Title: A Wife of Acorn, Leaf, and Rain
Author: Dave Smeds
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Death, Fae, Lust
Dates read: 18th March 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: But your word is enough as far as I’m concerned.

He misses his wife, and a desperate attempt to get closure has him making a deal with The Outsiders. But will this beautiful doppleganger truly fill that whole in her heart?

I can’t imagine suddenly losing my other half. It’s actually what makes up my greatest fears – waking up one day to find out that he wasn’t part of my life anymore. So this story hit a little too close to home. And it took an interesting approach to getting over one’s grief. Hiring a fae doppelganger to take her place… it felt somewhat creepy.

Yet, as the story unfolded, I actually understood the man’s motivations WAY more than I would have liked. I can imagine wanting just one more moment with that one person that I love more than anybody else. I can understand needing just a few more moments to finally get that closure that you need.

As much as this story kind of started out creepy… it had a great sense of closure at the final conclusion. There was a sense of farewell and moving on that was healing and sweet. A great way to end a story that started out a little uncomfortably…

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Image source: Goodreads