Aoife, the Queen Maker

Another look at me over his glasses, "It would appear that the CEO's of our large companies are the Kings and Queens of today and Rose has fulfilled her destiny in today's world."

Then he slumped slightly forward. It was as if he had expended the last of his energy telling me of the Queen Makers and the Queen he helped to bring into our world. He said softly to no one, "Our little Rose has become a Queen."

We could almost see the life flowing out of him. With great effort he raised his head. "Tell my story, W. Tell it so people will believe. Tell it so someday on an Irish fen, another Queen Maker can step into our world and a proper man will be waiting. Maybe she can stay longer for him than Eve did for me. Tell my story. Tell the story of Aoife, the Queen Maker and Queen Rose whom she brought into this world."

With that his head lolled fully forward. Almost simultaneous with his final words, the room was filled with a flash of light accompanied by a loud bang just outside the window. A nurse came rushing into the room, "Is everyone all right?" she asked. "You won't believe what just happened. A small meteor hit the ground right next to the building. I was afraid it might have broken the window, it was so close."

"Everything's fine," I answered. All eyes followed mine as I looked back at the bed, "That was just the door opening so Dr. Sorensen could go back to a hillside on the heath to be with his beloved Eve."

We all stood around in the room silently as Earl softly said his final goodbyes to his grandfather. Most of what he said was too quiet for me to hear, but at one point I could clearly him say, "I should have believed you, gramps. We could have gathered the whole family to be here tonight instead of just me. But I guess you wanted it this way. I hope you told W everything you wanted him to say."

When he was finished and we were all starting to go out the door, I paused and turned back to the bed. I addressed the body lying in the bed, but I was actually speaking to a spirit that was probably now walking the heath in Ireland with the woman he had loved - and waited for - his entire life. "Don't worry Nate," I told him, "I will tell the world the story of Aoife, the Queen Maker. And if I am still above the sod, I will be on the fen that surrounds Birr Castle on Dark Night in 2025. I know that I will be too old to be chosen - if I had ever been worthy of that - but maybe, just maybe, the door will open near me, and you and Eve can tell me more of the story of the Queen-makers."

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END OF STORY

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