Once upon a time, there was a man and a woman who loved each other very much and decided to have a baby. The woman became pregnant, her stomach
growing by the month. The man worked hard to build a good foundation for the child to be raised on, and after much saving, the two bought a suburban-
located two-story house. They furnished the room with beautiful items, and after finding out the sex of the baby, decorated the room beautifully. The
beautiful woman gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who received a beautiful name. The family was in the process of living happily ever after when a great
shock took place – the woman was pregnant again! The husband complained of having to take on yet another job to make the house and car payments
each month. The wife complained of aches, cramps, and pains. The little girl complained about having to share her mommy, her daddy, and her toys. The
guest room was made into a nursery. No new wallpaper was put on the walls – the family could not afford it. They continued to live like this for the next
several months. The second baby – another baby girl – was born. The two girls were both beautiful, but very different. The mother was signing up one
child for ballet, and the other for soccer. So it continued on to be this way. The mother would discuss make up with one girl, while she scolded the other for
playing with the neighbor's son. One girl went to the hospital for a gynecologist appointment, while the other went to get X-Rays on her broken arm. And
so it continued. The youngest child was always the problem child, yet somehow, the parents raised both to be decent adults. One married immediately and
moved to a land far away to raise a family of her own. The other went to college and married a knight in shining armor. The mother and father felt very
relieved, for they believed their work to be done. They did not rest long, however, before the youngest child realized that the knight in shining armor she
had married was not her knight in shining armor. And so they went their separate ways, and the youngest child was back with her mother and father. The
girl lost her job and moved into an extremely small castle a couple of miles away from her parents' kingdom. She was then offered a job from her evil cousin,
the Bail Man. Over the time that she worked for the Bail Man, she met the Knight in Black. The youngest child and the Knight in Black
became very good friends, but the people in her parents' kingdom believed her destined to marry the Knight in White. The youngest child was torn
between the Knight in Black and the Knight in White, and although the oldest daughter moved back into the parents' kingdom, all attention was focused
on the youngest daughter. The conflict went on for many years. The Knight in White wanted nothing more than to settle her down and have children with
her, while the Knight in Black wanted nothing more than to let her live. The youngest had always been the one with the vivid imagination, and the will to
live, but she was heavily influenced by her parents and their kingdom. The daughter faced many close encounters with death, but one of the Knights
always rescued her. The indecision era continued on for many more years, until one day, the Knight in Black disappeared. The youngest girl had the
Knight in White search continuously, but nobody was able to find him. The parents and their kingdom realized that this was the moment they had all been
waiting for – The Knight in Black was out of the picture, leaving the daughter to be wed by the Knight in White. The youngest was pressured into
agreeing, but could not be happy with her life. She and the Knight in White wed, and the daughter had children of her own. The man and woman were
overjoyed at this, and spoiled their grandchildren as all grandparents should. The daughter – who was now a woman, secretly cried at night over her true
lost love, her true knight in shining armor.
The Knight in White and their children noticed a change in the woman one day. The woman had made a decision
that would change her life. She sent the children off to their grandparents, as she often did, with a kiss on the forehead to each. She saw her husband off to
work with a kiss on the cheek. The woman was never seen again.
Some say the woman was contacted by the Knight in Black and, with him, eloped to a different country. Others say the woman committed suicide,
although a body was never discovered. I do not disagree with any of these theories. All I know is that, according to popular local legend, if you go to the
local beach late at night, you can hear the echoes of galloping horses. If you're really lucky, some say, you can even see the black stallions as they race
toward their destination – a beautiful couple resting on the shoreline, their bodies entwined, while the ocean waves crash at their feet and the wind cries a
tearful melody of the lives that will never live happily ever after.
V