Fairy Tales: Another Ending

The Beginning

The feeling of freefalling awakens me from my slumber. I open my eyes to nothing but darkness. Any sound wishing to escape is left unheard. All that remains is the prospect that I am aware, that I am alive. I struggle, trying to focus all of my attention on my memories. Trying to see if I can remember how things ended up this way. 

My mind draws a blank. The fading memories make me question if I had ever existed since nothing comes to mind. No places, no names, no house, not even my age. I curl into myself, wondering if I am in purgatory as I continue to plummet. Suddenly, a small ball of light brightens the infinite void. It quickly flies towards me, stopping just in front of my face. 

Its soft glow radiates as it hovers in front of me. I reach out to grab it, feeling the comfortable warmth from the many small particles breaking off from it. As if it could feel me, the small ball of light gets closer. Close enough to touch my lips. A small chime quickly catches my attention. Without having to look anywhere else, I spot more small balls of light flying toward me. I close my eyes as the brightness becomes too much. 

Suddenly, the feeling of freefalling stops. My lips touched something soft and warm. Opening my eyes, I come face to face with a blue-haired angel. My eyes can't help but widen in shock. I push back the angel, not wanting to kiss. Despite having little to no memories, I can't help but feel uncomfortable with this.

The angel removes his lips, and I breathe a sigh of relief. His eyes open, revealing their glowing blue hues. His six wings flap open, making his small demeanor feel awe-inspiring. We float down, landing on something. Wave-like ripples appear from where our feet touch the ground. I find myself standing in the never-ending darkness. Not sure if what I am stepping on is genuine flooring.

The angel smiles at me. I stand there, not sure what to make of this situation. He bows down unexpectedly, and I flinch at that. I observe his ears, the fluttering wings replacing them. They flutter as if the wind is passing through. When the angel looks back up again, I am immediately drawn in by his echo-like voice. 

"Good day, Esther. Mine name is Yarah. I'd like to bid thou for a favor. Wouldst thou like to hark to mine crave?" He asked. I stare at him in confusion. Unsure of what he had just asked. He must have sensed this because he quickly spoke once more. This time, in modern English. "Hello, Esther. My name is Yarah. I would like to ask you for a favor. Would you like to listen to my request?"

I nod at the angel-er...Yarah's request, not questioning why he called me Esther. That must have been my name before. His smile brightens once more if that was even possible. The dark void slowly starts to become more colorful. Filling everything with warm colors. I look around, mesmerized by the scene as Yarah once again speaks.

"I would like to propose a deal. You must be wondering what has happened to your memories, correct?" That immediately catches my attention. He smiles as if confirming something. "That was, sadly, my fault." 

I stare at him, not sure what to feel at the moment. Should I be sad by the fact that my memories were erased? Or be mad that he was the cause of it. Why would he even tell me he did it in the first place? Was it to give me some sort of drive to agree with his request? Those questions plague my head, but I push back from asking them as I cannot seem to say anything.

Yarah's smile softens a bit. He seems to feel what I am trying to convey. "You weren't supposed to be here. In this void. Your soul had unexpectedly fallen into the Forgotten. Where any creations deemed too evil were erased. My job was to escort you to your resting place, but I...had a mishap." He bows. "Forgive me."

I wave my hands franticly to convey that it's alright. Despite him being an angel, seems even he can make mistakes. The only question is what he did earlier. What was the point of him doing that? Perhaps, it was some sort of protection? Yarah laughs softly. I am beginning to question if he can read my mind. 

"Yes, I can," Yarah says, confirming my earlier thought. "And I am sure you have a lot of questions, but we only have enough time to answer a few. All I can say is that the kiss was a contract. A mark for me to know where you are. But it can only be completed once you agree to my request."

Yarah waves his hand, a scroll appears from it. Its golden light illuminated the warm colors of the once-dark void. He plucks off a feather from his wings and holds it out toward me as the scroll opens. The clean white of it and its softness are what I notice the most after grabbing the feather.

"Will you be willing to help give fairy tales a happy ending? In exchange, you will receive your memories and get to live once more. Please sign here if you agree." 

I stare at the scroll. The idea that I can regain my memories sounds tempting, but not as tempting as wanting to live again. I wish to see what little I do remember to be confirmed to have existed. And...make new memories too. What I won't bother asking is what happens if I fail. I shouldn't die if I failed as Yarah seems to want to help me.

"I'll now go over the contract. 1- Do not get attached to the inhabitants of these worlds. 2- Do not deliberately kill another unless it is tasked to you. 3- Do not leak to these mission worlds that you're not from there. And 4- Anything that happens inside a mission, stays inside the mission." Yarah sums up the huge list with as few words as possible.

I nod, agreeing to the terms. And, without a second thought, I signed the scroll using the name Esther. The scroll immediately poofs away once I am done and everything around me starts to turn completely white. I close my eyes as the brightness becomes too much. But the feeling of something hugging me makes me shiver. From disgust? I am unsure. 

"...See you on the other side."