To my astonishment, his nose shrinks. He must be telling the truth!
“Jane, come with me outside for a walk. Please?”
I cannot say no to those eyes.
Quietly, we slip away.
The warm summer air is calming as we walk in silence through The Enchanted Forest. Moonlight beams between the trees. With Pinocchio by my side, I’m not afraid.
“Pinocchio, is there something you want to tell me?” I say at last.
“Jane, a blue fairy made me a boy,” he says.
“With her magic wand?” I can’t help laughing.
“Yes. Now, I need a real woman to make me a man.”
He gazes at me with his puppy-brown eyes. They make me think again of my little stray Bambi. Of how much he needed me.
Slowly, the beautiful boy-man undresses me. I do not flinch. Only my breasts quiver against the summer breeze.
He stares at me. The scars left behind by my mother’s beatings shimmer in the moonlight. No one has ever seen them, not even my precious mirror.
Pinocchio’s eyes do not move; it’s as if he’s looking right through me. “You’ve suffered, Jane. That’s why I knew I could trust you.”
He peels off his clothes and stands naked before me. His body, though slight, is as beautifully sculpted as his face. The full moon illuminates his nascent muscles and smooth porcelain skin. It’s the body of a boy ready to be born into manhood.
He clasps my hands and pulls me closer. His mouth moves toward mine. I can taste his warm breath.
Suddenly, his nose grows. At least six inches, maybe more! He jumps back and glances down at the flesh between his legs, ashamed.
“Jane, I can’t.”
Silently, I watch his nose shrink to half its size.
He begins to weep.
I wrap my arms around him and caress his silky chestnut hair. The connection between us is powerful, almost magical. Seeing ourselves for who we really are, we’ve become each other’s mirror.
“We should go back,” he says.
“No, stay here with me,” I say softly. I cannot go back to the loneliness of my empty room. At least, not tonight. I want to be with him.
Together, we lie down side by side on the warm earth. I stare at the starry sky and silently curse the full moon for not being there to help me with my escape.
“Jane, I never had a mother,” Pinocchio whispers.
Lucky you.
“But if I had, I wish she could have been you.”
A tear travels down my cheek. Our souls belong together.
“You know, Jane, the Blue Fairy once told me that when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true. Let’s each pick a star and make a wish for one another.”
I take his hand in mine. Neither of us says another word. Under the watchful gaze of the stars and moon, two lost souls, who have saved each other, fall fast asleep.