Letter from the Past Days

"Though I can't know for sure, how things worked out for us/No matter how hard it gets, you have to realize/We weren't put on this earth to suffer and cry/We were made for being happy, so be happy/For me, for you, please..."

Characters
Raven Queen

Story
Dear Raven

''Hey Raven, it’s me. ''

''Well, I guess it’s you. Well, not you-you, but you-me. I mean, I am you, but not you-you.''

''This is so confusing. It’s me, Raven - though I guess you already knew that. Well, I mean, it has been ten years, so you could have forgotten…but then again, you decided to read this letter because of the time capsule; I’m sure you would remember. So yes, it’s me, Raven.''

Wait…

This is so confusing.

''I-I’m sorry…I don’t know what to do in this  situation, I don’t know exactly what I’m am supposed to write; that’s why I’m writing everything that comes to my mind on this paper – I don’t know what exactly I am supposed to write for this introduction, I’m so lost.''

Let me try again.

''Hey Raven, It’s me. I’m the you from ten years ago. Yeah, that sounds about right.''

''The assignment, if you remember, was a time capsule. Though unlike the Heritage hall meant for our children, this was something for us, ten years from now – your time. We are supposed to write a letter to your future selves, supposedly after we completed our stories for us to remanence on our times as students.''

Now here is a problem.

I don’t know what I am supposed to say.

''What am I supposed to say to you, to me of a different time? It isn’t exactly something I know. It’s so weird.''

So…

Anyways…

''Um… How about this? How are you doing? Everything going alright for you, for me? Is life treating you well? How is dad? Has he gotten remarried yet? I have a feeling there is something going between him and Harriet, the servant…I know…Its weird…but I do want daddy to be happy.''

''How is Apple? Are you two still friends? Are we still friends? I know the two of us didn’t always get along, but I would hate it if we stopped seeing each other, I mean, with her being the next Snow White I know she probably wouldn’t have time to be with me or any of her friends from High school. I mean, they say many relationships don’t last past their High school years. That people grow apart after classes are over and everyone goes their own separate ways.''

…

''How is everyone? Cerise, Cedar, Maddie, Ginger, Everyone; how are they doing? Are they okay? Are they happy?''

Is everyone happy?

…

Are we happy?

…

''The Truth is…I’m scared, Raven. I am scared of what is too come. Are we still me – us, I mean. Are we still alright? ''

…

''I ask these questions like I believe you are going to give me an answer; it’s so silly of me. I must sound so silly to you, just a younger immature-er version of yourself. You must be laughing while reading this, thinking of how naïve you must have been when you were a child. It must be hilarious.''

…

''Are you smiling? Are we smiling? Or did we forget to smile? I keep on remembering our time in middle school, when we first met Maddie; boy was she something else. While EVERYONELSE hated me, she was the only one that actually tried to be my friend. Outside of our father, she was the only one that never saw our mother in us. I love her for that.''

''I remember those early days with her, she would always be asking us why we were always pouting or being worry-warts  - looking back on it now, it was just charming just how she didn’t see the world as a dark place. I remember she would always tell us to smile, that to smile would make everything better – well, smiling and tea. Maddie is an amazing friend.''

…

''So are we? Are we still smiling? I know that after all this time, it must sound silly – but I must know. Are we still happy?''

''Could you promise me that? That you won’t forget to smile? That you won’t forget to be happy? I know it’s such an odd thing to receive a request from yourself from ten years ago…but could you do this for me? Please?''

''I…don’t know…what’s going on. I don’t know what my future holds for me. I don’t know what kind of ending that I have written to myself; but please, whatever it is. Please don’t forget to smile. For me. For Us.''

''From, yourself, ten years ago, Raven.''

Raven clenched the letter in her hand tightly; she was beginning to have an issue with her breathing. She was starting to panic.

How could things have gotten this far?

Raven turned to look at the room she was in; it was her home, the place she had spent as a child with her father. Not just that, she was in the room that her mother resided in during her conquest. She stood there in that throne room; it was just her alone in that room. It was just her.

Then there was also the Evil Queen; she stood in the middle of the room. Her powers overflowing from her body, the destruction of Ever After was in her hands. Everything she was destined to do was going to be completed; she was going to wipe away everything that meant her daughter.

Her Daughter? No. Raven’s mother wasn’t in the room. Raven’s mother was now drained of her dark magical powers; she was no threat to anyone.

No, the Evil Queen that stood in the middle of the room alone was none other than Raven herself. She had become everything that she had set out to be against. In the end, destiny won and she had become the one thing she feared the most. Raven had turned into the reflection that she feared every time when she looked into the mirror.

It was like everything that had transpired these years was finally catching up to Raven. The war; she had finished the war that her mother had started all those years ago  – the worlds of Wonderland, Neverland, and Oz were no more; now all that remained was the Evil Queen’s dominion; Raven’s dominion. The world of Ever After.

With the power of Fairytale magic in her hand, Raven had control over everything. She could do what she wanted, and no one would have stood in her way.

So why? Why did she not return everything back to normal, she could have turned everything back to the way it was, back before any of this happened. So why didn’t she?

Why? Because Destiny demanded it. She had no control.

The Evil Queen stood there in the middle of her throne room, clutching her chest. Why did everything turn out this way?

Of course, nobody was going to back down from any of this. The Grimms were the first ones gone; after all, they were the ones that banished her mother, they were the biggest threats. The armies were the ones that followed, but with Raven’s new found powers, she was able to easily remove them from the equation.

Even her friends tried, but luckily not even Raven wanted to hurt her friends. They came to stop her, to talk the Evil Queen out of it, but she just pushed the aside. Some tried to fight back, but those that stood against her are gone now – The only ones that were of any form of threat towards the new Mistress of the world erased.

Raven fell to her knees. “Oh godmother,” Raven started to cry, “What have I done?” The whole world was crumbling around her.

Apple was the first to talk to Raven and she was the last one to hear her out. How many times had Apple come to the Evil Queen’s throne room to talk her old roommate, to talk her out of destroying the world? How many times did Raven just let her come and let her leave on her free accord? Why did Raven do that? Why did she allow her friend to cry out her tears.

And then what happened next? Nothing. Apple stopped coming. She gave up hope on Raven. Raven can still remember a clear image of seeing Apple walking out of her throne room, walking away from her. She walked out of Raven’s life with not a single tear to shed.

Apple had given up all hope.

The Evil Queen never saw her Snow White ever again.

Raven screamed into the ground, as the walls started to collapse.

She was all alone. In the end, she was all alone. Everything she had done was for naught. Destiny won in the end.

“What should I do?” she screamed, “What should I do?”

Raven snapped her head back, looking over at her mother’s throne – no, her throne. Tears filled her eyes.

“Please,” She cried out, “Please tell me.” The Evil Queen scream, “What should I do, Cedar?” Raven pleaded.

There was no answer, the only human being there in the room was Raven. The only thing else in the room was strung up on the wall over the Evil Queen’s throne.

Arms tied to the wall by its own string, a near life-like doll sat there – watching Raven. She was unmoving, unspeaking. She could only watch. She had a mouth, but she couldn’t scream. Like so many others, she too was changed because of the Evil Queen that threatened the entire world, but unlike those, she was still around. Like some kind of trophy, or something.

Cedar just sat there – silently. It was as if she was there to judge Raven’s sins in her final moments. Perhaps that was why she was there, to remind the evil queen what she had done.

Raven couldn’t move. She was all alone. She just waited; waited as the walls around her fell down. Her home, her entire life was falling apart around her.

Raven cried silently in her final moments as the roof came down on top of her.

With all of the pain and suffering, everything ended with a simple fade to black.