Meeting up at the library had been Michelle's idea, but Tara couldn't pretend she wasn't also intrigued.
The story they had heard from that stranger at the park - the old folk tale that had reminded them of what really mattered… It had saved them both from a long and drawn out fight that might have ended up tainting their bond as sisters if it had gone on the way it was going. Both of them were, of course, relieved that someone had stepped in and stopped them from saying anything that either of them might regret.
But after the dust had settled and the drama was somewhat behind them, Michelle had brought up the old story again. Something about the story had really captured her imagination. 'The Robber Bridegroom'. It was a gruesome story for sure, and it seemed like it had gotten stuck in her head. The fact she'd heard it at such a vulnerable moment had probably made it all the more memorable for her. The whole 'Grimm Fairy Tales' subject had been swirling around in her head for a while, and one day she had suggested to her sister that they swing by the library some time to find a copy of the book for themselves.
She'd brought up how much they had liked reading books together as kids, and how fighting over that dumb guy they had both ended up infatuated with had almost screwed everything up for them so maybe a little bonding would be nice… But when she had mentioned being curious about 'The Robber Bridegroom', Tara's interest had been especially piqued. She also wanted to take a look at the story herself, to see how the original version was written and maybe look into some more stories if they both felt like it. They had such a recent shared memory of it, that it made a lot of sense to chase it up; maybe it would be a fun way to spend the day, too.
That was the story that a kind stranger had recalled to them on the day that they were fighting over John. The strange woman had approached them mid-fight, and at first they hadn't known what to think; but as she retold them that old story, both of them had to admit that she'd helped them remember what really mattered. It was that story that had reminded them how important it was to prioritise the things that truly matter to them, over some brief romantic infatuation. In a way, it had helped to save their bond as sisters.
They had agreed to make that particular story their 'target' for the day. The plan was to find a book that contained one of the original versions of the fairy tale so that they could read through it properly. Michelle had been curious to find out what the original story might be written like, since they had only gotten a brief retelling from that strange woman.
The sisters arrived at the library shortly after grabbing lunch at a local diner, and they were both in pretty high spirits.
Tara Baker's blonde bob was tucked behind her ears in the way she habitually styled it, framing her face and showing off her blue eyes. She had on one of those cute, girly outfits she liked to wear so much - cut-off jean shorts and high top sneakers, with a pink tank top. Michelle always appreciated that about her little sister - she looked cute in everything she wore. Michelle herself had gone for a pair of skinny blue jeans and a short-sleeved button up shirt. She'd tied her long dark hair back in a loose little ponytail, letting her bangs hang around her face a little bit.
It was a nice day out, sunny and bright, but as they stepped through the double-doors of the local library they both breathed out a satisfied little sigh as the cool air washed over them. There was something comfortable about the atmosphere in there - warm light bathing the place through tall, narrow windows and illuminating the colourful spines of rows and rows of shelved books all neatly arranged. Even the smell of paper that permeated the whole building was oddly comforting and nostalgic, reminding them of all the times they would hang out here together when they were younger.
"Alright… Let's start with that section over there - classic fiction." Michelle gestured over one of the little plaques that organised the library's many genres. "We might find a copy there, if anywhere…"
Tara nodded, and they started their search.
Brett Jones had been realising a lot of things, lately. After that whole situation with Haley, he'd been rethinking a lot of things in his life.
Of course, he'd been totally head over heels for that girl for a long time… But after almost getting roped into picking up her weed for her even though she already had a boyfriend, he had realised that he'd been responding to his feelings all wrong. He'd been sucking up to her constantly, wanting her attention so badly that he got into the habit of doing whatever the hell it might take to get it - though a part of him had always known she wasn't even interested in him. She only ever bothered talking to him because he was helping her pass some classes, and that had always been pretty obvious. Why had he acted so pathetic?
But that mysterious woman, Sela Mathers, had casually left that book behind for him to read. 'Grimm Fairy Tales'. She was a pretty enigmatic person, to say the least, that literature professor who had reminded him to reflect on his own behaviour - and so effortlessly, too.
The story he'd found in that book was 'Sleeping Beauty', but it was unlike any modern retelling of the story he'd ever seen. It had been so intense, and so gruesome… And most importantly, it reminded him of some very important things about love. The way the prince, Tristan, had gotten roped into marrying a princess who clearly didn't feel any love for him, and the ruin and tragic end it had brought to both of their lives; needless to say, it had felt a little bit familiar.
It was thanks to Mathers that he had been able to start unpacking that pattern of behaviour he'd fallen into. He had realised that blindly chasing after a girl who clearly wasn't interested would not turn out well for either of them, and that the Haley Tarlo he'd been looking at through rose-tinted glasses was never going to be compatible with him in the first place. He'd been chasing her like a little puppy, not even realising that she lived a totally different kind of lifestyle, and liked a totally different kind of guy. He'd felt like a bit of an idiot for fooling himself into thinking that either of them would really want to be together, in reality. Ultimately, he had liked the idea of Haley rather than the more complicated person she really was.
And that was what had brought him to the local library today, even though he was already caught up on all of his studies.
He'd found himself a comfortable little spot, grabbed himself a book of fairy tales and sat down to get a better look at these stories. After all, if 'Sleeping Beauty' had been so much different than the versions he was told as a kid, maybe there was more to learn from these older tales. If an older version of a story he thought he knew could help him to resolve those misplaced feelings he'd been having then maybe he could find more little nuggets of wisdom scattered through the old fables. His curiosity had been piqued, and he was quite absorbed in the old book as he calmly flipped through it in that comfy little arm chair.
His short dark hair was combed back neatly for the most part, save for the little locks of hair that persistently hung over his forehead. His lips were drawn tightly together in a slight pout, his blue eyes narrowed slightly in concentration as he re-read the tale that had helped him realise so much on that fateful night. His light blue button up shirt slightly unbuttoned around his neck with the sleeves peeled back around his elbows, one leg crossed over the other with his ankle resting on his knee with the book resting on his lap. Reading for fun wasn't something he always got to do - he was normally busy either studying or working his part time job at the video store - but there really was something very relaxing about it, especially when he found a book that really captured his attention. Needless to say, this one really had.
He only snapped out of his little trance when he heard two voices from the other side of a nearby bookshelf, muffled by the wall of books that stood between himself and them. Normally, he wouldn't bother listening in on someone else's conversation like this… But he'd heard one of them say something that caught his attention instantly.
"Man, compared to all the other fairy tales we've heard this one's pretty gruesome don't you think?"
The voice was fairly quiet, speaking in a politely hushed tone so as to not disturb anybody in the library, but there was a distinctly feminine quality to it.
"Yeah, Michelle, tell me about it… I've heard a lot of the old fairy tales are a lot more intense than the ones they tell kids nowadays." Another voice responded. "I mean, they have to cut out all the more wild stuff so it doesn't totally freak little kids out, right?"
"Yeah. I guess people weren't so careful about what they put into a story back then so long as it got the message across…"
Brett smiled softly to himself as he casually listened to the conversation, pleasantly surprised to find that he wasn't the only one here who was revisiting some old fables and finding a lot of intrigue in them.
The Baker sisters had found themselves a comfortable little spot, a copy of the old fairy tale collection spread open on a table as they sat leaning over it in their seats.
"They really are just like us, aren't they?" Tara glanced over at her sister, a little smile on her face.
Michelle laughed quietly. "Why, because they're hung up over the same type of guy or because they keep casually making fun of each other?"
Tara couldn't help but laugh a little bit herself. "I dunno, maybe both… Hey, a little sibling mockery isn't a big deal, but isn't it embarrassing that we acted like that over some guy?"
The reminder made Michelle want to cringe with embarrassment herself. "Oh, God, and he wasn't even close to worth it… Well, no point in stopping now. We're getting to the wildest part, I think."
And she was right. The final scene was just as intense and violent as they remembered, with the so-called wealthy count revealing himself to be a carnivorous beast who had lured the sisters with his courtship. As the final scene played out, with the older sister meeting her untimely death at the hands of the monstrous thief, they instinctively glanced over at each other. There was a moment of silence between them as they remembered the impact the story had on them the first time they'd heard it.
Eventually Michelle interrupted the silence with a grim little laugh. "I'm glad we didn't end up fighting over that ridiculous two-timer any longer than we did."
Tara nodded, offering her sister a little smile. "Right? I can't believe we ever fought over him in the first place. If anything, it was John who did us both wrong. What kind of person asks two different people out one day after the other? Especially if they're siblings… Eugh."
"Yeah. In the moment I was just so shocked I didn't even think." Michelle shook her head. "To think I said all that dumb stuff to you…"
"Hey, I wasn't being nice about it either." Tara threw her hands up in front of her. "We usually get along so much better than that, so I'm a little surprised by the way I acted."
They both let out a deep sigh, feeling a pang of regret over the way they had behaved that night.
"John may be one of the most attractive guys in school, but neither of us need him. Not when that's how he treats people…" Michelle muttered.
"Oh, for sure." Tara nodded, her blonde hair swaying around her shoulders as she held her arms up for a hug.
The sisters hugged tightly, savouring the moment and feeling more grateful than ever that a thoughtful stranger had interrupted their silly little fight to help them remember the importance of their bond. For that brief handful of seconds they almost felt closer than ever, until they were interrupted.
A head of short, dark hair sheepishly poked out from behind the bookshelf. The boy looked around their age - a highschooler - but he wasn't anybody they knew, for sure. Tara's immediate assessment of this guy was that he was a little bit on the nerdy side, from the way he was dressed and the way he seemed just a little bit awkward starting a conversation with someone new.
"Hey, uh… This might be a bit of a reach, but are you two here reading over old fairy tales and reflecting on your life choices? Couldn't help but overhear just a little bit." His question was punctuated by a slightly embarrassed but kind smile.
Tara and Michelle glanced at each other, before looking back up at him from where they were sitting and giving a quick nod.
"No way… Me too." He laughed quietly, shaking his head - what were the chances? "I'm in the same boat."
After the ice was broken the three of them were finally able to swap names and exchange their stories, sitting around in a circle and sharing the ways in which the old fairy tales had come in handy for resolving their relationship woes.
The sisters explained how they had been fighting over a guy who had never really been worth fighting over and how his two-timing ways had almost gotten in the way of their close bond. Brett listened closely to every detail as they explained how the guy had asked both of them out one day after the other and how they had started fighting amongst themselves after finding this out.
"We were right in the middle of yelling at each other, when this strange woman showed up and got involved right away. We didn't even know her, but she cared enough about helping us out that she told us the story of 'The Robber Bridegroom'." Michelle explained, gesturing vaguely with one hand. "It was so much more gruesome than any fairy tale we'd heard before so we couldn't help but pay close attention… Then, we realised that this story about two sisters fighting over a dishonest suitor was pretty similar to our situation."
"You were fighting over him? But… Surely the guy who asks out two girls so close together who are sisters is easily the worst person in that situation, right?" Brett spoke up, raising an eyebrow as he considered what a prick this guy must have been.
Tara quickly nodded, continuing where her sister left off. "Exactly. I mean, sure the guy we were fighting over wasn't a ghoul in disguise who literally eats people, but he sure wasn't the kind of guy either of us thought he was. In the story, the suitor was just trying to lure someone in to eat them… In real life, John was just trying to get in someone's pants and didn't really care about who he got with. Not exactly the same, sure, but the similarities were enough to make us think things over."
Brett had been listening closely to their story. He perked up in recognition when he heard Tara's words.
"Not the kind of person you thought, huh? I can relate to that." He chimed in with an embarrassed little sigh. "I nearly made a fool of myself for somebody I wasn't compatible with too. Not to mention, I also ended up meeting a woman who helped me realise the problem through a fairy tale…"
"Oh, yeah? What was your story, Brett? We're itching to know, here…" Michelle urged him on as she leaned in to listen to what he had to say.
Brett was a little bit embarrassed to explain what the situation had been with Haley, but he figured that he owed them the story since they had been so up front with their own.
"Well, there was this girl named Haley that I had a one-sided crush on. I knew deep down that she'd never feel the same way about me but I was in denial about that and I ended up agreeing to do all sorts of favours for her thinking she might suddenly change her mind and fall for me."
"Oh, I see." Tara nodded in understanding. "You had entirely the wrong idea about her, huh?"
"Yeah." Brett sheepishly admitted. "I was so blinded by my attraction to her I wasn't even thinking about whether or not things would ever happen between us. She never would have seen me that way. I guess to her I was just a very generous guy she could ask for help all the time."
Michelle couldn't help but laugh slightly, but she quickly pulled herself together to avoid offending him by accident. "Well, I guess she just thought that way because you were always doing stuff for her. Major misunderstanding, huh? Not laughing at you or anything, of course. We both acted kind of similar about that two-timer ourselves."
"Definitely. Everyone gets the wrong impression sometimes." Tara quickly agreed. "I think what really matters is that you figured out what was really going on before you ended up getting your heart broken too badly."
"Yeah. You're right." Brett cheered up a little bit after hearing their affirmations. "When that scholar, Sela Mathers, left a copy of a book of Grimm's Fairy Tales for me to read, I ended up reading an older version of 'Sleeping Beauty'."
"Ooh, I bet it was also way different than the one that gets told nowadays, huh?" Michelle suggested.
"Absolutely. In this version, the curse would kill anybody who gave the princess a kiss but didn't truly love her and the prince who helped wake the princess up with 'true love's kiss' failed to realise that she didn't feel the same way. He ended up finding out that she was in love with somebody else." He continued. "And when he found out it was disastrous for both of them. He fell out of love with her and the curse that had put her in a coma hit them both hard. It ended badly for both of them. The prince was killed by the curse and the princess went right back into that magical coma again."
"That really is way more gruesome than the adaptations that get made today." Tara stated in a slightly shocked tone. "I mean, you sure as hell don't see that kind of thing in a Disney princess movie. Plus, I bet that totally helped you realise the dangers of chasing after someone who doesn't feel the same way…"
"Exactly. I quickly realised that if I kept on chasing after Haley like a little puppy despite the fact she already had somebody, it was only gonna end in a way that would cause both of us unnecessary problems." Brett nodded emphatically. "It really made me think, and I realised how important it is to pay attention to what the other person is thinking and feeling before trying to get their attention. It's a good thing I realised that in time because she was gonna send me to go pick up drugs for her and that's definitely not the kind of thing I'd know anything about."
"Oh, yikes. Yeah, good thing you got out of there, then!" Michelle reached out to give him a little pat on the shoulder. "I mean, going out on your own to some kind of drug deal wouldn't have gone well for you. You could have ended up in danger, you know…"
Brett sighed again, but his embarrassment was starting to fade now that he had gotten the story off of his chest. He smiled at Michelle, appreciating her concern.
"Totally. I'm not the kinda guy who can handle those kinds of situations. Hell, a drug dealer would probably take one look at me and immediately decide I'm an easy target to mug or rip off." He chuckled a bit, shaking his head.
The sisters laughed along, finding the imaginary scenario of Brett attempting to keep his cool in such a tense and risky situation a bit amusing.
Brett continued once they had all gotten their thoughts and feelings out about their experiences.
"You know, for what it's worth I'm glad you two didn't end up having some kind of long-term fight over a guy who wasn't worth it." He smiled at them both. "I mean, you two seem like a really close pair of siblings. This John dude was clearly just looking for something casual and it would have been a real shame to see you guys fall out over it. There's no hook-up in the world that's worth breaking a family bond over."
Tara fidgeted with a lock of her hair as she responded. "Absolutely. I think we just got so heated in the moment, we totally weren't even thinking."
Michelle quickly nodded. "Exactly. We were both so caught up in how shocking everything was, we forgot that John was the problem in that situation and neither of us had really done anything wrong."
"You don't have to be so embarrassed, Tara. You said it yourself earlier, right? It's normal to get the wrong impression sometimes when there's so many feelings involved." Brett quickly tried to reassure Tara, not wanting her to feel too embarrassed. "I nearly got myself into trouble for a girl who didn't feel anything for me, remember? Just like you guys, it took an old fairy tale to remind me how important it is to think things through before acting on a crush. I was just like that prince, you know, too caught up in my feelings for the 'princess' to notice that she only had eyes for somebody else."
Tara listened intently to his admission and gave a respectful little nod. "Good for you for noticing the problem, too. Seeking attention from that girl in an attempt to change her feelings nearly got you into a situation you really weren't comfortable with."
"That's right. I mean, if she was already with someone else then doing her all those favours probably wouldn't have improved your chances at all." Michelle chimed in quickly.
Brett couldn't help but feel ridiculous about how he'd acted back then. "Yeah. I mean, I nearly made a fool of myself trying to impress Haley, but that story helped me realise how dumb it all was. It sure scared me straight, too; who knew that the older fairy tales could be so intense and scary?"
"Yeah. They sure didn't hold back with teaching life lessons all those years ago…" Tara agreed without hesitation. "None of the stories we were told as kids were that scary."
"I'm not surprised that those older versions aren't told anymore. It took meeting that literary scholar and English teacher, Sela, for me to ever find out how intense these Grimm Tales could be." Brett explained.
The sisters looked at each other for a moment. It had taken them a little while to realise it, but there was one particular detail in both of their stories that seemed to match. The sudden arrival of a mysterious woman who had a lot of knowledge about ancient fairy tales was too much of a coincidence for them to ignore. They nodded to each other in unison, before Michelle spoke up again.
"This… Sela lady, what was she like?"
Brett took a moment to think before describing her. "Well, she had long dark hair and wore glasses. There was also something really confident and mysterious about the way she acted, too. She seemed to walk and talk like she knew things I didn't and to be honest she totally did."
The sisters listened closely to his description, nodding along. Sela sounded very familiar.
Tara spoke up next. "And the book she left for you… Was it one of those fancy leather hardbacks with the pretty metal details on it?"
He blinked a few times and nodded, starting to understand. "Wait, was the woman you met carrying the same book? Did she look kind of similar?"
"Oh, absolutely." Tara clapped her hands together softly, feeling a bit triumphant after finding this revelation. "She sounds exactly like the woman who stepped in on our little argument."
For a moment, they all sat in stunned silence. What a wild coincidence. All three of them had learned so much from a stranger who was seemingly the exact same person. It was almost too good to be true, that the three of them had stumbled on each other here at the library. Maybe it was some strange twist of fate. Maybe the Baker sisters were supposed to meet Brett Jones today and befriend him. After the prolonged moment of silence, they all breathed out a little laugh collectively.
"Damn. So we really are all in the same boat, huh?" Tara smiled widely. "That Sela lady must be some kind of miracle worker, with how she helped all three of us and even brought us all together like this."
"Yeah. You know, I'm not usually the type of guy who makes friends this easily but you two are pretty fun to talk to." Brett smiled right back, enjoying the warm and kind atmosphere that was happening between himself and these girls he'd just met. "We've only known each other for a few hours, but it feels like we've been friends for years."
Michelle agreed with the sentiment. "You're so right. We should hang out again some time, you know? Maybe we could talk more about fairy tales or do some more reading together, if you want."
Brett laced his fingers together in his lap. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd love that. The three of us, chilling and talking about books together… It sounds fun. Let's trade numbers and make that happen."