The Firefly and the Fairy Princess

"Or it could have gone the other way around," the firefly said.

"Other way around?" the fairy princess asked. "What do you mean?"

"I could have acted cooler then," the firefly said. "I could have met her there waiting for me. In the middle of the bridge. Even though I've lost my memories. I think I could have recovered it all once we met. I could have told her that she kept her promise. That she stayed with me all along, until now. That she was there.

"I could have smiled and it should have been me that have disappeared," the firefly paused and closed his eyes. "Can you picture it, fairy princess? There in the middle of the bridge, waiting for something. Gazing at the far off horizon. As if expecting something. As if waiting for something, for someone, for me. And there I was appearing out of no where.

"Our eyes meet. She smiles. I smile back. Before she could try speaking. I'll tell her. 'You kept your promise, thank you for being with me.' And then I'm the one suddenly vanishing. Being turn back to nothing. To million tiny blue lights. She should have been the one crying," the firefly's voice suddenly broke. His breathing became hard. Tears suddenly slid from his cheek. He was crying. "She should have been the one that lived. She didn't have to die. I should have been the one. Yet.."

The fairy princess hugged the firefly.

"She didn't have to die," the firefly said. "I should have died. Not her. She shouldn't have been the one to vanish. I should. She kept her promise. I know she did."

"She didn't lie," the fairy princess said.

"But she did!" the firefly said with doubt. "She did lie. She.. Did she lie?"

"She didn't." the fairy princess answered. "She was with you, right? She even waited for you. That's enough answer to your question. To your doubts. She didn't lie. You described her to have been wearing a smile with all honest. Unlike the rest of the smiles and happy faces you saw. She didn't lie!"

"But why did she have to die!" the firefly asked. "Why did she have to? Why?"

"I want to tell you that there will always be an end to every wonderful stories," the fairy princess answered. "But that would come out rude. It might hurt your feelings a little bit. But let me just say, even though I do not know whether she lived a wonderful life. I know for sure she died a wonderful death. She saved you-"

"I needed no saving," the firefly said nonchalantly.

"Still! That's what she had in her mind, she saved you. And even when she passed on to the afterlife, her mind, her last memory, will be herself doing an heroic act of saving the firefly prince. Even though she didn't know you were," the fairy princess said.

"I should have saved her," the firefly said. "I should have saved her. I should have-"

The fairy princess slapped the firefly. The firefly stopped his mumbling. His eyes became clear. He was, at that moment, pathetic in the presence of the fairy princess. He was unbecoming of him being the firefly prince.

"What, what I'm doing?" the firefly mumbled. He looked at the fairy princess. She was crying. "What's going on? Why are you crying, fairy princess? Who caused this?"

But just as he said that question. He realized it was his fault. He was not being himself. He acted lowly. He let his emotion ran him down. He wasn't supposed to be like that.

"My deepest apology, fairy princess," the firefly said as he took a handkerchief from his pocket and tried wiping the tears of the fairy princess. "It's my fault. I know. If you're mad at me, please do so. But please calm down. I don't want to see you crying."

"It's your fault, firefly," the fairy princess said. She pouted face. She was more annoyed than sad and mad. But she understood that the firefly have finally grasped himself. "You know-"

"There are things that just happens," the firefly interrupted. "I know that. But I guess, my emotion just took over me. It's my fault. I know. Please forgive me, fairy princess. I won't let it happen again."

The fairy princess continued to give him a cold shoulder. The firefly continued to console her. She was pouting for a while. But after a while, she smiled when finally the firefly also smiled.

"I guess even, firefly have regret, right?" the firefly said.

"Don't forget being overly emotional too," the fairy princess said.

"It's who I am though. Sometimes."

Suddenly the smile on the firefly's face vanished. The fairy princess noticed it.

"You know, you can go find here," the fairy princess said. "There are different worlds, a slight variation on each end but still the same."

"It's fine. I'll get over it, sooner or later," the firefly said. "We never actually knew each other, to be honest. Not to mention I never knew her name. Nor does she knew mine. I don't know about her as well though. Only thing I know of her was the smile she put up. They were true, honest and real. I guess, you sometimes have it, fairy princess."

The fairy princess smiled.

"There it is," the firefly said. "But for now, I have to go else where."

"Where are you going," the fairy princess asked. It was all too sudden and it had surprised her.

"Perhaps off to greater sky."

"Will you come back?"

"Maybe," the firefly said as he vanished to sparkling blue lights.