Becoming Rapunzel

Pt. Five: Reunited

"Rapunzel," he whispered as he stood before me, and in his voice I heard all the fear and anguish I had felt for two years. It broke my heart.

He stumbled forward, his arms outstretched, looking for me. With a jolt I realized he was blind.

So many emotions tore through me that I couldn't move. The first feeling I could react with was sadness at seeing the man I loved reduced to this state. Finally, I was able to grab his rough hands and draw them to me, pulling him near. This cannot be happening, I thought. It isn't real. Do not let your hopes rise. It is false. But his hands were warm and calloused, just like I remembered them. I pulled them to my chest and folded his hands on my heart. Even as my body reacted to the familiar touch, I still could not believe this could be true. I looked pointedly at the soldiers until one coughed and they both moved their horses away, affording us some privacy.

"Oh, Ansel," I whispered, squeezing his hands. They were harder than I remembered.

"My love," Ansel said, his voice ragged with emotion. "Oh, my love." His face, twisted with grief and hope all at once, still stared unseeing over my shoulder.

I was so shocked I wasn't responding as much as him. Surely this is a dream. Surely I will wake and find it all a cruel lie. I stepped closer to him, and put my forehead to his, unable to speak. If I did, I would sob and shake uncontrollably.

"I thought you were dead," Ansel said, and his voice cracked under the pressure of sorrow and relief mixed together. He began to weep.

I was so confused. I couldn't be excited—it was all too much of a shock, and I still wasn't certain this was real. "I thought you were dead," I returned. I breathed in his scent. It was better than I remembered, and assured me that I had found the right man. "I don't know what is happening," I admitted. "I saw your body at the bottom of the tower. You were dead. I saw it," I insisted. "How can you be here now?" I thought of all the nights I spent sleepless, all the days I hurt so badly I could not even weep, but curled into a shaking heap to grunt and scream my pain.

Ansel was weeping and could not answer my questions. I pulled my hands from our interlocked clasp and smoothed the hair from his face. I kissed his forehead, lined with grief and hardship. I kissed his left temple, then the tears from his eyes. "My love, my love, my love," I repeated over and over for his comfort, still uncomprehending.

"You're alive," he said again, and it wasn't a joyous sound. It was sadness at the years lost between us. "You're alive," he said to reassure himself I wasn't a figment of his imagination. "You're alive," Ansel said, full of hope. He reached his hand up to touch my face and trailed his fingertips across my jawline, cheekbones, and nose.

My calm exterior shattered, and my knees began wobbling and my hands shaking. Tears brimmed at my eyes and began to fall over. His fingers felt the wetness and he sighed. "It is you."

Then suddenly I was the one weeping, and he grabbed me in a tight embrace.

"Rapunzel," he said firmly in my ear. I had forgotten how tall he was, how short I was. I could lay my head on his shoulder without stooping. "I am so sorry it took me this long to find you. I am so sorry I put you through all of this." It was ludicrous that he was apologizing to me, when it was my fault he had been discovered and cast out. His dead eyes gazed over my shoulder, but I knew his expression was fierce. I could feel my old Ansel there, underneath it all. My sobs began to calm. "Oh, my dearest," he groaned, and pulled away and kissed me.

His lips were dry and cracked, his cheeks salty and wet. But my dead husband was alive, kissing me. I melted under his touch. Nay, I did not melt; I broke. It was as though the seams keeping my mending heart were ripped out by the kiss, and my life fractured all over again. I gasped for air but was drowning in Ansel and my own ache. Tears streamed from my eyes and I sagged against Ansel, clinging to him.