As if your life depended on it

The miller’s daughter looked confused.
“I’m sorry?”
“You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.”

She eyed the stranger conspicuously,
“I beg your pardon?”
She saw how he looked at her first-born.
“You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.”

She moved her body between him and the child.
“Have we met before?”
He moved so he could see the child again.
She noticed a streak of gold in his hair.
“You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.”

She sniffed the air.
“Please leave these premises immediately.”
It was the smell of warm sunny days.
It was the smell of impossible demands.
It was the smell of wonders against all odds.
“You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.”

She stared hard into his eyes
“Take me with you”.
He looked surprised.
She smiled.
She took her baby and packed her bags.
She handed him a book.

“Your name is Rumpelstiltskin
Please turn to the last page.
We will live happily ever after”

Day 14 of #OctPoWriMo. This poem is based on a these beautiful sentences by Adrienne Rich: You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.