"Fairy Tales"
by Chibi

A young woman in her twenties sat against a wall with her forehead resting on her knees. Her eyes were closed.

'When I was little, I think I remember that my mother used to read fairy tales to me at bedtime.'

A teenaged girl, barely fifteen, aimed the pistol in her right hand at the thirty-something man in front of her.

'I don't really remember much about my mother, so I treasure those memories and stories with all my heart.'

"I'm afraid I have to kill you now." The girl said, scowling from the concentration of keeping her voice from breaking and the tears from her eyes.

"No, no, I can come up with the money, honest! I can pay your father next week!" The man pleaded vainly with the child, looking into her eyes for some hint of emotion. He found none. "Please, I have a family to support..." He gestured towards a picture in a frame standing on a nearby table. In the picture, there was himself, a woman, and a little girl.

'When I was a little girl, I believed in those fairy tales.'

"Do I need to make myself more clear? I said I HAVE to kill you NOW." The girl's finger squeezed the trigger and a shot was heard. Tears streamed down the cheeks of a little girl who believed in fairy tales. She had lied. Nobody should ever have to die.

'But when I entered my teens, I learned that there was no such thing as a world of magic, where one's will determines everything.'

"I'm sure they know you love them..."

'Not all stories end with Happily Ever After. Not since my mother died.'

A young woman in her twenties sat against a wall with her forehead resting on her knees. Her eyes were closed.

She didn't want anyone to know she was crying.