But there was the villain. Every good story had one.
“Oh, I hate Manny. He’s the evilest wizard ever! And he’s so mean to Yoss and Imi. Always making Yoss go off and fight the mean dragon. But Imi saves him, doesn’t she? She’s the hero.”
“I don’t know if she’s the hero, but she’d do whatever she could to save the boy she loved. Because true love never dies, Ava. Never ever.”
I stared out at the rolling ocean and could hardly believe I was finally here. It was just about perfect.
Except for that one thing that was missing.
“Yoss defeats Manny though and he rides off with Imi on his white unicorn!” Ava exclaimed enthusiastically tossing a handful of wet sand into the air. It landed on her head and she laughed and laughed.
“That’s right, sweetheart. They rode off into the sunset.”
Into the sunset.
Always together.
Ava ran towards me and wrapped her tiny arms around my waist. She looked up at me with the adoration of a child. One that had seen too much in her short life but knew that now, she was safe.
“I love you, Mommy.”
I kissed the tip of her tiny nose. “I love you, Ava.”
“Can you tell me another story about Yoss and Imi. What about the story where Yoss gets a new heart because his old one is broken by the evil wizard Manny?”
My stomach twisted and turned.
That was a hard story to tell.
A heart that wasn’t really a heart…
But I couldn’t tell Ava about liver transplants and hours of waiting. Of blood and pain. I didn’t want to share the terror ofnot knowing.
So the dying liver became a broken heart.
The streets became a beautiful kingdom.
The predatory pimp was now the evil wizard.
But Yoss and Imi were still in love. Still looking for the ending they deserved.
“You know how that one goes,” I told her lightly.
“Imi gets him a new one!” Ava giggled.
“That’s right. Imi gets him a new one. And…”
“They lived happily ever after,” Ava finished, pulling out of my arms so she could dig in the sand again.
“Why do you like these stories so much?” I asked her.
I knew why. It was the same reason I told them.
To change history. Just a little bit. To give her a story to smile about.
But it wasn’t all make believe. All fairytales start somewhere.
In truth.
