Tragically Told FairyTales

The Two Best Friends

"I never go back on my word! I am not a liar!"
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On a distant land beyond the shores, lived a boy and a girl. They were best friends, and their names were Darla and Carl. They are two very troublesome children from the land of isles. They would have made trouble anywhere and anytime if they wanted to, and they'd always get out of it together. On a sunny day, when Darla turned sixteen, their parents planned to go to the northern villages with them, to explore new wonders and finally go somewhere distant from the land of isles. Carl was packing so much things, just like slingshots, stones, some bread, and limes to prevent seasickness. On the other hand, is the more troublesome child, Darla. She had packed a lot more things than that, just like Carl, she also packed stones and a slingshot. But she packed twice more troublesome items similar to that. And for some reasons, she also packed an Air gun and bullets. When they got to the boat, Darla's motion sickness began to take effect and she began to feel dizzy. Without even a single movement of the boat, she fell off. Carl left off to see Darla soaked in sea water. "What happened, Darla?" Carl asked. "I fell off." She answered. She thumbed her hair behind her ear, "help me up, would you?" Darla told Carl. "Yeah, whatever, you clumsy motion-sick woman." Carl replied. He helped Darla stand up, but as soon as he did, Darla threw up unexpectedly. "Holy crap! Out of all the places you could think to throw up in, why here? Don't you realize you're polluting the sea?" He asked Darla. "Sorry, I couldn't hold it in anymore." Darla said. "Well, that's a good excuse. But luckily, I brought some anti-scurvy antidote to help you on the way to the northern villages." Carl said. "Thanks. You've always got my back, bro." Darla said. They embarked to their destination, the northern villages, which were popular for their markets and informants. After a few hours, they have arrived to the villages, they both stared in awe for they had never seen this magnificence before. "This place... Is.." Darla said. "This place is where we met each other." Said Darla's mother. "This is where you met dad?" Asked Darla to her mother. "Yes, I used to live here. I met your father during the highness' royal ball." Her mother answered. "Why didn't we live here?" Darla asked. "When you were eight months old, a demon fire sparked among the northern and southern islands, we had to flee to ensure your safety. On the way, I hit my belly on a wall and almost had you miscouraged." Darla's mother explained. "I was nearly miscouraged?" Darla asked. "Yes. I got pushed accidentally by a random man, the waves were rough, the boat tilted because of the rough waves. I bled, then I was brought to the nearest room, and luckily, there was a midwife onboard and you were born alive." Her mother continued. "So, is that actually how I got my motion sickness?" She asked her mom. "Well, I don't actually know. Maybe you did?" Her mother assumed. After that, they went on to venture around the northern villages. The island was filled with joy, all day long, even at noon, morning, afternoon, and night. Joy was all the atmosphere's base. The next day, all the shops, markets, and informants were no longer available. "Abandon the island!" The mayor said. "Why should we?" Carl questioned the mayor. "The curse of the island has begun! We shall abandon the island!" The mayor insisted. "How shall this curse be rid of?" Darla asked. "I, Darla, give myself into disposal to rid of whatever curse there is to hear of!" She added. "I don't know what she means by that, but I'll go along." Carl said to himself in his mind. The mayor explained the curse, and they were shocked to hear of what they have to rid from the island. "You must rid all the babies in this island, they are all left inside each house!" The mayor said. "Why them? Why shall we condemn these innocent souls?" Darla doubted while an earthquake started. "You must! And you shall lastly... Have to destroy that mountain!" The mayor continued. "Another innocent..." Darla couldn't finish her sentence because the beautiful mountain became a horrible and vicious demon. "Hurry, Carl! We must run to each house... And slay all the possessed bodies!" Darla said. They split up and went into separate houses. Carl hesitated, but he had the courage to do it because of what Darla said once. Darla on the other hand, was shivering and slowly while becoming very hesitant. "You can do this... Darla!" She encouraged herself. She closed her eyes as she stabbed the condemned soul into eternal rest. She greeted the soul "sleep well" after stabbing and having an innocent's blood splattered all over her cape and shirt. "Why shall the innocent souls be condemned as if like they had done an unforgivable crime?" She asked herself while a teardrop fell from her cheek. She ran as fast as she could to every house and sending all the innocents into eternal rest as her eyes closed. Carl had done a lot, he had already slain all the possessed souls from the left side of the village. As they met in the middle of the village to face the final demon, Darla's eyes started to become grey and white, and her hair turned blue, and her skin was flowing into the pattern of a demon's curse. "The final demon shall come to rest." Darla said while breathing heavily. She and Carl charged into the demon and striking as many hits as possible. The demon hasn't weakened even a little from all their hard blows. "This demon seems to have no weakness..." Carl said. The battle went on four hours, but Darla remained smiling. Carl had no idea why, but he kept on going on. Both Carl and Darla are out of energy, but they are still standing and refuse to give up. After their thousandth blow, the demon weakened, but only a little. "Is there no end to this disaster??" Carl exclaimed. As Carl took a look at Darla, she was backed into a corner while sitting as if she were stabbed. Carl noticed that she was breathing as heavily as the mountain demon. "Is she the final demon?" Carl asked. He called Darla and saw her eyes turn as pink as it was once before as she glanced at him. "She's been possessed!" Carl exclaimed in shock. "I... I... Can't kill her... She's my only... One..." Carl said. Darla started to walk towards him, slowly. As she was, her eyes were flinching pink and red. That flinching stopped when she was infront of Carl, just inches away from him. Darla put her hands on Carl's shoulders and placed her forehead against his chest. She gently breathed and slowly closed her eyes as she said "I'm sorry Carl. I'm wishing that I had more spiritual power to control myself... But I don't..." She said slowly while teardrops were dropping down from her eyes. She kissed Carl in the forehead saying "we'll see each other again soon... But not this time...". She went a meter away from Carl, and stretched her arms as she closed her eyes once more. "This is goodbye... Carl..." Darla said while looking at Carl with a smile. Carl burst into tears as he saw the demon's nails cut through Darla's stomach, making a big hole in her body. Blood splattered all over the area, and on Carl as well. Carl ran to Darla and fell on his knees. "Darla..." Carl said while crying continuously. With Darla's remaining time and strength, she stretched her arms out to wipe his tears, and she smiled as she told him "don't cry... Please don't... That will only  sadden me more...". Carl stopped crying as he looked at Darla's last smile. Blood was running through her mouth. And she started to bleed heavily. "Smile for me... One Last time... Like you did when we first met... Smile for me one last time... please..." She pleaded while crying as she was slowly dying in his arms. He forced himself to smile, as it was Darla's last request before her death. "I realize now... How lucky I was..." She said. "When I met you... Thank you for everything, Carl..." She said. She took her last breath, and she ran out of life and died in his arms. Carl couldn't hold it back, he screamed Darla's name out loud and cried. He didn't stop crying... He would cry himself to sleep, ever since that day. "I held her in my arms... She told me not to cry..." He said. "But how can I not cry... When she knew... That she was the only girl I loved?" He said while crying. He went to his drawer to get his photo album, where he has all the pictures of Darla and him. "I can't believe... That she died... After her own birthday..." He said. As he opened the album, he cried even more. He cried tears of joy and sadness, he didn't know what emotion he was to feel, when he saw his first picture with Darla, on the day they first made trouble. "I will never forget... The only person... Who had the brightest smile... And I will never forget... The only girl I've loved for so long... ". On that night, he cried himself to sleep with tears that he didn't know the exact emotion to feel. As he closed his eyes and fell asleep, Darla entered his dreams. She replayed her death. Then the day she confessed. After that, she brought him to the meadow where she was crying, and it was where they first met. He cried. He ran to Darla. But she suddenly disappeared. His dream was starting to get confusing... All the moments with Darla were completely distorted. Before his dream was over, Darla's voice whispered in his dream these words: "I love you. And I care... So please... Cry no more and just smile... Do it... For me...". He woke up, still crying. He couldn't forget, he couldn't stop crying. He looked at the album, and the last picture shocked him. It was not there before... That picture was when Darla smiled at him sweetly hours before her death. He cried and cried, he couldn't stop. Then when Darla's soul visited him face to face, he cried even more. He ran towards her, but he passed through. He cried even more. But then when he turned his back, her hair, eyes, skin, and clothes were back to their original color. Darla's soul approached him, wiped his tears, and said: "please, cry no more. I will wipe those tears of yours... But never cry again." After she said that, she disappeared. Her touch felt real, and so did her voice. He looked in his closet and saw a box, with a paper that says "to my best friend". He nearly cried once more as he read the smaller note on the bottom right that says: "open when I'm gone". He cried as he recalled the memory of when she gave the box. It was when she said never to read the note or even open the box until she's gone. "She's gone now..." He said while wiping his tears off. "I guess I can open it..." He continued. As he opened the box, he saw another picture of Darla. That picture was when she was very happily and sincerely smiling at him. The photo's aura had a beautiful glow... "She must have put a little bit of her soul before she disappeared..." He said. "In this photo, she was seven years younger than now..." He continued. He lifted it, then smiled gently back at the photo. He saw another note inside. He got it, and read it. He cried again just right after his tears had dried. "Who would have thought that one small note could make me cry again..." He said while smiling. He cried of sadness, then asked himself: "did she predict her own death?". The note said: "please don't cry". He sat down in his bed while clutching his fists together tightly. He cried, then fell on his pillow. He had a flashback. It was when Darla said "your pillow is soft!". He smiled once again, "you really do find the best ways to make me smile, Darla." He said while hugging the pillow. He hugged the pillow tight as he smiled as he said "I'm hugging the pillow like how I hugged you before when you came back after two years.". He smiled. Ever since that day, he never cried again. He never gave himself a reason to. And it was all because of that one line that he remembered when they were slaying the innocent souls. "I never go back on my word! I am not a liar!". After three years, He cried again as he remember how he held Darla's body in his arms. "Well, this is how it ends then..." He said while crying. All I have with you are the photos and memories we had together..." He continued. "It's all enough... Because all these pictures and memories have your precious smiles marked on them..." He added.

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I dedicate this story to my best friend in heaven, Rouge!
Here's to the first boy who treasured my smiles!
I miss you! I'll be there too!