Accidentally on Purpose

Epilogue

The world, dark and cold, was shaking and I lost my footing, falling down an endless hole. My lungs drowned in salty seawater, and I could feel my arms flailing around as I tried to breathe.

Two seconds later, I realized that I was only tasting my own tears that had fallen from my eyes.

I woke up on my bed, alone and freezing, having accidentally kicked off the blanket to the floor during the nightmare. I lay there, staring up at my ceiling, waiting until my vision cleared. What I'd seen in the nightmare was still there in the back of my mind, and with each passing second, I tried to will them away.

Years have gone, but every once in a while, these nightmares would visit me, as if I wasn't allowed to let go of what had happened in the past. Thankfully, it wasn't so frequent, but it was always bad when it happened.

Outside, thunderstorm raged on, each lightning strike causing an earthquake.

Or maybe it was just me.

The house was too quiet, and my forehead scrunched in worry. The bed wasn't supposed to be empty, but it was, so I got out of it, slipping into my sleeping robe as I walked out of the bedroom.

Slowly, I could hear voices coming from the room at the end of the hallway. The door was slightly open, and there was light creeping from the small gap. I let a smile appear on my face as I walked closer, and I stopped right at the door to listen to those voices.

I was feeling better already.

"And then, what happened to the princess?" a small voice asked, quietly, as if she was scared to hear the answer.

I only smiled wider when a voice answered, "She got bitten by the ghosts." At the loud gasps of surprise, he shushed them gently. "Don't be too loud. Mommy is still asleep."

Matching sheepish apologies, both trying to be as quiet as posisble. "Sorry, Daddy."

"It's okay. Do you want to know what happens next?" I didn't hear their answer, but I could imagine their little heads nodding. "Well, there came this handsome prince, saving her before it was too late. He took her away from the ghosts, and they ran away—"

"Did he come with his white horse?" a voice cut in.

"Sure he did," he answered. "He took her to his castle, brought her flowers—"

"Roses?"

"Nah, she doesn't like roses." I smiled. "He gave her daisies instead."

"That's my name!" a voice shrieked in excitement, the other shushed her. She then whispered, "Sorry."

"What about the ending? Is that the ending?"

"Of course not. There's no ending for them," he told them. "She became his princess, and he became her prince. They lived in the castle for a long, long time, growing a bunch beautiful flowers together in the garden. But that wasn't the end."

"So, like, their story went on and on and on?"

"Yes, exactly. Their story never ended. It's everlasting."

They sighed contently. "That's a really good story, Daddy," one of the little voices said. "Tell me more."

I poked my head into the room, and three heads looked up in surprise. The smile on my face widened as I took in the sight before me, but I said, "That's enough for tonight. You need to sleep."

"But mommy," the littlest one whined, moving her head and making her little blonde curls bounce. "I wanna hear more stories!"

"Daddy can tell more stories tomorrow," I said, kissing her on the forehead. She only snuggled deeper into her dad's chest and pouted. "Why are you two awake anyway, hm?"