“You’re ready for it Sam, I know,” Rhoda encouraged, and I stepped off the platform of Earth’s orbiting transfer station and onto my first starliner.

  I didn’t explode! No one died, and nothing bad happened, so I smiled at Rhoda, and Cora squeezed my hand. We headed down the hallway and towards the unknown, farther than any of us ever thought we’d go.

  My Nanna was walking ahead of me, holding Rhoda’s son’s hand and pointing out the dining area up ahead of us. We found seats and got comfortable, waiting for the rest of the passengers to board.

  “Mr. Santa, do you tell stories?” Filly asked.

  HC obligingly chuckled, “Filly, I’ve got a story that is more mysterious than any book you’ve ever read. Have you heard the one about the Red Phoenix?”

  When the toddler shook his head, HC continued, “She walks in dreams, the lady of rubies, clad in red and angel wings. When you’re not looking, she’s at the edge of the scene, and when you turn your head, you’ll forget you were in bed.”

  The story had the ring of a nursery rhyme to it, something long rehearsed. I wondered if HC’d chanted this on repeat putting his daughters to sleep the way I sang “Twinkle, Twinkle” to the kids I used to babysit.

  I sat there enchanted, and feeling like I already knew the story since I’d nearly memorized the Red Phoenix graphics as a teen.

  “Not knowing from whence she came or where she goes, you follow her through hallways unknown. Before you know it, portals await, and you open the door before it’s too late. Time has no meaning, so don’t hesitate. Follow the dreamer, and dive into the lake.”

  Filly’s eyes were gently closing, his head in Rhoda’s lap as her fingers stroked his blonde hair. I felt breath against my ear.

  “I can’t tell if I’m strangely sleepy or ensorcelled,” Cora whispered, chin resting on my shoulder. I nodded, only seeing Rhoda’s fingers and Filly’s soft blonde hair, the sound of HC’s melodic voice lulling me as though I were a child in need of comfort.

  “She lives below water or above it, I'm unsure. But when you see her, don’t ignore the lure. You’ll find her beyond where things make sense, and love flows without bounds, gently, un-condensed. She walks in dreams and speaks in rhymes, and you’ll feel you knew her all the time."

  "What she shows you makes your heart swell. And when you wake, you think you're under a spell. Was it a memory you didn’t understand? Did a truth you learned slip through your hand? Questions you’ll have, and answers escape like a wave. So see the dream walker, behold her well, and in your waking hours no one can tell.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  As the story came to a close, Rhoda lifted her head, and her eyes met mine. There was something certain in them that I felt reflected in my face, even though I understood nothing of what had just been spoken.

  “Dream walker,” Cora said right against my ear, and I nodded. The little story sounded eerily similar to the song Cora had sung at her concert last night. But before I had a chance to ponder that idea any further, Nanna changed the subject.

  "Well,” Nanna whispered. “That little rhyme works wonders for napping children, HC, and maybe a little for the rest of us. But should we stay out here in the lounge?"

  “I think Filly will be fine to nap right here,” Rhoda said. “He’ll probably sleep less than an hour since it’s a little early. If someone can bring me a martini and snack, I’ll read HC’s ‘Murder Yule’ again."

  “About that,” HC started. “I’m thinking up an idea for a third short story."

  My face lit up, but he raised his hands. “Don’t get too excited yet, Sam. It’s barely even a concept right now, but I was wondering how well a New Year’s Eve short would go over with readers? Don’t people like to go out and get wild? Will it flop because there’s no one sitting at home to read it?"

  “Pshaw! HC, you know better than that!” Cora scolded. “Even if the wild ones are out all night New Year’s Eve, whaddaya think they wanna do the next day? Watch movies at home or cozy up by the fire with a good book."

  “And all of Muriel and Holly’s fans will gobble up every chapter you write, HC. So I say, stop overthinking it, and get to writing!” I urged him.

  He smiled, stood up, and stretched. "Paddy, love, let’s get a snack for Rhoda and ourselves, then I’m going to get started on another little story. You okay with me disappearing for a day or two?"

  “Just bring me something entertaining to read, Wimpy, and it’ll be worth the absence,” she teased him.

  HC and Paddy wandered off to discover the food options, and Cora and I meandered around the starliner getting oriented. The cross-galactic ship had everything you could want: a shopping center, dining court open all hours, a spa, gym, rec center, theater, and swimming pools with hot tubs.

  “I could go for a couple’s massage,” Cora said longingly.

  “Let’s do it! I can get the Discordant smoothed outta my neck muscles, and you can rinse off the concert stress; leaving all those endless rehearsals behind."

  “Sounds good—"

  “Cora?"

  “Hmmm?"

  “How are you doing after the concert? Still feeling like leaving the stage in the rearview window?” I asked my girlfriend.

  She slid an arm around mine as we headed to the spa. “It was just last night I was performing Red Rocks, and it’s totally surreal to be on a starliner with a girlfriend I met in my dreams years ago. I feel like I’m walking through a mirage, and I’ll wake up and realize none of this ever happened. So it’s hard to think about life-altering questions at the mo'."

  She sighed. “But, Sam, I feel like we’re embarking on something together. I don’t know what it is, but doesn’t it feel like all of this is leading somewhere?"

  “The Final Scene?” I whispered, and she stopped in her tracks.

  “I wrote that song the night you left Nashville, Sam, and it poured onto the page in seconds. I didn’t even have to think about it; the words appeared without thought. And when I played it for the band, they were on it in an instant. Like they already knew it. Everything about it was so beautiful even though I still don’t know what it’s about."

  “Then I guess we have to live it and find out,” I concluded softly.

  She raised my right hand to her lips and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “Together."

  “Together,” I nodded.