Once.: seanan

Once.

Once upon a time there was a girl who...no. Wait.

That isn't how this goes.

Once upon a time there were a great many girls, and they did and were and knew and learned and loved and lost a great many things. Some of them were good girls and some of them were bad girls, some of them were nice girls and some of them were naughty girls, but most of them were a little bit of each kind of girl, beautiful patchwork people. Some of them were princesses and some of them were pirates. They were charmaids and scullery maids, ladies maids and goosegirls. They were ladies of good standing. They had dangerous reputations. They were fox girls and phoenix girls, autumn girls and summer girls, coyote girls and mermaid girls and every combination and everything in-between, and they were wonderful.

Some of those girls loved each other and some of those girls lost each other and some of those girls gave up on each other and some of those girls never found anyone at all. Some of them were loved and some of them were lonely. Some of them were happy on their own.

But sometimes, sometimes...sometimes, one of those girls would be walking in the wood, or on the beach, or in the pumpkin patch, or through the garden, and she would see someone up ahead, through the trees, through the seagrass, through the roses—someone who looked familiar, even though they'd never met before. And she would go running, that girl, our girl, with her bare feet in the sand or her high heeled slippers on the palace floor, running like her life depended on it. Sometimes the other girl would hear her coming, would stop, and turn, and wait. And when they met, they would look at each other, and ask a question. Always the same question, even if they didn't realize that they were asking it.

Now, do not think that they always loved each other. Some of them were too much alike, and hated each other on sight, or were even more alike than that, and cleaved together like two petals on a primrose. Some of them were indifferent to each other, too different to repel, too similar to attract. Many went their separate ways. But still, they asked their questions first, and had their answers.

"What took you so long?"

I am an autumn girl. I am a coyote girl. I am a pumpkin girl. I love crow girls and summer girls and fox girls and phoenix girls, mermaid girls and autumn girls and wild girls and lost girls, ocean girls and desert girls and fiddler girls and girls who sing like mockingbirds and laugh like falling leaves. I love my sailing ship girls who leave, and my lighthouse girls who stand to guide them home. And every time I have met one of them, one of my girls, I have asked her a question, even if I didn't know that I was asking it, and I have given her an answer, even if I didn't know that it was given.

"What took you so long?"
"I'm here now."

Love the ones you love. Count your crows and your comets and your lucky coins.

Live your fairy tale today.

sora_no_kokoro

May 20 2011, 23:30:01 UTC 6 years ago

New comment

D'aww. That's just lovely :D

seanan_mcguire

June 1 2011, 21:15:13 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you.

vincentursus

May 20 2011, 23:35:28 UTC 6 years ago

Thought Number 1) This reminds me of 'Lost.' I downloaded the audio version and I've lost count of how many times I've listened to it, and it still makes me cry.

Thought Number 2) Love you.

Thank you.

June 1 2011, 21:15:25 UTC 6 years ago

Love you, too.

You're welcome.

beckyh2112

May 20 2011, 23:54:58 UTC 6 years ago

*curls up around softly*

June 1 2011, 21:15:33 UTC 6 years ago

*pets*

snowcoma

May 21 2011, 01:42:18 UTC 6 years ago

Coyote's little wolf-girl loves you dearly.

June 15 2011, 14:50:21 UTC 6 years ago

This coyote girl loves you, too.

druidspell

May 21 2011, 02:24:37 UTC 6 years ago

From one autumn girl to another, thank you. My tiger girl doesn't have an lj or internet right now or I'd send it to her, but I sent it to my panther girl and my wolf girl, my beautiful sisters of moonlight and magic, because this says everything I needed to say.

June 16 2011, 15:41:59 UTC 6 years ago

You are very welcome.

jadis17

May 21 2011, 02:42:22 UTC 6 years ago

this made me cry.
At first I had no words so I borrowed some
"Hello. Hello. I'm so glad I know you."
Thank you for sharing everything you share.

June 15 2011, 14:52:17 UTC 6 years ago

You are very welcome.

Thank you for being here.

is verklempt

georgiamagnolia

May 21 2011, 03:00:40 UTC 6 years ago

This is so lovely and so heartrending and so so so... I can't even describe with adjectives how beautiful this is, vocabulary fails.

I, also, would like to repost this to my own journal to share it with loved ones, and so that I can read it again and again.

Re: is verklempt

June 15 2011, 14:33:01 UTC 6 years ago

Absolutely, darling. Go right ahead.

wfw_sj

May 21 2011, 03:07:07 UTC 6 years ago

I got my girl. She's a bold girl.

June 15 2011, 14:32:40 UTC 6 years ago

Good.

biguglymandoll

May 21 2011, 03:19:40 UTC 6 years ago

Love you! Hope we meet someday!

June 15 2011, 14:32:25 UTC 6 years ago

Yes!

elucreh

May 21 2011, 03:33:28 UTC 6 years ago

You have almost given me the courage to try and get to the thing you are doing this week and meet you for real in person.

June 15 2011, 14:50:02 UTC 6 years ago

Courage is good.

mardott

May 21 2011, 05:42:36 UTC 6 years ago

Beautiful is indeed the word. Thank you.

June 15 2011, 14:51:36 UTC 6 years ago

windbourne

May 21 2011, 08:27:21 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you for this. I have a rose petal girl (among other things) who I found and nearly lost and now I have her back, and she's one of the most precious thing in my life. Me, I'm a puzzlebox girl.

June 15 2011, 14:30:45 UTC 6 years ago

Wonderful!

arcaneblades

May 21 2011, 08:39:09 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you for this. For me it's people, not just girls, but yes. That connection, that instant something. I miss it, when it's gone, and you've reminded me of what I've been afraid to remember. That they may come and go, but some of them come back. And I think I needed that, in the midst of learning, again and again, what it is to be strong and alone.

June 15 2011, 14:30:32 UTC 6 years ago

i_smell_apples

May 21 2011, 09:09:45 UTC 6 years ago

I was directed here by

beeker121... oh, I loved it :)

June 15 2011, 20:16:06 UTC 6 years ago

I am glad. :)

naamah_darling

May 21 2011, 12:43:38 UTC 6 years ago

You seem to have made a lot of people cry, including me. I'm missing a dear little friend very badly tonight. Thank you. This was so beautiful.

June 15 2011, 14:29:27 UTC 6 years ago

You are very welcome, and thank you, sweetheart.

peachtales

May 21 2011, 13:51:19 UTC 6 years ago Edited: May 21 2011, 13:52:20 UTC

Lovely! Made me cry too.
Still hoping there might be a fairy tale hiding somewhere. Haven't found it yet, and not sure I ever will.

June 15 2011, 17:18:52 UTC 6 years ago

Give it time.

lejays17

May 21 2011, 14:12:05 UTC 6 years ago

This was just lovely. It was sad and happy and contemplative, and I'm going to save the link to it so I can come back & read when I'm feeling low about things.

Thanks very much for sharing.