Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, there were a boy and a girl. They lived together, in a small house in the woods, for their parents had both passed away. The boy and the girl, who were brother and sister, only had eachother. When they went out to pick berries, they went together. When they wanted to make a fire - the winters were very cold at that time - they did it together. And when the fire got them both warmed up, the girl told the boy stories. Stories about the life outside the woods, where men go to work and women cook dinner. The the girl could talk for hours about what it would be like to have a family. But they would never experience having one.The only family-like creature in the house, was their cat, Peace.

The girl was called Fortune, the boy was called Envy. 

Fortune and Envy needed eachother, because they both had an handicap. Envy was incapable of speaking. Fortune was deaf.  Their communication was complex to understand for outsiders. When Fortune said something, Envy understood that, but he couldn't react to what Fortune was saying. This was very frustrating for Envy, but he knew he needed Fortune really badly to survive in the woods.
Fortune's voice was like one of a nightingale. When she spoke, her voice was so clear and serene, Envy loved it. Sometimes, when Fortune was in a good mood, she sang him a song. She sang about the animals in the woods, and the free birds in the sky. Than Peace fell asleep on her lap, loudly purring. And Envy laid his head on her shoulder.

As Fortune grew up, she started singing more often. She couldn't hear her own voice, but when she looked at Envy's face, she knew he liked it. Fortune sang when she woke up. Fortune sang when she was in the shower. Fortune sang during dinner. Fortune sang when she went to bed. Envy couldn't sing, nor talk. Sometimes he wanted Fortune to shut up, because he couldn't hear his own thoughts. Envy couldn't tell that to Fortune. And even if he could, he probably wouldn't have done it, as he cared for his sister so much. But sometimes he wished that the could sing as well.

Fortune sang for almost two years, when suddenly she stopped. With a good reason. Peace was gone. The cat, who'd been with Envy and Fortune for a very long time, was gone. Fortune became quiet, and that pleased Envy. The next morning they decided to look for Peace in the woods. Fortune and Envy walked by the river, the bushes with berries and the maple trees. Nowhere a sign of Peace. When they were approaching the darkest part of the forest, where neither of them had ever been before, Fortune wanted to go back. But Envy, determined to return Peace to Fortune, wanted to move on. He couldn't explain this to Fortune, so without a glance back, he ran into the dark part of the forest. Fortune was devastated. Did her younger brother, who was always afraid of everything - and who never went anywhere without his big sister- go into the woods by himself? Fortune smiled, went home, and prayed for a save return of Envy and Peace.
But by twilight, Envy still hadn't returned.

Envy was wandering through the dark woods all alone. He was scared, of course, but he would sacrifice everything to find Peace. After four hours of walking, Envy was exhausted. He sat down on a tree branch, the wind was blowing hard and Envy was cold. he was considering going home, when he suddenly heard a weak meowing. Envy tried to call Peace's name, but that was impossible of course. He saw Peace's tail, picked her up and smiled. While walking home with the cat, he realised how terrible his handicap was. He wanted to sing and talk and scream and whisper, just like Fortune did. Anger grew inside of him. Why was everything so unfair? Why wasn't he the one born deaf - like Fortune- instead of speechless? He thought of the quietness that had fallen over their house when Fortune found out that Peace was missing. He wanted Fortune to remain silent, so he wouldn't be confronted with his own disability. Perhaps... Without a sense of shame, Envy pulled his knife and he cut through Peace's throat. Peace didn't make a sound.

Envy laid Peace on the ground, and covered her with some leafs. Peace's blood was the brightest red he had  ever seen. On one hand he felt like crying, but on the other hand he knew this was the best solution.

Late at night, when envy returned home, Fortune understood that he had not found Peace. Fortune started crying, and didn't stop. Envy had pity on Fortune, but for the first time he slept well, because Fortune did not sing anymore.

The next morning Fortune was gone. Envy feared for what he would find, when he went to the spot where he ended Peace's life. What he saw, was a stiff and cold woman's body, that would never sing again. In her arms she held a sleeping cat.

Written by me.

silverweed.