When the Fairy Tale Ends
Growing up is hard. Growing strong is harder
Chapter 1: The Awesome Days
A long time ago, I used to be really awesome. I was just this short kid with a MANE of brown, tangled, curly hair. I'd always be on adventures, going out into the woods, or the fields, or the prairies not that far away from home in a poncho and red pants. I loved running around, and I'd made these makeshift antlers to pretend I was a deer.
Then one day, I met them. These…animals. They were big, fat and furry. Some people might have been scared. Not me. This was my home too. I held out a hand, not in precaution, not in fear, but in amazement, in wonder, and friendliness.
It turns out; I'm not the only one who likes to run around.
I made friends with the animals. We'd hunt for fish, and watch the fireflies, and spend rainy nights in this cave.
But that was a long time ago indeed.
"Melody!" mom calls.
"Yea?" I yell my morning voice scratchy and husky.
"Get up for school!"
I sigh and roll out of bed, showering quickly and yanking a comb futilely through my straightened hair. Satisfied, I put on my uniform, and applied light makeup. Then I run downstairs and grab an orange to eat. It's delicious, and I slide my bag onto my back and head out.
Our town is small, but comfy. It's lived in, sort of. It's nice.
I continue on the winding path to school, hoping I wouldn't be late, when I heard a rustle in the leaves. I whipped my head around, suddenly scared of the forest around me. Since when was I scared of forests? I shake my head, roll my eyes and keep walking. Finally I see my two best friends in the world; Taylor and Heather.
I'm about to call out for them, wave to them, so we can walk to school together…but the rustle gets louder. I turn to the sound and see the 5 furry animals from my childhood again. What?
I look to my friends, and then look back at them. I give the animals a faint wave.
"Melody!" Taylor calls.
"Coming," I say, running to them.
I don't bother looking back as we start on our path to school.
"Hey Freakshow, what's with your hair? Have you been running through the woods again?" someone asks me.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I say, holding my breath.
"Of course you do. I saw you waving at a tree today. Friends with trees now? Figures, who'd want to be your friend?"
"As a matter of fact, she has some right here," Taylor says, striding into the cafeteria.
"Losers are attracted to other losers; this could be a scientific experiment!" Jessica says, the blonde attempting at once more, putting everyone down, or more especially, us.
"You were a freak ever since you childhood. Running around with bison?" she toys. "No wonder your mother pulled you out and wanted you to be homeschooled. She knew you'd be a loser from day 1."
"Shut up Jessica," I murmur.
"What was that?" she asks.
"I said SHUT UP!" I yell.
She leans in closer. "Is that what you did to the bison? Did you shut them up? Did you just stop talking to them? When did that happen huh? I'll tell you when it happened. It happened when you REALIZED how WEIRD that is. But you're already damaged goods. There's no helping you now."
My face is going beet red. I stand up and smack her in the face, if only for my pride. But tears are already slipping down my face. The last bell rings and I run outside for air.
On my way back I hear another rustle.
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" I scream. "IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU, I MIGHT'VE HAD A SHOT AT BEING POPULAR, BEING ACCEPTED! BUT NOW I'M BRANDED AS A FREAK!"
There is no response.
The rustle is gone.
Chapter 2: Running
A couple weeks later, I was doing homework in my room. It was rainy. I looked outside, remembering how warm I'd been, snuggled with giant animals.
Nonsense, I'm fine here. There's a heater.
I turn the heat up and close the curtains, then continue working.
Our class trip would be to the forest. We would play this game. Teams would be separated. There would be the Carnivores, Omnivores, Herbivores, and Diseases. I was an Omnivore. Everyone on my team was glad to have me, because despite everything, I still knew the woods, and I was still good at running.
"We should establish a meeting point," I say.
The rest of the team nods.
"Now remember to always move around. Don't let anyone stop you, and don't let anything get in the way of your path. It's your path for a reason. Every hour, pass the meeting point. If you need to rest, rest there, but bring someone with you. Don't sit down all by yourself ok?"
I get my card. I'm a deer.
A wave of nostalgia racks my core as I take the card and shove it into my pocket. Have I always been a deer?
No, you're a teenage girl Melody. Get a grip.
The game starts and I shoot off. We'd chosen our meeting point, and it was time to start the game. There were no guns; it was like a giant game of tag. I hadn't run in so long I'd forgotten how good it could feel.
I notice footsteps closely, and quickly distance myself from them, hiding in bushes. The person who passes is Trent, another Omnivore. I jog over to him.
"Trent," I hiss.
He sighs in relief. "Thank God. I was trying to follow you, and then you were just gone," he says.
"Why follow me?" I ask him.
"You know these woods better than anyone. I've never set foot in this place. I'm…worried I'll get trampled or something."
I'm not even panting. "Ok, let's go then," I say.
I take his hand and we walk off.
He's about to say something when I notice someone. I press a finger to my lips and crouch down, trying to get a view of their vest. It's blue. Disease.
Jessica is a Disease.
No kidding.
I mouth out, "meeting point," to Trent, and point to Jessica. He nods. I tell him to get a head start, and Jessica looks at me. Her eyes are dead on locked with mine.
I push Trent in the right direction and run the other way. She hasn't seen him yet.
"WHY ARE YOU RUNNING DEER? DOES THIS GAME SEEM FAMILIAR TO YOU?"
I don't speak. She's attracting more people, and I can tell. There's no way I can head to the meeting point right now.
I keep running, the soles of my running shoes slapping the pavement in ways I'd remembered. Jessica was still close behind. I leapt over a dead log and ran underneath the braches of a large, living tree. After I'd made a complete circle, I found a rock and hid behind to catch my breath and see if she was still behind me.
She'd given up. I was safe. I peeked out from behind the rock and bolted for the meeting point.
It's quiet. Too quiet.
"Trent?" I call out.
"RUN!" he yells, running towards me. "BREACH!"
My eyes shine in horror. I take his hand and pull him away. We run like animals, finding the other things we need in the game; pieces of paper labeled food and water.
"Who breached?" I ask.
"Jessica. I thought she was chasing you," he says.
I roll my eyes. "Yeap, she couldn't catch me but she breached camp. This sucks. How do we meet up to choose a new spot?"
"We don't," he says. "WE are just going to go collect enough food and water first, and then see if we can find any herbivores. You ready?"
Was he asking to be on my team? I nod.
"Why are you…?" I can't finish.
He smiles. "I was the kid who wanted to run around in the forest. But my mom never let me. I look up to you. At least you got a good childhood."
"And now I'm tormented about it," I say, as we walk towards a quiet area.
"Who cares? You have that over them, over all of us. None of us have gone wild in a forest full of creatures. You got something we can't ever get now, and that's why they're jealous of it. Even me."
"You're jealous of me?" I ask him.
Trent was the rich kid. He could get whatever he wanted, whenever, but he wasn't spoiled. He rarely actually demanded anything and in reality, he was one of the nicest guys I know. Having said that, he'd also only spoken with me when we did projects with me. What was his motive?
"Yea, yea, I know, rich kid is jealous, it's odd. But…I don't know…"
"Herbivore," I say. "Yours or mine?"
"She's yours, I'll take the next one," he says.
I run up behind the girl and poke her. She swears, and then gives me one of her life cards. I smile at her then trot back to Trent.
"Do you regret it?" he asks.
"Hmm?"
"Do you regret going outside that first day and finding them?"
I look up at the sky. "I don't know. I figure my life would be way different if I hadn't met them, but I can't understand what they'd given me that would've made any difference."
"THERE YOU ARE!" Jessica screams.
"RUN! FOLLOW ME!" I yell, taking off.
Trent is following me closely, and Jessica trails behind us. We circle back around to the meeting point, but the other Diseases are over there. We edge past them quickly and Jessica looks confused for a moment. Panting, we run over to a mossy field.
"We really shouldn't stay here for long. It's easy to spot someone here," I point out.
We walk for a while before I get the courage to ask him, "Do you think I'm a freak?"
He looks at me, and then shakes his head, smiling at t the ground. "Not in the slightest. I think it's kind of cool," he says.
"Thanks."
Chapter 3: Who Am I Living For?
The next day is a bit off. Trent lives to houses down, and on my way to the store he pops out and I say hi to him. Then, we walk to school together the next day, along with Taylor and Heather. He sits with me at lunch and we walk to the library together. He likes reading as much as I do!
"Trent!" Jessica screeches.
"Uhm, hey Jessica," he says awkwardly.
I borrow the books and wait patiently for Trent and Jessica, looking at some other titles.
"Why are you here with her?" Jessica asks, pointing to me. I wave nonchalantly.
"She's my friend, and we both like to read," he says, shrugging.
"Why are you friends with a freak?"
"Because I'm one too," he replies effortlessly.
I burst out laughing. Jessica shoots me a weird look, but Trent just smiles.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Hmm? Oh nothing, you should really start reading books, you'll hear the funniest things."
"Anyway, Trent, you are NOT a freak. You have money, and you are definitely higher than her."
"No I'm not. We're both human beings. We both do stupid things and say awkward things at awkward moments. It's not that weird to have originality. In fact, it's weirder to not have random people or moments. You're the weird one."
"So you're throwing away all the status your parents worked so hard for to hang out with vermin?"
"Melody is not vermin! She's a great person! She has way more class, and is a lot nicer than you will EVER be if you keep thinking that way!"
"But Trent, this is the girl that played with wild beasts because no one would play with her."
I roll my eyes, but they sting.
"This is the girl that was never afraid to get dirty, because she knew SHE was already dirty on the inside. This is the girl that was so stupid she thought people would believe her when she said she was playing with the bison. This is the girl that said, 'the bison ate my homework', and the one who had a weird afro for half of her life. This is the girl that lost all of her friends and whose parents are getting a divorce because they can't stand being her parents!" Jessica says.
Trent's mouth is wide open. In two strides I'm in Jessica's face.
"You are the girl with the big mouth Jessica. You are the girl who only cares about what other people think about her, which is why you are also the girl that pretends and hides behind a false sense of security that comes from putting other people down. I don't give a crap about what you think of me. You don't scare me, you can't hurt me. Do you want to know why? It is because you are NOTHING. You are an insecure, bratty, twerp who thinks she knows everything and is too scared of looking in her own mirror, and attempts to destroy everyone."
"You'll always be a freak," she spits.
"And you…you'll be nothing but a shadow when the sun falls."
I turn on my heel and walk out of the library. Once I'm out I start crying, and I start running to that old place, the place where I'd always gone to. It was a lie. She did hurt me. She hurt me because I let her. I was weak, and I was insecure about my past. What was so bad about running around in the forest anyway?
I found myself standing in front of the tree. It was the tree where I'd first seen the bison, where I'd first made my connection with them. No one was there, nothing. Just the tree and leaves on the ground. The fall breeze had knocked them off the trees. I look on the ground and start crying silently. I pick up my old headband with the antlers attached to them and remember everything.
I remember the warmth of the fur when it was raining, how we would try and catch fish all the time, how I considered tem my best friends, how we would run, for miles and miles, with nothing in sight, no destination, no direction.
Now, when it rains I shut myself in a cold house, my fish comes from the market, my best friends barely talk to me, my running consists of running to school when I'm late. The only direction I was going in was down. I was falling into a pit of despair without even realizing it. Who was I? What had I become. Tears stain the headband.
Strong arms wrap around my waist and hold me tightly. I cry into the person's shoulder and realize it's Trent.
"Trent, what happened to me? I got older and…my life just changed. I didn't even realize it. What happened to my imagination?"
"Nothing happened to it," he says, stroking my hair. "They'll always be with you, in your heart. You don't have to be ashamed of who you are because of who you were. Friends, and memories, those things will never leave you. Everything comes to an end, but they'll always be with you. It's part of growing up."
"How do you know?" I ask him, sniffling.
He smiles. "I loved action figures. People made fun of me, and I gave them up. But a couple days ago I found them, and I couldn't help smiling and getting all weird. They were good memories, and they'll stay good memories, because I want them to stay like that."
I nod, smiling sadly.
"Come on, I'll take you home," he says.
He breaks away from the hug, and reacting suddenly, I plant a kiss on his lips. It's soft and sweet, and he smiles into it. THEN we walk home.
Chapter 4: Easy Way In
Next month, I graduated from high school. Trent and I were both moving to Nova Scotia to go to Dartmouth. Taylor and Rachel were going to Paris for schooling. I didn't like French that much. Jessica had lost all power over the school when I stood up to her, and no one bothered me about being friends with animals when I was a kid, and it seemed like things were shaping up.
It was our last day at home. Mom and dad did end up getting a divorce, but it had nothing to do with me. Dad was already waiting for me in Nova Scotia, and mom had gone a trip to Australia.
"Come on Mel; let's get on with the next chapter!" Trent calls.
I look up from my diary and smile at him. I can see him through the window and I shout, "Just a minute!"
I check out my room, bare and somber. Everything is gone, just my bed, and my desk. My bookshelf is bare, my table has nothing on it, and all the closets are empty. It's like this in every room of our house now, bare empty, welcoming of new memories, of a new family, and new stories.
I stroll down the stairs and Trent smiles at me, kissing my forehead.
I swipe my bangs to the side. My hair is now permanently straight, and in a high pony tail.
"I'll be right back. There's one place I still have to say goodbye to," I say, winking.
He smiles at me.
I kick off my shoes and run through the fields, feeling freer than ever. I come to the tree, look around, and then hug it. I know it's weird, but the tree has given me so much, it deserves some credit you know. This tree deserves a hug.
"Thank you," I yell to the forest. "I know you might not be standing here with me, but I do know that you're here. So thank you, for being here and I'm sorry if I ever let you down, but I promise you'll always be a part of me," I say.
Smiling, I run back to Trent, who catches me in a hug and kisses me.
"Ready?"
I look back at the forest and smile. I'm wearing my antler ears. "Yea, I am."
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