We Are the Light by Matthew Quick

Author:Matthew Quick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
Published: 2022-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

13.

Dear Karl,

Even though Darce transformed herself into an angel at the beginning of last December, I purchased and wrapped Christmas presents for her anyway. The bulk of my holiday shopping had already been completed by the time Jacob Hansen opened fire on all of us who were in the Majestic Theater that fateful night. But on one of my many epic post-tragedy December walks, back when I was clocking eighteen or so miles a day between all those funerals, I happened to walk past Majestic Books and right there in the window was the perfect gift for my wife.

I went inside and told Maggie Stevens that I just had to have it for Darce, at which point she put my selection into a paper bag, handed it to me, and said, “No charge.” I, of course, tried to pay for what I was taking, pulling out cash and extending it toward her, but she kept waving both her hands and saying, “I can’t take your money, Lucas,” and “Merry Christmas,” and “Thanks for what you did,” and even “You’re a hero.”

That last one made me feel as though she had sunk the pointy end of a steak knife into my Adam’s apple and so I turned around and exited the store, and—as I made my way home, hoping to wrap winged Darcy’s gift before she might see it—I began swallowing repeatedly in a desperate attempt to make the awful feeling disappear.

Like every night back then, winged Darce visited me on Christmas Eve. I had all of her presents arranged in a little pyramid in the corner of our bedroom where she often stood watching over me as I tried to sleep through the night. Every gift box was wrapped in white paper and tied up with gold bows. When Darce flew in through the window, she looked down at her pyramid of presents and smiled sadly. That’s when she told me angels weren’t allowed to accept gifts from human beings—even if said angel had been married to the gift giver when the winged one was alive.

I argued with her, saying, “What harm could possibly come from it?”

But she kept shaking her head no. I couldn’t believe it, especially after all the work I had put into the wrapping, even measuring all the boxes with a ruler and making all the necessary cuts and folds. Her pyramid of gifts could have appeared in any glossy, glamorous magazine or in any fancy Manhattan storefront window—it was that perfect of an offering.

“Give these to Jill,” winged Darce said.

When I searched her eyes, they seemed to say, Jill gave up her trip to see her parents in North Carolina on Christmas, just so you wouldn’t be alone. She’s been looking after you, like a best friend should. Keeping your mother at bay even. Don’t let her wake up to no presents on Christmas morning.

I asked if we could open just one together. Maybe the least of them. Then I gently pulled a flat white square—what Maggie Stevens had given me at Majestic Books—from the middle of the pyramid.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.