2021 Fairy-tale

Once upon a time…

Not so long ago, there was a handsome prince. He spent his life alone and was OK with that. Until one day he saw a fair maiden. To him she was a princess but her tough exterior led everyone to believe she was a strong willed girl, who had built some very tall walls, to protect her from all the horrors in the world. He knew that if he could break down those walls even a little, inside that stone castle was a fragile flower that needed to be nurtured and loved so that some day, she might bloom. Their paths would cross every week and as time went by he found himself searching for her weekly and she would also search to find him. They both found comfort in the hugs that they would exchange. As fate would have it, soon the hugs became holding. Then she left. He found himself having a longing for her and she missed him horribly. So he journeyed to her side. Only to find her with another. Neither understanding the feelings that were growing between them, he kept his distance but remained close to her. She saw this but questioned his every move. He was confused and found her to be complicated but yet something about her called out to his heart. She was equally confused with this prince who she believed could never love such a broken girl. She didn’t understand why he would not give up and walk away. Surely there were prettier, nicer girls than her. Ones without so much baggage. Someone who would truly make him happy. Yet every week he would appear and he would hold her close. Her heart began to listen to his and her soul found a connection in his that she had always searched for.

They began to have conversations. About life and love. Big things and small things. The hours would fly by as they got to know each other and found the commonalities that they shared. Then they argued and disagreed and said things to each other that would have surely ended any other friendship. Yet they always came back to each other with understanding and hope. Slowly she began to trust him. She opened the door that had been closed for so very long and let him in a little. She could now call him friend. The hours of laughter greatly outweighed the angry ones. Then without knowing how, she began to feel something she hadn’t for quite some time…she felt happy. Days turned into weeks and they both continued to grow. They learned how to be there for each other and how to really listen to one another. Then one night, he said the words that shook her to the core…”I think I love you”. She swore that she would never say it back to anyone simply because they said it first and never if she didn’t mean it.

At that moment she could not speak the words to him and he understood that. With most fairy-tales, she falls madly in love with her prince instantly and they get married and live happily ever after. Not so in this story. They struggled with their new found feelings. He never having them before and she feeling like he was like all the other princes who had courted her before. Until she began to think. Really think, really hard. She took a step back and took a good look at this man before her. Searched her heart and her soul and it was there that she found her answers. She found the connection. The reason why she couldn’t stop thinking about him. How everything in her life revolved around the thought of him. Why she could not let this man go. Love.

With that thought a spark of emotions began running through her. Could this be real? Is this just a dream? She stopped questioning everything she had in the past and just let everything flow. There he stood before her, a knight on his golden stallion, steadfast and unwavering. Although his armor may have been slightly chinked, still there he was. Always there waiting, patient and strong. Until the day arrived where she could honestly tell him “I love you too”. And with the speaking of those words, her walls began to crumble. Fast forward passed the crazy couple arguments and misunderstandings to the present time. Where she now wears his ring and he wears hers. To where happy is how they both feel in each other's arms. To where neither could live without the other. To where they both live in each other’s hearts and souls. A typical fairy-tale? Not at all. Struggles, trials and tribulations, tears flowing and breakdowns. That is their story but through it all they made it! They learned how to love and now do it deeply without reservations. It may not sound like a fairy-tale to most but the story is real, like their love. They are perfectly imperfect for each other. So hand in hand, side by side they will make their fairy-tale come true and will live happily ever after.

The End? Definitely not!