On this journey the girl saw the ruins of her former kingdom. Because before once upon a time, this girl was a princess. And the kingdom was full of light, and colors, and songs. It wasn't perfect, but it was beautiful.
As the girl sat in the middle of the ruins she remembered all of this. And simply wondered what more there was to do in this place.
Hi. I'm the girl in this melodramatic story.
The trusty steed is my dog.
I went on a journey to the playground in my backyard.
The kingdom is my childhood.
Way back, back when the smell of really great cologne meant that dad was getting ready for a date with mom.
When I was brave enough to propose marriage to some kid in preschool after he stole my crayons.
Candy didn't come with a side order of guilt, and love wasn't a game of strategy.
Back when I actually thought I'd fall into space if i went over the railing in that walkway at the dinosaur museum.
And I didn't have to worry about social media or texting. My best friends were the kids in the neighborhood (the one I was in before I moved here), the disney princesses, and my brother.
I would watch movies on VHS tapes (I still refuse to watch disney princess movies on anything else at my house), and then play all day. Because conveniently, my brother always wanted to be the hero, and I always wanted to be the princess in need of saving. And we both always wanted to play.
And now I'm just sitting here in my backyard, wondering when all of this changed. Because I definitely didn't see it happen.
Life is good, but it's complicated. And it's only going to get harder.
So it's times like these I wish I was in Joy School again. And all I can do is sit here and pull the petals off of a flower. And wonder if he loves me or loves me not. Not even he. Just life. I don't think that makes sense, but that's okay.
I'm okay.
I won't always be, but I am now.
And I'll take heart in that, because someday I'll probably wish I was seventeen again.
(I never did find out if he loves me or loves me not. My dog attacked me and the flower in the middle of it.)
