1/3
A modern fairy tale
"Mommy! Mommy! Tell me a story!"
A little girl asked excitedly while she jumped on the bed. Her mother chuckled and warned gently:
"Honey, it's already passed your bedtime. You should sleep now."
"But, mommy, your stories are the best! Please! I promise I'll be a good girl! Pleeeeeease?"
Her mother narrowed her eyes to the cute bargain and not resisting, sighed and laughed at her daughter puppy eyes. First, the blonde woman tenderly tucked her child in the bed, covering her with a pink blanket and asking cheerfully while seating right beside her:
"All right. All right. Which one you want this time?" The little girl placed her small index finger on her sharp and cute chin while looking up in deep thought. The mother smiled at the cute sight. However, after pondering carefully, the little girl returned to her excited state and spoke loudly:
"Can you tell me that story about the cute dog and the warm wolf?"
Her mother raised her eyebrows in surprise and asked with a smile:
"Again? But mommy told you this story just a few days ago."
"But it's my favorite! Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee, mommy?"
The blonde girl even blinked cutely and her mommy was unable to resist to her charms. Raising her hands in defeat, the mother smiled warmly at her daughter's choice and uttered while caressing her child's hair affectionately:
"Okay, okay. Let me see… Oh, I remember. Once upon a time…"
…
A lady yawned and stretched herself as she seated on her bed. With a cheerful smile, she said to one in particular happily as the sun glowed by her window:
*Yawn* "Good morning, world! Today will be a good day!"
Rapidly, she jumped off of her bed and tucked it perfectly as she walked to a calendar at the top of her nightstand. She stared at the object and smiled happily at herself as she got a red marker and made a cross atop the current day:
"There! Only one week and I'll get married with my prince! Awww! I just can't wait!"
Diligently, the young lady prepared herself for another day of her favorite work… Usagi Tsukino was her name and her life was perfect, well, it's what she thinks. She was the owner of the flower shop which was on the first floor of her house. The blonde haired girl ran to the door and adjusted the sign of "CLOSED" to "OPEN" as she returned to the counter.
Everyday was the same routine on her lovely flower shop. Usagi was watering her favorite flower, a 'forget-me-not' with a tender smile in her face. Her mother used to love flowers and this one here was her favorite. She told Usagi once that this flower means true love. Her father gave to her when she was younger and she never forgot it. After pass away, Mrs. Tsukino spoke to a little Usagi that one day, she would find her true love with this flower's help. The blonde girl sighed at the thought, daydreaming to be more precise.
However, while a tv was turn on the background, the last news popped, interrupting a tv show:
"LAST NEWS! A wild wolf escaped from the Japan National's Zoo. The government warned: Don't let your children play at night on streets or backyards and don't walk alone until the animal's capture. That's all! And now we are back with the Tv…"
"Oh my God! This is horrible! I hope that no one gets hurt."
The blonde haired girl said worriedly as she placed her hands on . While she was staring the tv, she didn't notice that it was the time to close the shop already. However, Usagi jumped in surprise when a pair of strong arms encircled her waist, making her gasp at the deep voice:
"Hey, babe." "Honey!"
The girl spun around in a flash and her smile widened when she saw her dear fiancée. The handsome guy smirked charmingly at her as he pecked her lips:
"See? I am right here, I told you I wouldn't lose our program for tonight."
"Really? So that means we can have our date?!" The girl asked in excitement as her eyes shone; in result the guy chuckled at her innocent semblance and nodded promptly. Afterwards, she shrieked and hugged him tightly by his neck as they shared a loving moment. All of a sudden, he withdrew from the hug, stared at her deeply and spoke warmly:
"I just can't wait to turn you on Mrs. Kou." "Me too"
Usagi said with a content sigh as they exchanged endearing stares. Has been a while, the last time that they had a moment just for them, her fiancée's work is chaotic and that means a small time for the couple, even when they were about to get married. The blonde haired girl didn't want to spoil the moment, but she can't help but admit that she miss something… yes, of course she is happy with Seiya, but… sometimes she can feel something missing, like a hole in her heart. Yet, this doesn't matter, she will get married to him and they will be very happy together. When she was about to call him:
"Seiya, I -!" "Seiya, we got a call. It's the 43th Street, we have to go there now! Someone saw the wild wolf!" Seiya's partner said as she stormed inside the shop. The guy looked apologetically to his fiancée and spoke sadly:
"I'm sorry, babe… being a cop can be more stressing that I imagine it. I – I promise that I'll call you, okay?"
Before Usagi could even answer, her fiancée quickly kissed her cheek and rushed out her shop. Another heavy sigh escaped from her lips as she whispered sadly:
"Bye…"
And there was another date canceled. Usagi knows that she needs to get used to this life soon, but… is she selfish to want him to stay at her side a little more? She knows that she wants to marry him and maybe, just maybe, this empty feeling can disappear from her heart entirely. However, a sound got the florist's attention; a few meters before her, just when the shop was about to close, an old woman entered and watched the fresh flowers with a smile. Kindly, Usagi walked to the old woman and spoke with a smile:
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we are closing… is there anything I can help you?"
Nevertheless, the old woman only smiled as she watched a beautiful flower in particular. After a brief silence, the old lady finally spoke warmly:
"Forget-me-not… it means… true love, isn't?"
Usagi was surprised due to the woman's wisdom, soon an adorned her face as she nodded and affirmed softly:
"Yes, true love… it's my favorite one."
The florist said with a kind smile while caressing the flower's petals. The old lady grinned, yet frowned sadly a moment later while uttering:
"I like this one too… it's a pity that it's underrated and forgotten between all those flowers."
"Yeah… but what do you mean?" The old lady sighed and wandered around the store while looking at the other flowers:
"You see, normally, most part of girls of your age like red roses. Those flowers are beautiful as well, but I believe that this 'forget-me-not' it's a very special one. Well, while the others mean passion, this one means true love… which it's something that we don't see on these days, right?"
"I still don't get it, ma'am." Usagi confusedly looked the old woman as the latter, all of the sudden laughed and waved her hand in dismiss as she explained with her tone getting sad:
"Don't worry, my dear. I am just an old lady that never received a beautiful flower."
The blonde haired girl couldn't help, but feel sorry for this old lady. Being a kind person that she was, Usagi walked to her favorite flower, and then she got one carefully and gently placed on the old woman's hand, speaking kindly:
"This is one is for you. Don't worry, it's a gift."
The old lady widened her eyes slightly with her kind gesture and slowly, a grateful smile crept in her lips. It was when she held the flower gently in her hand and with the other one, she showed a small basket. Once she opened the lid, a fresh and tasty aroma filled Usagi nostrils. So, the old lady spoke honestly, still smiling:
"You are a nice girl and a very special one. For your kindness, I'll give you one of my famous fortune cookies!"
"I can't accept it; it's all right, really."
The blonde haired girl was hesitant about accepting, but looking the old lady's sad expression, Usagi gave in as she gingerly grabbed one cookie of the basket. The old lady's semblance lighted up instantaneously as the flower girl spoke sincerely:
"Thank you, ma'am."
Without thinking Usagi took a bite of the tasty cookie and it wasn't surprised at all when she noticed that the taste was really good. Yet, she stopped her munching immediately when she saw a fortune written in a small paper inside the cookie. She reads the content attentively:
"Sometimes true love doesn't come right away; you must search in the most unlikely places. Only when you find it, your heart's emptiness will disappear."
"What is this suppose to mean?" Usagi confusedly said to the old lady as the latter chuckled and replied nonchalantly:
"Don't you ever felt something missing in your heart, even when you are getting married with your fiancée Seiya? Isn't odd that even after all these years, you still didn't get rid of this emptiness?"
The flower girl thought deeply and looked down as she admitted loudly:
"Seiya is such a great person and we are getting married, but I don't know why I don't feel complete when I am with hi- WAIT A MINUTE! HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?!"
Now, Usagi was getting scared with the old lady's remark. Yet, the latter remained calm as she spoke simply:
"Since you were a good girl for me, Usagi… I'll give you some help to find what you really yearn. Don't be afraid, trust me."
"W-What?! How yo-?! What is happening? W-why everything is getting blurr-*faint*"
The hyperventilated girl felt dizzy until she finally fainted on the floor. However, the old lady grabbed her head before could hit onto the ground. The latter smiled when she saw the girl's body shining; it was when she spoke honestly:
"I know a person that has this same problem, that kid is nice, but so stubborn. Yet, I have a hunch that both of you will find what you are looking for… hopefully…"
"Hmmm? W-where am I?" Usagi asked to herself groggily as she fluttered her eyes open. However, once she saw her surroundings, her eyes almost popped out, she was into a forest! She stood up abruptly, yet almost fell when her legs felt… funny. When Usagi looked to her foot, there was another shock. She didn't have any, but paws in exchange and a very fluffy one. A gasp crept of her lips as she scanned her body frenetically:
"No no no, this must be some kind of weird dream!"
Nonetheless, Usagi ran to a puddle onto the ground and her heart almost dropped at the sight. There was no face, no blonde hair, but only a reflection of lab and confused dog. The latter blinked a few times and again quickly, the same reflection. So, the dog whimpered loudly to herself:
"NO! This can't be happening! If this is some kind of nightmare, I want to wake up now—"
!
But usagi halted her whines abruptly when she heard some noises coming behind the bush. Once she looked to her side, her heart froze and shivers ran by her spine, this mustn't be a good sign at all. Tension filled her soul, yet she kept staring the bush intently… until a creature walked out slowly. The animal stood before her and stared at her with the piercing eyes; Usagi froze on her spot when she realized that she facing a… wolf. Her interiors were shaking and before the animal could take another step, everything was black again as she fainted… again.
The wolf stared at the unconscious dog and shook his head in disapprove. It seems that it will be tiring to handle with this crazy dog…
~x~
Hours later, the dog woke up slowly only to realize that she was close to a bonfire. Usagi was about to stand up when a sudden voice caught her attention:
"You shouldn't stand up now, you didn't recover yet."
"W-WHAT?! YOU – YOU TALK!" The scared dog said loudly as the wolf remained calm with a bored expression. The latter rolled his eyes and spoke sarcastically:
"Yeah, since I was two." "B-BUT YOU ARE AN ANIMAL! P-PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!"
The wolf snorted at the reckless dog who was trying to stay away from him in any cost. If it was possible, the wolf would facepalm himself. The latter shook his head again and replied:
"If you didn't realize it, you are an animal as well and… you certainly don't look edible, besides, I don't want to get a stomach ache anyway…"
"Hey!" The girl- dog Usagi almost felt offended, but she quickly brushed this thought away from her mind once she saw the wolf approaching of her again. She flinched in fear as she whimpered:
"Y-You are not th-that wolf which escaped from the zoo recently, r-right?"
The wolf frowned in confusion and quickly shook his head while replying:
"What? Zoo? Nah, I am here just because a crazy fairy, genie or whatever turned me like this."
"Y-You too?! Oh God, I just want to wake up from this nightmare and go home!"
"Yeah, me too… what it's your name, puppy?"
"I am not a puppy! My name is Usagi!" The wolf was amused at the dog's barking. Chuckling, the calm wolf cocked his head up while introducing himself:
"Oh, the puppy has guts. My name is Mamoru, by the way."
Usagi narrowed her eyes, annoyed with the wolf mocking. However, this first day drained all her strength and energy, bit a bit her body gave in as she finally fell asleep. The wolf could only stare at her with sympathy within his eyes, it seems that both of them were facing the same problem… How long this will continue? Is possible to find a way to get out of this nightmare? Only time can tell, but right now… Mamoru can't help, but he finds himself staring the tired puppy more than he should… At the same time, his usual calm heart pounded faster under his chest. What is this suppose to mean?
I have already this version in maria sama so this the second version but its the same story. I only change the dharacters