Okay, so maybe I have more to write before I actually reach the end. About fifteen pages more, to be exact.
But today I couldn’t help myself. After I finished the pages I intended to adapt I skipped ahead and worked on the very last page.
I figured it wouldn’t hurt since endings are important, just like beginnings. They need to leave the right impression, so need to have a lot of time spent on them. And since it doesn’t give anything away…
^ ^ ^
As the soft, yellow rose petals float slowly to the ground they morph into flakes of falling snow.
But this isn’t just any snow. It’s the snow every child hopes for on Christmas morning. The snow that hides chores left undone, covers toys not put away, and transforms the world into a magical land perfect for snowball fights and an entire village of snow people.
“History,” Vanessa’s voice shatters the calm.
A bright white light obscures everything as a train blasts out of a tunnel, followed by the blare of a train whistle. Any semblance of calm is now gone.
“Set in stone,” Vanessa continues, all the world as if she’s telling a story to one of her children. The train chugs purposefully on a long, straight track.
“Boring. Unchangeable.”
Without warning the train whips around a sharp curve and out of sight.
“You can believe that if you want to—”
In the distance the train reappears and begins a long journey over a high bridge. The kind of bridge that turns dreams into nightmares in the squeamish and faint of heart.
“—But that’s not the real story.”
As the last echo of Vanessa’s voice fades, the train completes its journey over the bridge and disappears into a dense forest. Only its smoke remains visible as it clears the trees and winds its way through the lonely countryside.
Far away, so far away it’s more a memory than an actual sound, a train whistle blows.