"Once upon a time, there lived a girl in the Enchanted Forest of Twinkling Water. Aviva was her name. All her life, she had stayed inside the forest, protecting everyone and herself. It wasn't like she was scared. Fear definitely wasn't the reason. It was just that she was no ordinary girl. Those, who met her or saw her, spoke highly of her intelligence and grace. She'd help anyone who'd loose his way inside the forest. Truly, she was a benevolent person. But, was she?" Granny ended the story in suspense.

"What happened next? Was she evil?" Keith, her granddaughter asked.

"The deal was only of one chapter. I've read it. Now, it's time to sleep." Granny smiled and patted the little girl's head.

"But I want to know what happens with her..." Keith whined.

"You'll know it tommorow anyways. Now sleep!" Granny kept the book in the bedside shelf and turned off the lights.

"Granny..." Keith called.

"Huh?"

"Just tell me one thing... She wasn't evil na?" There was something strange in Keith's voice as she asked that.

"Why? You want her to be kind?" Granny came to sleep beside her.

"Not really. I just want her to have a happy ending." She said looking up at her Granny.

"Is that so? The story is already written. Let's wait for tomorrow night and see what was Aviva like. Till then, I've only one thing to say. Be kind, have courage and always believe in a little magic. Now, sleep tightly." Granny started to hum a lullaby and slowly pat her stomach.

"Goodnight Granny." Keith yawned and closed her eyes.

"If only you knew... There are never happy endings..." Granny spoke ever so slowly. She never wanted the child to grow up and witness the cruel world outside.
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"Granny..." Keith ran towards her grandmother holding the same picture book as yesterday night. They had dinner and it was now time for bed.

"Are we ready to read stories?" Granny smiled.

"Yes yes..." Keith said excitedly as she jumped on her bed and pulled the covers.

"Alright. Let's finish it today."
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"Mom..." Little Aviva ran towards her mother holding her leg ever so tightly.

"What is it Avi... Did you have a bad dream?" She leaned towards her.

"Yes. A very bad dream. I was so scared..." Aviva burrowed her face into her mother's clothes.

"Aviva... A dream is a wish your heart makes. Dreams reflect your feelings, beliefs and your personal perspective, rather than what's actually happening. You don't need to believe any of it. We're safe here." Aviva's mother spoke softly in her ears. But, were they?

In the Forest Of Twinkling Water, they were safe. There was water everywhere. Trees grew in water. Finding a piece of soil was as tough as finding a needle in a heap of husk. Even their castle was floating on water only.

It wasn't always like this. Once, Aviva's mother was part of the human civilization as well. That was until she fell for someone who was demon. He was a native of The Enchanted Forest, a guardian. They used to meet on the borders of Twinkling Water without the prying eyes. But alas! One day, they were noticed. Humans, they were vile creatures.

The humans regarded themselves as separate from, and superior to nature and held the belief that human life had intrinsic value while other entities were merely resources that may justifiably be exploited for the benefit of humankind. They thought they controlled the planet.

That's why, for them, accepting something of lesser race wasn't normal. So, the person who supposedly committed this sin needed to amend their ways and of course, pay accordingly. And how could Aviva's mother pay other than to loose whatever she had left? There was simply no other option.

That night, the sun passed the baton to the moon, asking him to take care of everything till he comes back again, the very next morning. But, the moon couldn't do anything than to helplessly watch Aviva's mother's life being ruined. Humans marched inside the Forest in crafted boats, with fire both in their hands and, in heart.

They marched inside the glass Castle, tied her beloved and surrendered him to the flower called Fire. An ever so beautiful Flower. They left as soon as they thought they had set things straight, leaving Aviva's mother behind.

On their way, they burnt the trees emerging from the Twinkling Waters. Near the water, where most burning was occurring, the fire was white and then red. The upward flow of air was what gave those tremendous flames their characteristic teardrop shape. The shape was itself a sign that the Nature, along with the forest, was crying.

Aviva's mother cried and pleaded the God to save her beloved but as the saying goes,"Even miracles take a little time." Finally, the rain fell.

Just as a poem was made up of beautiful words, thoughts, and rhythmic metre, similarly, rain also gave beauty and music to Earth. Especially Aviva's mother. The rain erased fire both inside the forest and her lover.

They thought they could live happily ever after but, no. Shortly afterwards, her lover died due to the injuries. But, before his death, another miracle had happened. Aviva was born. For a very brief moment only, they could live as a happy family. Aviva and her mother started living in the castle and never left the Forest.

But now, Aviva's mother knew that she had no time left. As her death neared, Aviva's mother held her crying daughter's hand and said softly.

"I've written a letter for you. Please remember it and us. Remember that we were a happy family. Don't hate anyone... Never yourself. Promise?"

"Promise." The small child, not even knowing the burden of her own words spoke as she thought of fulfilling her dying mother's wish.

After her mother's death, Aviva grew into a fine woman. Everyone who came to conquer the Forest was lost in way. She would guide them to the safety of civilization from afar. She was lonely yet, caring. All she had left was this Forest, Castle, herself and the letter, which read as:

"My dear Aviva,

You know why we named you so? "Springtime". That's what your name means and that's what you brought in our lives. It is the season of fragrance, beauty, fresh leaves, and flowers. You were such a joy to us. We, your father and I, loved you before you were born and ever since.

The first thing I want you to know is this: We will always-always-love you. A world where you exist and our love no longer would, is an oxymoron. It's impossible. We love you too much.

I may no longer be by your side, but my love would always be, just like your father's. Remember you're never going to be alone.

You must be hurt now. I know it's hard to lose someone you love. I wish I could make it easier for you. And the hardest part is that you just have to live through it. I'm so sorry to put this on you, at such a small age, nonetheless. I'm sorry. I truly am. But, you know how we can't control certain things... Death is one of those.

But, look at the other side. The brighter one. The good part is that you are stronger than you know. You will be all right, we have no doubt of that. Not immediately, maybe not for a while, but believe me: you will.

Try to trust: in people, in life, in yourself. It's harder, if you look back to whatever happened with us but, holding grudges isn't an answer.

Just remember to be truly happy. There are many kinds of joy, but, they all lead to one: the joy to be loved. You know how to love and how to be loved. What could be more important?

Thank you, my child, for making our life so full, so true, and so beautiful. There's so much I'd like to say about everything. But, I'm afraid no words can possibly convey what I truly feel. You made me more happy than I could've ever asked.

We'll love you.

Always."

Aviva wiped away her tears as she read the letter again. No matter how much she sees it, the words open a fresh wound inside her heart every time she reads it. She stood up and walked towards the large window, facing the Twinkling Waters.

"Beautiful." Her soft voice echoed in the hall.

"Just now... Nobody has ever come so deep in the Forest. It could be my imagination but, the sound... The wind was cold and the air was crisp. Suddenly, I heard a scream. Was it a dream?" Aviva muttered as she ran towards the water.

She spent a few seconds looking around the area. Twinkling Water was dangerous and she knew it. They didn't welcome intruders, especially after what the humans had done with their Master.

Suddenly, a boat fell over and the guy came above, vertical in the water. He was clearly unable to move. The drowning has begun, and he couldn't voluntarily control his arm movements. He had his head tilted back so his mouth and nose was above water.

Aviva breathed as she readied herself to reach the person. She swam underwater and came up behind him. She wanted him to keep the shore in sight. So, it was better to approach from the rear and propel him with herself towards the shore.

Wrapping her arms around his waist, she began to swim to shore using a sidestroke. As she towed him, she tried making sure he remained safe in her arms. Once near the Castle, she pulled him to shore by holding onto him and towing while she swam.

It was a dark night and aside from Twinkling Water, nothing was glowing. Fire was a taboo at night in the Forest.

With heavy efforts, she dragged him inside the Castle. There, she took a closer look at his face and instantly regretted it. It was him. Conner.

They met when she was helping someone escape the Enchanted Forest. As she stood near the border, she saw him. He was engrossed in cleaning the twigs which has fallen down. She decided to observe him a little. It was lonely in the Castle after all. After getting tired, he sat on the bench, near her, a stranger who just looked at him with unknown expressions. He didn't bother looking at her. The other day, he was doing the same thing. Collecting twigs and sitting on bench without even noticing her. This continued for days until one day, he, took out his books, while sitting there and started writing something.

"I think it's wrong." Aviva said as she looked at whatever he was writing. She was a literate. Her mother had taught her and the books in Castle were also very helpful.

He looked shortly. Ignoring her, he went back into solving his book. She saw his face for the very first time. A normal face. Wheatish. Straight short hair. He struck out the whole notebook finding that he had made a mistake while solving.

"You were right!" He said without looking.

Months passed like that. They both came every day to the border of the forest. He never spoke. She never disturbed. It was a growing love for Aviva.

After almost an year, one day he was deep into his book. His expressions changing every minute like a roller coaster.

"No questions today?" Aviva asked.

"I didn't go to the Academy." He lifted his head, just to see who it was, the voice being familiar. His shy, cold self had changed and his voice had a tinge of warmth.

"What are you reading?" Aviva asked, curious to know what drew his emotions.

"It's a storybook. I was just intrigued how faulty humans can be." He said not looking up, but deep in thoughts.

"Humans are hard to understand. Deep creatures, I must say. Faulty humans? I'm not sure. I don't think there are any. Or are there?" She asked.

"There are. It may be deliberately too." For the very first time, their eyes met each others'. And the story began. Aviva wiped the corner of her left eye as she remembered those pretty memories. He loved her. She loved him. But, she wasn't ready to repeat the same mistake as her mother so, she had told him never to meet again.

"Are you... Crying?" His voice cracked.

"You shouldn't have come here! You don't even know how to swim!"

"I had to. How... How could you expect me to not come after reading that letter." He tried getting up. Aviva after realizing what she may have done by falling for a human, wrote a letter and left it at the bench, asking to never meet.

"We can't get our happy ending. Don't you understand?" She spoke. This was the reality she didn't want to face. But, did she even have a choice?

"Now that I have found you, hear what I've to say."

"I don't think you'll be able to change my mind here."

"I don't even want to. Aviva, I love you. You love me. What's to see more? Let's not go back again. You're my home. I want to be yours too. Let's just live here... Write our own stories, follow our hearts, and find love in our own time. And we're living happily ever after." Connor's eyes were flowing with tears as he said what he had come to say.
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"What happened afterwards Granny?" Little Keith yawned. The story was a little deep for her but, she wholeheartedly wished for Aviva's happy ending.

"End? Connor abandoned the human civilization and started living in Castle while Aviva continued to help others, now, more secretive." Granny said, relieved herself that it was a happy ending.

"See? You said there are no happy endings but, they had one." Keira, Keith's mother, and her daughter-in-law, came inside the room.

"You heard it yesterday?" Granny smiled.

"Of course, I did. Now, sleep tight." She turned off the lights.

"Goodnight dear." Granny spoke.

"Goodnight. Ohh, and don't say that there's no such thing as happy endings. There may be no endings but, at least, we're happy and loved. Right?" Keira smiled as she closed the door behind.

"Of course you'd say that. Your grandmother was the author of the book after all." Granny smiled as the door was closed and darkness engulfed them.

As she passed the hallway, her eyes landed on the pictures. What caught her eyes everytime was the very first picture. The one picture which was the cause of this generation. The first couple who got their own happy ending. They even died together on the same day. 'Aviva' and 'Connor'. Read their name tags.

There, sure are happy endings and Keira wished everyone would get theirs...
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Number of words : 2499
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