The Old Tale

"He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale dusty air." The young girl waved her hands above the gazes of the other kids that were listening intently. Once again, she stood in her pale green dress on the edge of the fountain that had long been the gathering place for the town's children. A boy, her cousin, leaned lazily against a nearby tree with a bored expression on his face. The girl would tell this same story almost week; it was the tale she was the fondest of. Her excited expressions never ceased, nor did the eager faces of the listeners below.

"He had to work hard, and his life was a rough journey for him. The world was cruel to him, but he never strayed away, and he was rewarded," the girl continued, expertly placing pauses and emphasizing certain words.

Her cousin closed his eyes. They both knew the story well, and he could see the next words that the girl would speak next floating through his mind. The boy recalled their conversation from a few hours ago:

"Ah, everyone will be expecting your tales again," he had said. They were sitting on the docks at the lake. "What have you prepared for today?

His cousin tilted her head to the side, tapping a finger on her chin, "Hm...Well I was planning on telling our favorite one..."

"You're telling that story again? Honestly, Kaileen, you tell it so often. Why not enlighten them with a new tale?" the boy commented.

To this she had replied, with a small smile, "I've tried to not tell it before, but..." she let the words linger. She got up from where they had been sitting, and jumped up on the short wooden fence lining the edge of the docks; she balanced herself on top of one of the posts and looked down at the boy, whom in turn looked up at her.

"You should know how important that story is. Letting it go is, for me, impossible." She stared at her cousin for a moment, and then giggled as his cheeks grew red and he turned his face away from her. "It's important for you the most though, isn't it? That's why I want to keep it alive in my storytelling. I want to share how great of a story this is; I want them to remember."

The boy continued to divert his gaze. Kaileen, the girl, knew him too well. She knew that, more than herself, the boy admired that story greatly. That story was special to him, and he never wanted to forget it either. But still, it embarrassed him to have his feelings exposed so openly.

But now, he glanced at the broken pieces of sky between the branches and leaves of the tree. He let the excitedly spoken words of his cousin drift into his ears. Her voice was mixed with the soft water splashing in the fountain, and the other children's voices that were in awe of the tale. Once again, the words of the story played out in his mind, and he was reminded of that one person. Whenever he heard this story, he would remember that person. It wasn't a bad thing that he remembered him. He loved that the old memory that was so precious to him was still living strongly.

Then, his thoughts were interrupted by the children applauding the story and the teller. As kids walked by him, he could hear their wishes of becoming like the man in his cousin's story.

"Heh, everyone really loves your story..." he whispered, "Father..."