Pasticcio

Peppy #NBR Prompt 1

"More tea, your majesty?" I lift the pink teapot in the air, awaiting a response from the little princess. We had the full set displayed before us: miniature cups and saucers, a sugar bowl, a creamer, a plate of cookies, all arranged around an empty flowerpot, decorated by her royal highness, Princess Marie of Candyland. Before we had sat down for tea, she had explained to our other guests, Bubbles the teddy bear and Sparkles the doll, the reason as to why she wasn't able to provide any flowers.

You see, she had said with both hands on her hips, Mommy is allergic.

Now she gave me a fervent nod, which caused her big red glasses to slip down her button nose. With a giggle, Princess Marie adjusted them, then reached out with a gloved hand to pick up her teacup. I poured the imaginary tea, as carefully as I could, and when I was done, respectfully bowed my head. She closed her eyes and did the same, then brought the teacup to her rosy lips for a sip.

All of a sudden, she scrunched up her face and stuck out her tongue.

"What's wrong, your majesty?" I ask, my eyes twinkling with amusement from behind my own, bottle-thick glasses.

"You forgot the sugar, Peppy!" she said, and I burst into laughter as she grabbed the sugar bowl. Princess Marie flipped it over above her cup—good thing it was empty, otherwise, it would've been quite a hassle to clean up the mess—and after a little shake, placed it back down onto the table. She picked up her cup again, and after another sip gave me a thumbs-up along with a crooked grin.

Even if my back hurt and the muscles of my legs had seized up for being cramped in the same position for too long, seeing her face light up and listening to her silly stories was enough to make me forget about the discomfort.

It was always me and Marie, Marie and me. We had become the best of friends from the very beginning, from the day of my creation, on her first day of school. I was as tall as a mountain, as strong as a buffalo, as cute as a puppy, as fast as a cheetah—I could be anything she wanted me to be, as long as I wore my glasses. She was picked on for them, for how thick they were, but despite that, it never stopped her from going on adventures. 

We did everything together, from exploring the Gardonian Jungle, to fighting monsters from our pillow fort, to constructing towers of Lego so high, their tip would disappear amongst the clouds. Nothing could stop the unstoppable force that was Marie and Peppy, nothing.

At least, that's what I thought. As time passed, things slowly started to change. Marie started to change. Her glasses became thicker with each passing year, her eyesight without them growing worse. Nobody could understand what was wrong with her, not even me.

I was the one that held her hand as she got poked and stabbed with syringes, as the doctors stared at the blood test results with furrowed eyebrows, as they gave Marie and her parents a shrug of their shoulders. No matter how hard I loved her, or how many times I made her laugh, it wasn't enough to heal her. Peppy the Powerful was now powerless.

Soon, I began to notice a change in myself as well.

The colours of my body—which used to be as vivid as a rainbow's—began to grow dull, making me look perpetually tired and washed-out. Then, the edges of my form began to grow blurry and indistinct, like a camera lens zooming in and out of focus. I was scared, confused—what was to become of me? Was I going to fade away, like an old, insignificant memory?

It all began on the day Marie pulled off her big red glasses, one last time. She didn't need those anymore. She had a new pair. Their lens were two chips of a moonless night; they obscured her eyes, shielding them from the world she couldn't see anymore.

From me.

Word count: 702

A/N:

Heyo! This is my (very) sad short story for NBR (Next Big Recognition Contest)'s first prompt writing challenge!

 Here it is: You are a kid's imaginary friend. He/She is growing up, and you are fading away.

As always, I've made things more messed up than they were meant to be. Oh well. If my short story tugged at your heartstrings a lil', drop a comment below (otherwise I'll know that you're a heartless monster)!

Update: I didn't win, but congrats to those who have!