Chapter One: Revelations
Sarah was twenty-five years old. She didn't have a family of her own; she hadn't even had a boyfriend in almost four years. She had no sister, nor any female cousins. And she couldn't stand to keep the book any longer, not after she learned the terrible secrets that came with it. She knew the rules of the book, and found she had already broken number two and number three, but she was going to make sure it passed to a female, no matter what.
It was a cold night in December when Sarah began contemplating ways of passing the book to someone else. Soon the television shows lost their definition, and her thoughts strayed back to her mother, who had, for some miraculous reason, began corresponding with Sarah in letters the previous year. A month or so ago, Sarah sent one that finally asked the question she had been burning to ask since she was fifteen. "I know this might sound ridiculous," she wrote, "but did the book ever… 'come to life' for you?" The next week her mother showed up at her apartment.
"How old were you Sarah, when the book 'came to life' as you say? What happened?" Sarah had barely opened the door before her mother started talking. Quietly and quickly she sat down on the sofa while Sarah made coffee in the kitchen and answered her questions.
"I was about fifteen, I think." Her mother gasped. "I was taking care of Toby one night when I got upset and said I wished the goblins would take him away. And…they actually did…" Now her mother was sobbing. "Mom…what's wrong? Was it something I said?"
"This is terrible, Sarah, absolutely awful." She sniffled a few times before continuing. "You weren't supposed to read the book again until you were eighteen, and learned the true nature of it, until you could decide for yourself whether you really wanted to read it again. But I… no one was there to tell you…I never should have given it to you. I'm so sorry." Sarah's mother dabbed her eyes repeatedly with tissues while Sarah tried to figure out what her mother was trying to tell her.
"Mom, I don't understand…"
"Sweetheart… As you already know, the book isn't just some story. It's real. Jareth is as real as you and I. Our family, us women at least, is… cursed with the knowledge of the Labyrinth's existence, and the existence of the other realms. But it doesn't just end there. Every woman in the family, beginning with the very first one who learned of the legend, is doomed to wish their child away, and venture through the Labyrinth to rescue her. When I was eighteen, and learned of that awful truth, I vowed that I would never wish my daughter away. But I did, and I was so disgusted with myself after it was over, that I couldn't bear to look at your beautiful face, with the knowledge of what I'd done."
"You mean… that night before you left, the one I can't remember… I was in the Labyrinth with Jareth?" Sarah sat in the chair across from her mom and handed her a cup of coffee.
"Yes, darling. I'm afraid so."
"No wonder he seemed to know me so well," she mumbled to herself. "But, why were you disgusted with yourself? You rescued me, you refused Jareth…"
"I know I did…but it was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do. I spent so long thinking about his proposal…hours…days it felt like, but then I heard you say you loved me, and that you missed your daddy, and I told Jareth no, and recited the words. I was horrified with myself, for wishing you away in the first place when I vowed not to, and for taking so long to think about something the answer to which should have been an immediate 'no'. Not only are we doomed to wish our daughter away, but we are doomed to love Jareth, and face the decision in the end. It's his game you see, his only amusement. He does not truly feel anything for us; he only makes us fall in love, and then toys with our emotions. That is why the book is only given once the girl becomes a woman, because then she is better prepared to face the heartache an encounter with Jareth always brings. But you…were only a girl when you entered the Labyrinth… and young girls are more susceptible to that fantasy world… more likely to yield to a man who promises you your dreams…" Sarah's mother quieted and held her fur coat closer to her body, as if her memories were making her cold.
"But what happens if the woman says 'yes' to his proposal? If he truly feels nothing for her, why would he…"
"Your grandmother Jessie said yes to him, but she was returned home. My father left us shortly afterward, and she fell into a depressed stupor for a long time…she never spoke of what happened to her, not even when she knew she was dying…" She grabbed a tissue and busied herself with wiping her running mascara. "Can I use your bathroom dear?"
"Of course mom. It's at the end of the hall."
Sarah was extremely puzzled. If Jareth had really never felt anything for her, then why had he been haunting her for the last ten years? Every night she swore she saw him at her bedroom window, and everyday she thought she saw a white owl sitting on the lamp post outside her office building. Were these just manifestations of her mind? The owl certainly wasn't, because she had seen numerous people watch it and take pictures of it…
All night Sarah sat on her plush red sofa sipping coffee and wondering what she should do with the book. She wanted to pass it to a girl, but she also didn't want an outsider to have it. She could wait for when she had a family of her own…but it might be another ten years before that happens, and she couldn't keep the book any longer. If she got rid of it, she would stop thinking about Jareth, and then, just maybe, she would be happy again.
Pretty soon it was five o'clock and the morning news was on. The weather report called for snow the next couple of weeks, and a tiny thought jumped in the back of Sarah's mind "Might have to light the fireplace…"
"The fireplace! Of course…I'll burn the book." Sarah jumped up to turn on her gas fireplace. "It may not be a real fireplace, but it creates a real fire." Quickly she retrieved the book from her room and tossed it into the flames. Somehow watching what used to be her most prized possession burn into nothing made it unbearable to watch. She left the room to change her clothes, and stayed in her bedroom until she was sure sufficient time had passed for the book to burn completely.
However, when she returned to the fireplace, she was horrified to discover the fire had gone out, and the book was lying there, completely unharmed.
"What the hell is going on here," she whispered, as she delicately picked up the book. Not even the velvet cover was scorched. Obviously this book had some magic in it too.
Meanwhile, in the Labyrinth, Jareth sat solemnly on his throne as one by one the subjects of his kingdom came pouring through the front door demanding to know what had just happened and whether or not he even knew what they were talking about. But he had felt it too. It was as if the heat from a hundred suns ignited his kingdom in blistering madness, but only for an instant before everything was as it was before. He had also felt something the others could not feel. Confusion followed by an ominous hatred. They could only have come from one source.
"I'm not sure exactly what has happened, but I can tell you, that it was caused by a certain young lady," his voice carried over all of the others, immediately causing them to shut up. "And I can assure you, she will be dealt with."
