When you get older, you realize that things aren't as simple as they say it is in all those fairytales and story books with "and they lived happily ever after" always written in fancy script when you reach the last page. You realize that you're not Briar Rose, and you won't prick your finger and fall into a deep slumber only to be woken by a kiss from a handsome prince. You realize that life isn't laid out as simple as in those fairytales, coming one after another. You realize that reality is more complicated than how it is in all those story books.
You learn soon enough that bad things don't always come in the form of the evil witch. Sometimes, they have a nice smile and perfect teeth, are smart and fun to be with, and seem as perfect as the Prince Charmings they write about in the fairy tales and story books.
Sometimes they make promises they'll never keep.
And they don't always come to save the day. They don't always come to whisk you away into the sunset to live happily ever after. Sometimes, they leave you broken and unhappy. Sometimes, they come and go so fast, and you will wonder endlessly if it was all in your mind. They'll leave, and there's nothing you can do but watch them ride away into the sunset, staring after them until they become nothing more than a tiny dot, lost among the many moving shadows in the horizon.
And you may look on for hours, days, or weeks, but soon enough, you'll learn that some people leave, and they don't always come back. You learn that things change, as they always will, and you can't wait forever anymore.
--04.26.11
