Most of us know how the fairytales go;

Princess and Prince, a fabulous show.

The heroes face a disaster, a conflict of sorts,

Such as, for example, Snow White, and the seven Dwarves.

An evil witch or queen, a dragon, a crow,

These are the creatures most of us know.

But in spite of their trials, their sorrows and griefs,

These stories end happy, a triumph to our beliefs.

Some such stories, it sometimes seems,

Come to life, as though from our dreams.

Perhaps, we’ll say, an end-of year dance closes…

And the two who must linger find neither opposes

When numbers are somehow exchanged,

And an accidental friendship is made.

Over the weeks, conversations stretch into the night,

Increasingly happier, offering both ends a bright light.

Those weeks become months, then become a year..

These two are friends for life, all trust and no fear.

Nicknames have been given, inner jokes stick,

This unbreakable bond, these people who click.

More time passes, and, finally, she finds

That joy comes only from that “he,” in her mind.

Silently he agrees, though he never says.

He would always be happy, if she simply lives.

Half a year more and she guts up and admits,

He returns wholeheartedly, happy beyond wits!

Another few months and a relationship ensues.

Boyfriend and girlfriend, at last, who knew??

Something feels wrong, though, what could it be?

As it turns out, some feelings can’t last, not for she.

When she knew she wouldn’t be happy, she told him.

And in the blink of an eye, things turned, far too grim.

She saw him now through a new pair of eyes.

She loved him, platonically, but also despised

The way she felt around him, the way that he changed.

He was different, they both were, and it would have deranged

Her mindset if, in the end, she had not decided

To cut all ties, she and her best friend, divided.

But didn’t that make her the bad guy? Who broke a heart?

He was devastated, unhappy, and it tore them both apart!

People say she was innocent, some guilty…

She confused herself, could no longer see.

But, perhaps, it didn’t matter. Her fairytale was over.

No more best friend, no chances of another lover.

And though she thought she could continue her life,

The world turned white and black, grief and strife…

Happiness had flown, but could no longer be found.

Not in herself or in him, so how could she reground

Her fears and anxieties? She remembered, one day,

How her nickname was meaningless. Gone was the play,

And the joke, and the laugh, and the song.

How could things have gone so very wrong?

Her fairytale book, evidently, could not fit on the shelf.

Maybe another time, another place, another new self.

This time, at least, there was no “Happily Ever After.”

That was something to be found, sometime, thereafter.

In the end, though, she still found a meaningful lesson;

This story was not for romance, and neither less than;

Not only difficult, but devastating, at least in her mind,

This story was the end of things, and how to say goodbye.