The Princess and the Thief

There once was a princess who was born in a place where there was always a storm raging outside. And the storms caused her to not go out, to stay inside. But she learned to live with them. As time went by, she grew up and blossomed into a smart, beautiful flower. But it wasn’t easy. Flowers don’t grow well in the dark.

As she grew up, the storms didn’t subside, so she stayed inside her room. She would use her time to build up and reinforce the walls in her room, to protect her from the storms. The walls were so thick that not much light could get through. It didn’t matter because she became comfortable in the dark. She learned to live within her fortress.

When someone did come for a visit, she would shake their hand and offer them a chair, and chat with them for awhile. But then, when the conversation became a little too close to her heart, her mind would drift off to the storms outside. So she would turn away, and softly tell them that they had to go.

She lived like this for awhile. But then one day a thief came along. He had recently escaped from prison. But he wasn’t just any thief. He’d been imprisoned unjustly. He was a good thief. Prison though had taken its toll. Even after he had escaped, the walls that had imprisoned him haunted him. It was like the walls were still there.

Still, for some reason she let him stay. When they spoke, it was like they had known each other forever. They found that they had both had been imprisoned in a way, by the forces of nature that make one question the very nature of themselves, and casts doubt on ones actions, and makes one scared of looking into the eyes of another. They found solace in each other. And they looked into the eyes of each other.

The thief was happy. After all, it was a perfect hiding place from the long arm of the law, with the thick walls and the storms outside. And she liked it. It comforted her when he put his strong arms around her and rocked her to sleep, and when they spoke late into the dark night. Sometimes they would even go for a walk outside, and it seemed as if the storms receded in their wake.

But after awhile, she began to question things. Who was this thief, and how was he any different than the ones who had come before? The talks late into the night, his acceptance of her dark room and the walls she had built, how comfortable she felt with him…those things could not still the raging storms outside, and she decided that he couldn’t help her break down the thick walls she had built.

She told him that he had to leave for his own good, and for hers. He didn’t understand. He thought they could help each other tear down the walls they had both built. It wouldn’t be easy, but then again, tearing down walls that have been built over many years is never easy.

So he left. He was scared of being caught by the authorities, so he decided to put on a disguise, and walked to a place where no one would know him. And when he was walking, he thought about the princess from time to time. And he thought about the time they had spent together. And he thought about love. And how it strikes like lightening, and how it should allow room to share anger, grief, and pain. And he thought about those nights when he had shared…anger, grief and pain. And the smile on her face when her head was resting on his shoulder.

And he realized that love comes around when you least expect it, and can leave just as unexpectedly, no matter how hard you try. And he thought about life, and how you’ve got to look at it a little differently after years of being imprisoned. And that maybe you need to accept the fact that you can’t do it on your own.

As he walked on, he wondered where he had gone wrong. He had offered up his heart, his soul, his time, his life. But it wasn’t enough. As it began to rain, he pulled out his overcoat and trudged on. He hoped that the oncoming storm would become a torrent that would wash away the walls that had imprisoned both of them. And that maybe they would meet again.