Once upon a time, in a little village close by, there lived a handsome prince. One day the prince went to fetch his young son from art class, and lo and behold, in the garden sat the ugliest toad he had ever seen. He edged closer and started talking to the toad, and when she turned around, he noticed she was looking very happy inspite of her ugliness. He became quite fascinated by her strength and carefree ways and became drawn to her.
Every week when he went to fetch his son, he stopped in the garden to visit with the toad, and one day he realised that he was falling in love with the toad, and so stooped down to give her a hug, bumping his keen belly into her. At the moment of impact, something magical happened, and the ugly toad turned into a beautiful woman.
From that moment on, they were in love, and life was wonderful, blissful and so happy. They realised they were actually soul mates and spent hours together making plans for their future, and writing poetry. So in tune were they with each other, it was as if all the hurt of the past, in both their lives, just melted away, as they melted into each others arms. She loved him so much, and trusted him with her life. She felt so secure and cherished, like never before in her whole life. He understood her every thought and mood, as if he himself had lived it with her, she had no need to hide anything, or be afraid of anything. She could relax and just be, he loved and accepted her and protected her.
Sad to say though, this tale doesnt end the way you would expect - with them living happily ever after in a castle on the hill. It turned out to be the saddest tale of them all. For the handsome prince, having been scarred and damaged by previous loves, suddenly started distrusting his beautiful mate. His distrust of her, made him grumpy and sometimes intolerable and slowly he started to withdraw his attentions from the now worried and sad woman. With the sad days turning into longer and sadder nights, slowly the beautiful woman began to lose her beauty and her strength. She could no longer write her poetry, or dance in the garden under the moonlight It was almost like his need for happiness and trust had sucked her strength from her and she could no longer fight for his love.
It was just one week before their first anniversary, that the prince sat her down and in the presence of his son, flippantly confessed that he no longer loved her or cared for her and that her presence in his life made him feel uncomfortable, and he would prefer it if she left. Then, he and his son quietly left the room and sped off to the weekly art class, where they had first met.
Slowly, calmly, her eyes filled with tears, she rose, and dressed for the day. Taking particular care to leave the room tidy, and remove all trace of her presence. She left and drove aimlessly around, not sure where to go, where was her home, she couldnt remember. Did she even have one. She just drove, until she remembered a safe haven where she once visited, and that is where she went.
And later that day when the prince went to fetch his son, there he found his old friend, the ugly toad, all her beauty gone, sitting in the garden. And I think, in some small way, he was saddened to see her looking the way she did, because perhaps he still loved her.
Well that is probably how we would like to think of it ending, but we will never know. The last I heard, she had moved to a galaxy far far away.
