“While studying at the academy, I also immersed myself in the lives of commoners. To understand their ways of living and dying, I even spent years in the slums. Aristocratic life is a hell of its own, but so is common life. Yet, if it grants you freedom, that hell is worth it.”
What’s happening to me?
My heart hasn’t stopped racing since earlier.
It feels just like when I first fell in love with him as a child.
“Let’s fall into hell together, Hermia. I’ve loved you all along.”
When Lysander reached the edge of town, he brought me to a waiting horse.
“Wait, Lysander. I… I’m not a woman worth risking your life for.”
“You are. Thinking of you gave me the strength to do anything.”
He placed me onto the horse, then swiftly mounted behind me, urging it into a gallop.
“I… I can’t do anything. I’ve forgotten how to cry, how to laugh.”
“You’ll be able to do everything from now on. You’ll soon regain a soft heart.”
Clinging to him in a daze, I felt warmth spreading through me.
“Can I… fall in love with you again?”
His warmth melted my frozen heart.
“As many times as you like. I’ll always think only of you.”
If this is a dream, please don’t let me wake up.
Clutching his back, I shed tears for the first time in years.
* * *
Decades Later
“Grandmother, please tell us that story again! The one about the two princess consorts!”
“I want to hear it too!”
At the urging of my granddaughters, Maria and Sera, I began the tale.
It was the story of a primary consort whose selfish sister stole everything from her. The consort was poisoned and died, while the sister, delighted to take her place, ascended to the role of the crown princess. However, under the sister’s rule, the kingdom fell into chaos.
The sister incurred the wrath of the king and was executed, while the crown prince was disinherited, ending the royal bloodline. The kingdom’s power diminished, and the throne was eventually passed to a lesser branch family, erasing the original royal lineage.
“And what about the poisoned queen? Tell us about her too!”
“The poisoned queen was saved by the Fairy King and taken to the Land of Freedom. There, she was loved by the Fairy King, surrounded by children and grandchildren, and lived a life filled with laughter.”
“Grandmother, this story is true, isn’t it? It really happened in the kingdom at the western edge of the world, didn’t it?”
“Well… who can say? Now, off to bed with you.”
“Yes, Grandmother!”
* * *
My husband and I now live as a physician couple in a small town.
Beloved by the townsfolk, surrounded by our family, we are living a happy and peaceful life.
As I sat quietly beside him by the fireplace, listening to his gentle breathing, I thought to myself:
I fell in love with this man for the first time as a child.
And now, I’ve fallen in love with him a second time.
A distant memory.
A tale of love.
[The End]
0 Comments