The Fairytale

Today is the day when that new fairytale movie comes out. A man, his wife, and their two children are all going to see it in the theater. All of them are delighted to experience this beautiful new story.

The daughter is a small child, with brown hair and chocolate eyes. "When are we going to see the new movie, Daddy?" she asks her father tentatively.

The father, to her, is a strong man. Blue eyes regard his daughter as he replies, "Very soon, my sweet child. When your mother is ready we will go." His voice is deep and comforting and he carries his daughter to the car.

When they arrive at the movie theater, a beautiful woman with wavy brown hair and eyes that match the ones of the man's daughter, who is the man's wife, takes the hand of their daughter and the man takes his son. They buy their tickets and head inside.

The mother's delicate hand ruffles the blond hair of her young son. She purchases a soda for him, a light blue colored drink that matches the eyes of her child. The family heads into the theater and takes a seat in the large, comfortable chairs that allow each member of the household to behold the large screen, and the movie begins.

The movie tells the story of a fairytale. Like so many other fairytales, it tells the story of a hero, who embarks on a journey to save the world. The hero defeats the villain and falls in love with the princess, and they return home and live happily ever after. It is such a good story, everyone in the theater thinks. The hero is so heroic, the villain so evil, the princess so beautiful. What more could a story ask for?

"It was such a good movie," the son says as the family returns home. "The good guy was awesome, but the bad guy was too, don't you think?"

The mother nods. "Yes. It was very good."

The son continues, "I like to play these good versus bad games with my sister. I like to be the good guy. I mean, I know so much about the hero and it is so fun to keep defeating the bad guy."

The daughter smiles. "Me too. But it makes you wonder, doesn't it? How does the bad guy become bad anyway? And what makes him bad? Sometimes I think about these things when I play with the bad guys against my brother."

The father shrugs, secretly proud of his daughter for thinking so deeply about things. "True. Like the hero we saw in this movie. You know that in some cases, 'good' is a very subjective thing, or it depends on the point of view. People sacrifice their lives to save others they care about. But people kill for the same reasons."

The daughter gasps, "That sounds really evil!"

The son thinks for a moment. "As much as it sounds evil, don't you think that it would be cool, for just one day, to be the bad guy? To do all of these cool things for interesting reasons?"

The father explains, "People do things for many reasons. Good becomes more of a blurred line when you get older, when you learn more and see more situations. When you make more choices."

"Correct," the mother says. "You will see what these words mean in time. But just for now, let's stop thinking about the movie and head inside. Then, we can continue our conversation."

"Why are you teaching us this?" Both the son and the daughter wonder.

"Why should we?" The mother asks her children.

"Because she is your mother, and I am your father," the father tells them. "And we care about you. We truly, deeply love you, and before we go inside I want you to know."

The Story

Many universes away, there lived a hero. He married a beautiful former queen, and saved the galaxy countless times from all sorts of evil beings. He was hailed as a hero by infinite citizens, everywhere. Everyone loved him, and his ultimate goal was to become powerful enough as a hero so that he could save everyone.

One day, he returned from his mission to hear that his beautiful bride was pregnant. And they lived happily until he realized he would lose his family to the one thing that he feared would be brought upon them: death. So, he looked for a way so that he could save them and again, be hailed a hero by all. A benevolent ruler promised to help him to find the way, and that they would save everyone yet again, together.

Unfortunately, not without cost. The hero was so desperate to save that he killed. And although he didn't know it, he became a villain through what he did. He was so far down the path of evil that he could no longer see his family, and they were taken from him forever. He became a broken monster, an icon of evil. What was left of his former identity burned down in flames.

Luckily, another heroic person emerged. On his way to defeat the villain, this person discovered the meaning of good. He learned the meaning of good from his father, although he never knew how. So instead of defeating the villain, the person saved him. The villain became a hero once again and learned that death wasn't the end, and that it was a new beginning. Both the person and the hero reunited with their family and lived happily ever after.

The Reality

So you see, good is a point of view. Good causes people to do different things, to save people, to kill people. Good people do things in the name of the greater good. Evil people do things in the name of the greater good.

Maybe the hero is evil because of what he did. Or maybe, he is good because he saved everyone in the end, but not in the way he hoped. Maybe he is someone in between, for he lived in both lives. It is up to you to decide. It is just a tale, right? Or is it? Maybe we will never know.

But for now, let me tell you a story…

A story about a hero who lives it all.