Fairy Tales

Long After the Others Die, Tin Man Tells the Truth

by James ValvisOctober 6, 2016

I never wanted a new heart. I could get along fine without one. But then Scarecrow wanted brains so much, and everyone felt so sad I didn't have a cardiac muscle, I went along with the song. When Lion wanted courage that sealed the whole thing in a bow. Everyone in this group had to want something that had been lost, brains, courage, home. How could I tell them I felt fine, never better, now that all my limbs were oiled again? That had been the real problem: rust caused not by tears but unlucky rain. I can't tell you how relieved I felt when Oz's fake Wizard handed me that fake heart, complete with stopwatch. Even still, I thought, what a big phony! I was all set to lay down that tinker toy and smash it to pieces with my ax, when I saw Dorothy and the others, how thrilled they were for me and how excited for themselves: Dorothy, so young and naive, Scarecrow as stupid as ever, and Lion too afraid to speak up. I could have told them it was a scam and ruined everyone's party, but I just didn't have the heart.

About James Valvis

James Valvis lives in Issaquah, Washington with his wife and daughter. His work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Arts & Letters, Atlanta Review, Beat to a Pulp, Blip, Concisely, Hanging Loose, LA Review, Linger Fiction, Night Train, Potomac Review, Rattle, River Styx, and many others. A poetry collection, How to Say Goodbye, is due out in 2011. His favorite SF writer is Robert Silverberg. He sometimes remembers to update this page: nyqpoets.net/poet/jamesvalvis.

http://www.nyqpoets.net/poet/jamesvalvis

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