It was an old story Emma had to write when she was still in junior high school. The subject was to tell a childhood memory and what you now thought about it. Emma sat down next to August and began to read out loud.

"When I was six or seven, I read Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as I imagine every little girl has done. Then it became my favorite fairytale. I loved entering this enchanted world full of magic. My favorite moment was of course when Prince Charming and Snow White were reunited after true love's kiss. I remember I used to read the story every evening before going to bed. And one night, I had this dream. I was just a baby. I'd even say I was a newborn. I can still feel the blanket wrapping me. And there were those two people with me. I couldn't recognize their faces but I knew they were Snow White and Prince Charming. And I knew they were my parents. Then, the memory starts to fade away. I know there's a swordfight. Then a tree, and a young boy. And this is it.

When I woke up, it felt so real ! But then I realized I was still in my foster home, with no parents. So now you ask me what I think about it ? Well, I think fairytales are crap ! They're just false hope. They make the child you are believe for a second that the world is a beautiful place. But the world isn't. And my parents are not Snow White and Prince Charming, just two cowards who abandoned me next to a road."

The silence following the reading was one of the loudest August has ever witnessed. Neither of them could say a word. Then Emma, apparently shaken, whispered :

"Wow. I had completely forgotten about this."

" "Forget" is not the word I would have used…"

"What do you mean ?"

"Look at the dream you had, look at the childhood memory you chose, look at one of the only things of your past you chose to keep. Don't you see, Emma !? You remembered ! The moments you spent in fairytale land, they were etched on your memory. You didn't forget anything, it was there all your life."

"It's true that, given the circumstances, all of this makes a lot of sense, but in a confusing kind of way, but what doesn't, August, is the fact that you're crying."

"I should have been there Emma ! I promised that I would look after you and I failed. I failed because when you woke up after that dream, I should have been there to tell you that it wasn't an ordinary dream. I should have been there to tell you that it was a memory. I should have been there to tell you that the story your book was telling about Snow White and Prince Charming wasn't finished with the words "The End". I should have been there to tell you that Snow White and Prince Charming were your parents and that they sent you to this world to be the savior. We should have faced all of this together, Emma. But I failed and I'm so, so sorry."

Seeing August's deep despair, Emma put her arm around his shoulders and told him :

"It's okay, August."

"No it's not. I should never have left you alone in this place. I was there to protect you."

"You couldn't know. You thought I would be safe and I can't blame you for that. You were just a kid, August. We were just kids."

Emma then smiled slightly at August and it seems to calm him down a bit.

"Look at you, Emma, you're the one protecting me now. You truly are a savior."

"Then it means you didn't fail."

Emma took another look at the piece of paper and said :

"Oh God, Mary Margaret and David would hate me if they ever found out about that !"