Cursed by the Fountain of Youth

Chapter 1

Twenty-two years later

Fae slipped on her short-sleeved jacket to cover her bare shoulders. She should have insisted on being dropped off somewhere else. This neighborhood didn't look so good. Hopefully, she wouldn't die just because she didn't want to inconvenience her previous ride.

She stepped out and jabbed her thumb in the air at the next passing sedan.

A dark-haired man who appeared old enough to be her father pulled up to the curb. "Hey, sweet thing. You need a ride?" He looked her up and down, practically salivating.

"Um, no thank you," she said, her stomach souring.

His smile turned into a scowl as he mumbled a vulgar insult and drove away.

Fae swallowed the lump in her throat. She'd had very little contact with people in her lifetime. If this was how city folks acted, maybe she hadn't really missed much. She took a deep breath, shook off the insult, and put her thumb back in the air. She really hoped she survived the trip to St. Augustine.

The next three cars were also a bust. The insults even started to lose their sting. Did she really look like a prostitute? Her shorts were nearly to her knees, her shoulders were covered, and she wasn't even showing any cleavage.

It was probably her body shape. She couldn't help being well endowed. If she had the choice, she would have chosen a more conservative shape.

Another car approached. This one looked more promising. A white-haired old woman peered over the steering wheel.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," the old woman said as she glowered at her from a Buick the size of an aircraft carrier. "A pretty thing like you—"

"It's not what it looks like," Fae said quickly. "I'm a college student. I'm just trying to get to campus."

The lady looked her over, obviously attempting to see if she were lying. Fae gave her most innocent expression.

"Okay," the woman said, "get in. But don't try anything. I have a gun in my purse and I know how to use it."

"I wouldn't think of it," Fae said as she retrieved her suitcase from behind a bush.

The woman eyed the luggage and unlocked the doors. Fae put her case in the back and got it the front seat.

"My name is Eleanor," the woman said. "What's yours?"

"Fae."

"Oh, I have a good friend named Fay."

Fae wasn't surprised; her name was painfully old-fashioned. "That's nice."

"Are you from around here?"

Fae nodded. "Um, yeah, but farther south." She didn't mention exactly where. It was such a tiny place it wasn't even on a map. None of the places she'd lived in had been. Brigitte had been very careful choosing where they'd lived. Inconspicuous was her middle name.

"Why didn't your parents give you a ride to campus?"

Fae sighed. "They can't."

The old lady nodded as if she knew exactly what Fae meant. She couldn't possibly guess why Fae's parents were unavailable.

Eleanor chatted on and on about this and that—how much St. Augustine had changed over the years, what hadn't changed, what should change...

Fae's lids were drooping when the familiar campus came into view.

"Wow," Fae said, her sleepiness shaken off by sudden awe. "It's even more beautiful than I remembered."

"How long have you been gone?" Eleanor asked.