The Princess

You’re not the kind of girl to be bossed around, after all, you are a princess. Nevertheless, when your father died, your stepmother accused you of witchcraft and had you tortured. Those poor torturer suckers did not expect you to slip away before they could get a confession, but you did. You died on their table.

Yet, a part of you survived in those halls, and you watched with unblinking sleepless eyes as more and more were tortured and imprisoned. Finally it stopped for quiet ages and the dungeons crumbled and earth consumed them. So you continued your vigil with the worms, and the roots, and the rocks. It was peaceful, so cold and impersonal.

One day iron machines came and started digging up. They discovered the remnants of stone walls, so they stopped. Disinterested men came, calling each other Doctor, dating the masonry, naming the names, and they concluded it was not worth much. Construction continued, with only a part of the old dungeon retained for display.

Suddenly, you had new halls to roam, where people came empty-handed and then drove away with all manner of goods. You could refer to their cars as horseless chariots, or some such nonsense, but you are not stupid. A car is a car, a new invention, a miracle of modern technology. Words you heard, you barely understood, but you learned.

One day you hear a father talk to his son about the Sun. Oh, you haven’t seen the sun in centuries, and you miss it. The conversation is short. The sun is a star and, in a way, it is like a candle. When it runs out of fuel, it will shine bright for a spell, and then go out forever. They leave, but you remain, and you wonder.

One day, you will be left all alone in this world. Will you be able to watch the Sun go out? What will happen to you afterwards?

Posted by: Paweł Kowaluk