Nightmares & Fairy Tales - Issue 19 & 20

Issue 19 & 20

Gwen, Anabelle, and Aunt Bea are on their way to a vacation in San Francisco. On the way to the hotel, Anabelle finishes telling Gwen the tale of Rue Royale. As they go to their hotel room, Gwen sees a beautiful girl standing by the sea. She later tells Aunt Bea that she believes the girl was a ghost, though not a dangerous one. The sight of a ghost does make her fear the return of her abusive parents in spirit form. Aunt Bea promises this will never happen and they settle down to sleep. In the night, Gwen hears the girl singing and goes to investigate. The girl is amazed that anyone can see her, but insists that she is not actually dead. She offers to take Gwen and Anabelle on a trip to an amusement park. After Anabelle confirms that the girl is safe, the three go off, flying through the air. The girl is happy to have Gwen's company and promises to take her the next night to a place called "The Tower of Jewels". The next day Gwen and Aunt Bea visit the tea gardens. Aunt Bea is bothered by the ghost girl and warns Gwen to be careful of supernatural entities. The girl meets Gwen again and shows her favorite cherry blossom tree. That night, Gwen dreams of the girl's past. In a fit of depression, the girl jumped off of a cliff but survived. She was found by a woman who force-fed her a drink while the girl screamed that she "hated" the woman. When Gwen meets the girl again, she asks her about the woman. The girl is upset, refuses to answer, and leaves after telling Gwen "I'm not dead, I'm asleep". Wanting to wake her up, Gwen uses a brochure to find the building the girl's body is in and has Aunt Bea take her and Anabelle there. When they arrive, the girl tells Gwen that she is much happier in the sleep state and asks not to be woken up. Aunt Bea, after examining the girl's body, comments that she had been this way for so long she'd died of age. Amazed, the girl apologizes for inadvertently lying to Gwen and plans to go visit the moon and stars. She thanks Gwen for helping her and promises to visit her again.

Read more about this topic:  Nightmares & Fairy Tales

Famous quotes containing the word issue:

    Because of these convictions, I made a personal decision in the 1964 Presidential campaign to make education a fundamental issue and to put it high on the nation’s agenda. I proposed to act on my belief that regardless of a family’s financial condition, education should be available to every child in the United States—as much education as he could absorb.
    Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)