A woman tucked her son into bed. "You've got a long day tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Hey, Mom?" he asked.
"Yes?"
"Can you tell me a story?"
She considered for a second. "All right, maybe a short one. Have I told you about Hamlet?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm. OK, I've got one." She sat down on the side of the bed.
The boy smiled and snuggled deeper under the covers.
"There once was a young girl who was terribly lonely..."
"How old was she?"
"A few years older than yourself. Anyways, she went to a school where all the other kids made fun of her."
"Why did they make fun of her?"
"For being different, I suppose. She liked to dress differently, and she acted differently, too. Everyone thought she was weird. And she was very unhappy all by herself with no friends. Then, one day, her parents decided to move, and she started going to a new school. There, she met a boy who was as lonely as she was. At first, he thought that she was a little annoying, but the two soon became best friends. They created a magical kingdom in the woods near where they lived, and they ruled over the place as king and queen."
"What did they do there?"
"Oh, everything. It was a place they could go to escape from all their real-life problems. They went on grand adventures every day. They also had to fight off evil creatures from time to time. Really, they just wanted an excuse to be together."
"That's cool," the boy said. "So what happened to them?"
"Well, they grew older and eventually realized that they had fallen in love with each other. Then, they got married and lived happily ever after, and neither was ever lonely again."
"Wow... Is that a true story?"
Leslie smiled and kissed him on the forehead. "It could be. Now go to sleep, Bill. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Mom." He looked past her. "Night, Dad."
Leslie turned around. To her surprise, Jess was standing in the doorway with an amused look on his face. "See you tomorrow, Bill," he said. They turned off the light and closed the door behind them.
Later that night, they were lying in bed when Leslie asked, "When are we going to take him there?"
"I don't know," Jess said. "Do you think he'll even be interested? I mean, kids these days have all sorts of stuff to occupy themselves with. I'm not sure if he would want to play outside all the time like we used to."
"True. But we should at least show him that place. Who knows, maybe he'll like it."
"Come on, Leslie," he laughed. "Don't you want him to fit in with the other kids?"
She smiled sheepishly. "Yes, that would probably be better. Still, a part of me wants him to be more of a loner like you were."
"I'd rather him be chipper like you than depressed like I was," he replied. "You know, that was a really neat story you told him tonight. Did you make that up right on the spot?"
"Pretty much. Sometimes the words just come out. Of course, it might have been based on real life, too." She poked him in the ribs teasingly.
"Everything seems more exciting when you talk about it," he said. "You haven't told me one in a long time, though."
She sighed. "I think you've heard all my stories by now, Jess."
"Then think of another one, Mrs. Aarons."
"I don't know, I'm kind of tired..."
"Please?"
Leslie bit back a smile. "Oh, all right."
fin