Category: Writers Block
This was supposed to be a make fun at fairy tales, beautiful spoiled princesses always getting what they want, huge castles, golden carriages and charming princes. Then story itself decided to take over and this is what came out.
There are still some comments directed at making fun of fairy tales, but the whole story in itself kind of misses the point.
This is the english translation as best as I could make it. The italian version is better written, but no point in posting it on here...
Once upon a time a girl who wasn't a princess, did not live in an enormous castle and wasn't so beautiful that the sun would be amazed by her beauty each time his rays touched her face.
She was the one who was always amazed by him instead, each time, as if she'd just met an old friend in the street. Some times she'd walk outside and seeing him she'd shout "Sun"! As if to greet him and let everyone know he was there. The sun came withh the morning, and she was in love with the morning. It was that time of day with the warmest atmosphere, a special warmth that only the morning has, that can fill the house like no other time of day can. With all its scents, sounds and colours. She would often wake up in the middle of the night, just to wait for it and watch it appear slowly, to feel, see, taste each and every thing that the morning brought. And she wondered if the morning knew it, that she was looking.
Every day she would take the bus to go to work and didn't travel around in a golden carriage, not that princesses even need to think of working. But instead she had to, every day at the same time in the same place, and right in time, or else things got ugly. And that morning, too, she was sitting on the bus to work, next to a guy who also took half her seat, so she had to curl up small not to sit on the well dressed lady that glared in disgust, maybe at the fat man, maybe at her, maybe both.
After a while, though, the lady got off and when our not so beautiful non princess, with a sigh of relief was about to move to the next seat, someone got there before her.
The girl, slightly disappointed, turned around to watch, curling up small again. But this time, sitting next to her was a woman who was really as beautiful as a princess. No, much more than that.
She was wrapped up in fresh, wet grass, just like the morning. And that was her scent. Her hair was a reddish colour, and suspended above her head was the sun. Yes, the sun, just slightly warm, like in the morning.
The girl was the only one to notice her, not that she was in any way special. The truth was, coincidence or not, that she'd turned away to avoid looking at the fat man who had just decided to stick his thumb up his nose and take a couple inches of green slime out of his nostrils. If the others on the bus hadn't been so preoccupied with their iphones, the thought of being late, scribbling down the 49 algebra excercises in the last 4 minutes left on the bus because they'd spent the previous evening on facebook, or staring into a mirror while fixing their makeup, they'd have noticed her, too.
The morning looked back at the girl, waved calmly at her, and smiled as if she already knew her. And maybe she did know her, maybe they'd already met before. Could it really be her, the morning? As incredible as it seemed, the girl decided to ask her. The answer was an even more radiant smile, and the sun above the morning's head became slightly warmer.
It really was her. The morning, in physical form. She'd always wondered what the morning would look like if she ever decided to show herself, and now she knew. She was too beautiful for something as simple as words, and she had never been too good with words. So the both of them stayed silent for a while, but it seemed like the morning, sitting there next to that rather ugly, weak looking girl with an eternally resigned expression on her face was waiting for something. But the girl's head was too full of thoughts for her to be able to express them.
Does the morning really have a physical form? And why had she decided to show up here and sit right next to her, of all people? Not that there was much choice, since that was the only free seat on the bus.
Finally, the morning spoke first.
"You watch me coming every day".
Her voice was just as the girl imagined it, warm as the sun above her head, as the atmosphere that filled every place when she arrived.
"I do", she said timidly. "I wake up when it's still dark and wait for you. I didn't think you..."
"You didn't think I'd notice?" The morning asked, giving her another warm smile. "Of course I notice. And I know your thoughts, what goes through your mind when you see me, what you think of me. So, my dear, feel free to ask me any question, anything you wish to know".
She was really talking with the morning in person. Only later she would have realized how incredible this was. Right now, it was simply wonderful.
And there was one question, one out of too many, that she would have asked the morning if she ever had the chance. But it wasn't easy to put it into words.
"How did you become... What you are?"
The morning understood and became thoughtful.
"Oh, it took me a while to get things right", she said. "At first I only brought the sun, the dew, awoke the birds... Then I thought I could have done more. I am the renewer of all things, after all. I am a new beginning each day, and I want everyone to have something that makes every new beginning a special one. So I started bringing with me certain traditions, different for every place. For you, the smell of coffee is very common in the morning. But for others it can be a different scent, the song of a certain bird, a particular ritual, a certain type of music... Millions of other things. I just wish people appreciated a little more..."
The morning went quiet and her expression became a little distant for a moment, but then she smiled again. "In any case, there are still people who appreciate and understand what I am. There is you, and there are others in every part of the world. This is also why I am never everywhere at the same time. So that every place, every land, every house, every person could create their new beginning in the way that makes them happier, in different times".
The morning went quiet again. Only then the girl realized that the bus was almost empty. The people would crowd around the doors pushing to get off, as if scared they'd be left there for the rest of the day if they didn't make it out first. The girl, too, was supposed to get off at that stop. The morning got up first and she followed her. The two of them got off last, with no hurry. Then the girl had an idea.
"Can I come with you?" She asked hopefully.
The morning turned to look at her and gave her an almost motherly smile. "You know I cannot take you with me, right?"
"But this is not my place", the girl protested, her eyes about to fill with tears. She had always felt out of place there, in that city where everyone was in too much of a hurry to notice one another in the street, to enjoy the quick coffee they'd gulp down every morning at the cafeteria by their workplace, simply to take a look around. She wasn't good looking, as we already mentioned, and always had that expression on her face of one who has just realized she just landed in the wrong world, so there weren't many people taking the initiative to approach her.
Out of place, in fact.
The morning looked deep into her eyes.
"Don't go all sad on me, now. This might not be the best place for you, but it looks like I will have to reward you in some way. Mostly because I like you, of course, but there's also the fact that you are a youngest child, and in fairy tales the youngest is always the most intelligent, wiser, most good looking of all and always ends up saving the situation. Now, if you were an eldest child or in the middle things would have been more complicated, because you'd have been nasty and rude to me and I would have forever taken from you the ability of seeing and feeling the sun, leaving you and your brothers and sisters in the cold darkness until the youngest came to save you. But it's not my style, and fortunately you are the youngest, so we've got this out of the way. Now, as far as intelligence goes, we can't complain too much. Your wisdom would be great if you only followed some of the good advice you can give. And as for good looking... Never mind. Back to the point. You can't follow me, but I will keep coming. This, you know. Doesn't matter if the majority of people doesn't appreciate me, I don't lose hope. No one should ever lose it. I will only give you some advice: your thoughts can take you anywhere. There is no limit. Don't be afraid to follow them".
Suddenly, the morning reached up with one hand, touching one of the warm sun rays above her head. The ray of light stretched out as if made of rubber, following the movement of her hand as it got closer to the girl's face. She closed her eyes, feeling its warmth, a warmth that reached deep inside her soul and filled her heart.
"Keep this with you, it is my gift. The gift of the new day. And for today, allow yourself to feel beautiful... Or at least pretty".
The ray of light the morning had touched snapped, and a small piece stayed on the girl's face, lighting it up even more as she watched, smiling, the morning walk away. It was time to go, to bring the new day to someone else. Who knows if she would have stopped to talk to someone else, somewhere else in the world. Or if she was ever going to see her again. She had so many other questions... She wanted to ask about the first ever morning. How it was, the first ever new day, when everything was new. There wouldn't have ever been enough time for all the things she wanted to tell the morning.
But from now on, staying awake to watch her coming every day would not have been the same ever again.
She too started walking, closer to that building that she hated, that suffocated her, that wasn't her place. But this time she held her head up high as she walked, with a smile on her face.
Like every morning she walked into the cafeteria near her workplace. No one usually noticed her, except for those few muttering a distracted "Mornin", with their mouths full. But this time, more people turned to look as she walked in.
No, she didn't turn into a beautiful princess all of a sudden. But that look, that bright smile on her face, those eyes no longer distant and resigned, but expressive, as if wanting to tell everyone about her encounter with the morning even if no one would have believed her, made her look different.
"Usual quick coffee?" The shop worker asked her distractedly.
"Actually, I'd like an enormous slice of cake", she answered smiling, amused by his surprised expression. "And a hot chocolate. With flakes on top".
She looked around, trying to project to the others some of the gift that the morning had left her, hoping that they, too, could understand and appreciate it. "I'm not in a hurry today", she said carrying a plate with a huge slab of cake to one of the small tables and sitting down to eat, observing with slight amusement the surprised looks on the faces of some around her. "The morning deserves better," she said. Then, stuffing a piece of cream cake into her mouth she added: "you should try, too".
And so convincing were those few words, that on that day quite a few people started working later than usual and not a lot got done.
But none of them really minded.
like I told ya, great story! Yep, sia says so! lol, keep on writing!
Very good Lori! Your natural talent for description comes out and the Morning is believably real. I like this.
I told you! people like this!
laughs. silly girl. don't make me get the drill.
No, no, no drill! no drill! *cowers*
You know something? I really, really enjoyed that. Do you have anymore?
This is the first one I got the courage to show people. I have a few more but they need
editing and some are unfinished, plus a couple more ideas I'll start working on, and all the
sudden ones that come to mind. I don't know what I'll do with them though.
give them to me? not.
No because then you'll go on and on about posting them around until I give in...
I promise, I won't ask you to post anything on here anymore. I pinky promise you! Please? please? Okay, I sound like I'm 5. :d