A Modern Fairytale

End is just the Beginning

The clock striked 12. I remembered Cinderella. If multiverse had different dimensions, then maybe somewhere that girl was actually going to loose her beautiful glass slipper in a few minutes. Right when she lost it, I found my ink and quill sitting at a dark corner of the writing table drawer. I bought the candle close to my piece of parchment which already was prepared to absorb my teardrops. And wrote. The last letter.

21/01/1894

Dear Akki,

It's been ages since I last heard from you. I hope you're doing well and safe. I'm still yearning for the day i finally get to see you just the way we dreamt. Things have changed so much here and alot happened within these months...
I've been hoping to see you ever since we started writing to each other my love. I wakeup everyday to a dead voidness, breathing just for the sake of it. Never spent an hour without wishing you were right next to me. But it seems as life has different plans for me, or maybe you. I'm writing to inform you that I'm tired. Tired of hoping I'd accidentally meet you somewhere, tired of waiting for you to come back, tired of reading old letters from you, tired of the disappointment I face everyday when I open my empty mailbox, tired of endless tears, tired of the feeling of a fat elephant sitting on my chest, tired. Yeah. So baby, I'm writing my farewell. Finally, I'm leaving while wishing you all the happiness of the world and more. I love you forever.

Yours loving,
Munchkin.

I looked at the completed letter proudly as if it was a prized work of art. It was messy as always, thanks to my tears. I let it dry and addressed the envelope, that was a destination i could only dream of going. The clock now read 12:54. The dead silence around me made my inner chaos scream louder. I was actually tired, physically and mentally. I folded the letter neatly and settled it safe inside the envelope. I went to bed that night feeling both relived and stressed. I didn't know why. Maybe because I only had two more things to do in my to-do list.

It wasn't a surprise that I couldn't sleep all night. Just like every other night, the nightmares accompanied me. I woke up earlier than I planned to, with a worsened feeling of the fat elephant squeezing my chest. Even though it was the last day I was planning to be alive, i made an effort to dress pretty hoping she might somehow hear the news and visit to see my still body. I took almost an hour to do my long hair making sure the curls are neat and bouncy. She loved it when I wore my hair down. So I did. I put on the best gown I owned and admired my reflection in the broken mirror. I looked pretty. And I missed showing it to her. I was glad I didn't have to bother about breakfast this morning. So I grabbed the sealed envelope, took a last look in the mirror to bid goodbye to myself by placing a tiny soft kiss on the mirror and set off to the village post office.

I was the first to arrive there, apart from a big crow perched on top of the mango tree nearby. I sat myself on a bench and my eyes involuntarily searched beyond the small rusty gate of the post office. Maybe i was hoping to see her rushing past those gates towards me to finally hold me safe in her arms and assure that everything is going to be alright. The gate did open, just to allow the postmen and office clerks. The lady inside greeted me with a polite "good morning" for which I returned a nod and a weak smile. "Are you alright, sweetheart?" She questioned me with a tinge of concern in her eyes. I wondered if akki would be that concerned about me from wherever she was. I wondered if she atleast remembers me. Then quickly shook off that thought reminding myself that she'd call me selfish for expecting her concern on me. Then again, consoled myself saying i merely wondered, didn't "expect". "I'm totally alright, thank you!" I said, a little brightly with a smile and handed over the envelope to be posted to a receiver who might not even care to open it.

I mentally ticked off the first thing on my to-do list and walked towards the busy street, determined to complete the second. I held out a big sigh and quickened my pace. I felt weirdly calm as if peace was already welcoming me. There's no one I'm leaving behind, no one to grieve upon my loss. So maybe it's okay to finally rest in peace. I didn't know if it would be possible to miss her once my brain stops working. I wondered what she might be doing. Her beautiful face with her beautiful smile was etched in my mind. The last thing I heard was tons of vehicle horns screeching in my ears and then, there was dead silence. I used my dying brain one last time to tick off the second thing on my to-do list.