My pale skin flushed hot again.
"You?"
"Me." She laughed at my fear. Still, I couldn't see her face.
"Why have you... come back?" I asked quakingly, not sure if I was truly awake. The cold felt real though, convincing me.
"Because of all of this. All this trouble, it's brought me back. I have a gift for a girl whose heart is pure."
"And you think that's me?" I said, breaking into a dubious smile of my own.
"I do."
"What's the gift? To win your husband's heart?" I frowned.
"He's not my husband any longer. He's alone."
I considered for a moment. It was true. I had said it myself. If only he had fallen in love again, none of my problems would exist. Still, I was vaguely suspicious. "What is the gift?" I repeated.
"It's a drop of starlight." She said, pulling a vial from her sleeve. Even in the moonlight it shown brightly, illuminating all but her face. "Drink it and you will be the most beautiful woman in all the world." Said the ghost.
"And he'll love me?"
"He will."
"And he'll be happy again and resume his duties?"
"That we shall see." She held out the vial. Her fingers were thin and white; as I took the crystal in my own, she tucked them quickly back beneath the indigo velvet of her sleeve. "Drink it and you will see."
I studied the starlight. It glowed like a violet firefly, and smelled of vanilla.
"How will I get there in time?" I asked her.
"Close your eyes and drink. When you open them again you'll be exactly where you want to be."
My imagination flared again. This time I saw myself as the product of the stars, ravishingly beautiful and christened with a crown. I popped open the vial with a gentle twist. The smell of vanilla grew stronger. I closed my eyes.
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