’t bring herself to ask for the family’s help. Instead, she made a lot of wrong choices and found herself entangled so deeply in a situation she couldn’t get out of. It got worse and worse for everyone involved until there was no choice but for her to come clean and take responsibility for her choices.

To backtrack, after my first husband and Landon were killed in a plane crash, it took me a very long time to recover. Once my life was back in order, I dated sparingly. I was seeing a man named Shane for a time but never felt any kind of significant attraction for him. In fact, I pretty much kept him at arm’s length. Maybe something inside me realized that something was off with him. I broke it off when I found out he was married, but Shane didn’t like that. He had the kind of ego that was bruised if he became the dumpee and not the dumper.

Anyway, Shane wanted revenge on me, and Valerie wound up under a spell to do Shane’s bidding. Meanwhile, Shane’s brother, Allen, had an unhealthy fixation on me and believed that by having me, it would make all his mental problems go away. Poor Allen was schizophrenic and had been institutionalized for a long time but had finally been released. So, Shane devised this plan to kidnap me and compel me to make Allen believe I loved him.

For a time, the plan worked. Shane blackmailed a doctor, who was also a wizard, into casting a living death spell on me. I was rushed to the hospital where I “died” in Tyrone’s arms. It broke him. You see, when a werewolf loses his or her true soulmate, it causes them unbearable and unspeakable pain. Some don’t even survive it. The ones who do are torn asunder and only a shell of their former self remains. It’s due to a phenomenon they experience called Imprinting. I think the fact that I wasn’t really dead was what kept Tyrone here on this earth. That and a promise I exacted from him to take care of the children kept him alive.

I was presumed dead, and while I lay in the morgue, it gave Shane time to get me. I got a sendoff, but instead of me being buried, it was a clone of me who was the guest of honor.

When I woke up, I found myself locked in a cell. There was a binding spell put on the cell, which nullified my magic and the Bond I shared with Tyrone in order to keep him from finding me and realizing I was alive. Neil was a very unwilling participant, so he did all he could to protect me. Thankfully, Mathilda quickly started figuring things out and got the truth from Neil when he sought her help in restoring me to health.

Eventually, Shane’s scheme fell apart and I was rescued. Sadly, Allen committed suicide beforehand, and Shane…well, let’s just say he’s clucking like a hen while being surrounded by roosters. He learned the hard way to never provoke an already enraged werewolf, especially one who is hellbent on avenging his mate.

We all recovered in time, but it was rough, especially for the children. Everyone had nightmares for a long time. Thankfully, now that Tyrone and I have immortality and indestructibility, nothing like this will ever befall us again.

You are very welcome for the little lesson about plant people. I’m sorry your search was in vain, but I can’t say I’m surprised. They are very rare and good at staying hidden. The witch you met was very right. There are a lot of places they’d be viewed as freaks, so they try their best to avoid such places. Now, Moonlight Falls would be an apt place to search for them. You will also find all kinds of other Supernaturals. Unless you are reasonably prepared upon going there, it can be a rather scary experience.

I’ve talked my friend, Gentian, into putting up a profile and seeing where it takes him. I mentioned you to him and emailed him the link to your profile. Here is the link to his if you’d like him for a pen pal. He’ll be more than happy to write to you, I’m sure.

Your story about the island and the standing stones was beautiful. I reckon you’ve found a wellspring of magic within that island. You have it just right in that the echoes of the past people still remain. You see, stone formations like that are gateways through time. If the circumstances are just right, a person can travel to another era. It can be extremely dangerous if you’re unprepared and a gateway doesn’t just automatically open up. There are steps that need to be taken. Still, if you are in the right frame of mind and listen carefully, you will catch snippets of the past people.

I can see that you’ve thought a great deal about the natural span of life and what happens after. It is natural that you’re thinking about what legacy you could be leaving behind, although not many people your age do. You realize that there’s a balance to things and that it can swing a certain way at times. The Road of Life is an interesting one, and once a piece of it is walked, you can’t go back.

Literal immortality isn’t for the faint of heart. It can be both a blessing and a curse. It would be very frightening to be the only immortal being in the world and to realize that everything and everyone you love will eventually fade away while you, yourself, remains. I would never want that for myself. If I didn’t have people such as Grandda, Mathilda, and Tyrone to share it with, I would blissfully turn it down and go softly into that goodnight when the time for that arises.

You are very wise to think of the unhealthy risks in being an immortal being. Yes, it could get boring after a while, so we have to be creative in finding ways of sprucing up our lives when we get in a rut. I keep a daily journal and have for years. It helps so much with processing everything and to just “download” it from my brain into a beautiful notebook. It’s so therapeutic for me to just take out a fountain pen and my leather journal and just write about anything that comes to mind. I always feel so refreshed and revitalized afterward. A good run, hike, or bike ride doesn’t hurt either. Physical activity is good for not only the body, but as Gentian says, it’s good for the mind and soul.

Another thing that helps is traveling to new places. I try to see and learn something new every day so my interest is always at attention. Volunteer work, like with the orphans, is a rewarding experience and that keeps my spirit at peace. Growing bored and stagnant is very unhealthy, so I try to avoid that as much as I possibly can.

My goodness, I’ve written a book! I think this is a good place to end, so I’ll wish you many a happy day.

Your friend,

Lenora