Once upon a time, there was a story peddler who told the most beautiful tales of heartbreak, loss, pain, and the suffering of a hurting world. People young and old flocked from miles around for a chance to hear the stories that she told. Even very young children loved her stories, dark and depressing as they were. Never was a story told in a way unacceptable for the young ears to hear, and many times it was almost as if the story peddler was speaking to the young ones in her audience.
For many years, no one ever questioned the story peddler's tales, until one summer eve. A young boy, more more than six or seven, approached the story peddler. "Why is there no happiness in your stories?" he asked, looking up at the woman with eyes full of the curiosity of youth.
The story peddler approached the child, kneeling down on the ground in front of him. One hand traced circles in the dirt, as she searched her mind for a way to make such a young being understand what she had seen. Finally, she spoke slowly.
"Child," she said,brushing a few strands of hair from her eyes. "Let me tell you another story."
"Once upon a time, there was a little girl, who had a very special gift. From the time she was old enough to talk, she could tell the most beautiful stories. Each tale was full of fairies, princesses, love, happiness, friendship, magic and beauty. Her stories brought smiles to the faces of many. Her parents bragged on their talented daughter, getting her to share her magic with the world. Children would stop by often, begging to be told one more story. Even the oldest, wisest story peddlers were amazed by the stories the young girl told. But...one day things changed."
"What happened?" the little boy asked, tilting his head to the side as if to better take in the information. He hung on to every word she spoke,as if reliving the story himself.
The story peddler sighed, looking over the child's head into some unseen world, perhaps a story she could only see. It was minutes before she spoke.
"The little girl grew up. It was little things that changed at first-a grey cloud, an injury, a big fight. Her stories still ended happily though, because she still saw the good in the world, and in the hearts of mankind. But, like always, time went on and the little girl was no longer a little girl at all but now a young woman. Her stories were now darker than before. The era of everything ending happily ever after had faded. Gone was the age of fairy tales and friendship and love. The stories she had told since her childhood years had betrayed her, every tale of happily ever after nothing more than a lie. The goodness she had once seen had slowly been replaced by the darkness and demons that hid deep within the heart and soul of mankind, and in everything that they tainted with their touch. Those were the new stories she had to share, so that no more innocent youth would fall for the fairy tale ending lie. She had to save them from that, before it became to late and they too became lost in the darkness."
"What happened to the little girl after that?" the boy asked, meeting the story peddler's eyes.
She looked away, silent for a minute. When she finally spoke, there was longing in her voice. "The little girl died a long time ago..."
She rose to her feet then, and smiled sadly at the child. She was silent, for the final story had been spoken, and there was nothing else to say. The child's bright eyes clouded over a bit, understanding what the story peddler was sharing. The story peddler patted his head before walking way, missing the girl from so long ago.
The crowd that gathered clapped and cheered, praising the story peddler. The little boy walked through the crowd shaking his head. Though he didn't have the words to express what he felt yet, he knew that soon he would carry on the legacy of the story peddler, for he alone understood the truth and depth to the stories, in a way on a child who wasn't blinded by the coverup could see. But, the difference between he and the story peddler is he was still young enough to believe that innocence and magic still existed in the world...but that wouldn't last for long
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