A Fairy Tale...of sorts

Once upon a time there was a silly young princess (in other words, an average16-year-old.) She was carefree, spontaneous, and fearless as only a teenager can be. She had a weakness for the sound of the seductive voice of the late night princes promising to fulfill her schoolgirl dreams while playing her favorite songs for her…and only for her; she was a prince-groupie. One day she met two princes. The first prince broke her heart but the second prince became her friend.

The second prince was thoughtful, handsome, supporting her in her wish to grow, and had the most amazing voice. He saw her as just a youngster and didn’t turn on the flirtatious charm the way his predecessor had; without even trying he was a master of wit and charm. She didn’t fall in love with him but she was in awe of him because he represented how a “celebrity” grown-up should live and act. He knew she was a silly princess who was much younger than he was, but he befriended her.

He gave her many happy memories such as (and this list isn’t comprehensive or in any particular order):
1) Sitting around his castle listening to he and his roommate play the lute and sing,
2) Reveling,
3) Creating advertisements featuring her so that she could be “famous”,
4) Helping her avoid trouble after she and a couple of her girlfriends broke into a musical establishment for a slumber party (because they had plenty of material to enhance the merriment) by returning the slippers that she left behind,
5) Teaching her ways to broach sensitive subjects with playmates,
6) Honing skills like asking the right people the right questions in order to track him down after he relocated to other markets castles – after all there was no internet yet,
7) Playing in different locales in these new cities,
8) Sharing crabs,
9) Discovering intermittent windshield wipers (an innovation in transportation accoutrements back then!),
10) Traveling a hundred miles from home just to watch the sun rise over a beach, knowing that she was welcome to drop in on him unexpectedly on the way home,
11) Listening to really good music (and being guided from teenage fare to more adult harmonies) on the most modern mechanisms of the time, and
12) Encouraging relationships with people who have become life-long friends.
Many of the things they shared helped to shape the woman she would become.

He moved far away and they each got on with their lives. He lived in cities she dreamed about and he found a wonderful woman to marry. She grew up and, as fate would have it, his lute-playing roommate moved into (and out of) her castle at various times over the years. She even married the roommate’s best friend. The prince and princess lost contact with one another for many, many years. Every few years she met up with the first prince with whom she loosely kept in touch. After more than two decades, he heard from the second prince who asked to be remembered to the now-grown princess. The first prince admitted to her that he was very jealous of the second prince and he hoped that she wouldn’t use it, but he felt that he had to honor his word so he passed along the message.

The princess and the second prince began corresponding irregularly. It was wonderful to have him to talk to again. If only she could hear his voice… Then one day a miracle happened! He informed her that he was once again doing a weekly radio minstrel show (this time under his own control!) that she could hear on Saturday evenings if she listened very hard! Sometimes when he was performing he would send her messages. Listening to his voice over the distance and communicating with him (albeit in a less personal way than when she could simply show up on his doorstep) while he was exercising his creative genius took her back to a simpler, more care-free time. Once again he was introducing her to wonderful new music. He was also giving her helpful advice on everything from relationships to wiring her laptop into her stereo the workings of modern mechanisms. He was sharing his experiences, inviting her into his life, giving her a sounding board for her problems. She hadn’t truly appreciated the character of this man when she was young…she had been too star-struck…but she found that she treasured their correspondence.

After almost three decades without seeing each other, they managed to meet up spontaneously. It turned out that they would be in the same city on the same weekend. They spent twenty-four hours together, during which they talked, laughed, ate, and finally hugged. While she was widowed, he was still married to a wonderful woman (whom the now-grown princess felt she knew through the loving descriptions that the prince had given during many of their missives.) He still had a voice that could make her melt. It was amazing how he sounded like himself on the internet/radio using the sound reproduction mechanisms of the day but he sounded even more like himself in person. Perhaps being an engineer and an audiophile a genius of sound he could someday explain how that could be…he would probably use words like “modulation”, “gain”, “distortion”, “sound reproduction” or “speaker quality” (words not often heard in medieval times), or he might simply attribute it to the spiritual connection of being in the same place at the same time…perhaps the difference is simply inexplicable. Being able to watch his expressions as he spoke was such a joy. They spoke of life and love and joy and sorrow and health and friends and shared memories and many other things. As they parted to continue on their individual journeys, they wished each other well and promised to stay in touch. Their visit meant so much to the princess.

Once the princess returned home, she realized that there was so much that she wished that she had said. If they had to wait another 30 years to see each other again, these things might remain forever unsaid! When he asked if she was ever "in love" with the first prince, she said that she thought she had been for years, but after giving it more thought she realized that she was more "in love" with the idea of being "in love" with him than she was in the real person he always turned out to be - which was why they didn't end up together even after reconnecting many times over the years.

He had asked about her late husband, and she could only relate negative stories… what she should have said was that in the good ways the men were very much alike. He was tall with a very similar body type to the prince (both when they were young and as they grew older.) He had a mustache, but didn’t look right with a beard. He was charming with a quick wit and off-beat sense of humor and he was a great friend. He loved music and had to have the most modern gadgets and toys. He was a night owl and worked in the entertainment industry (ok, being a stage hand isn’t quite the same as being a prince and he didn’t have formal training as an engineer but he worked sound and light boards as well as doing carpentry and he enjoyed the “performing” and mixing aspects of presenting music to his friends – I couldn’t figure out how to make this fit the timeline!) His taste in music was very eclectic. He read voraciously and stayed informed on current events and modern inventions. He loved cats and had the patience to teach them to do his bidding. She could be describing the prince by simply using the present tense.

She also realized when she arrived home that she wasn’t as charitable as she should have been in her speech. She talked of friends’ failings but left out stories of rescue during some of life’s darkest moments. She related the worst traits of her late husband but not the fact that in her eyes he died a hero, having contracted his fatal illness while protecting a friend from harm. She told of how her father had turned against her at a difficult time in her life, but not about how often or sincerely he apologized for having done so…or how loving and supportive he had been during subsequent difficulties. She didn’t speak of her own failings as a wife, daughter, step-mother, or friend…and to his credit the prince didn’t point any of those things out either.

When she was widowed, one of the hardest things for her to face was the realization that no one would ever again look at her and see the young, nubile princess that she had been. Most of her friends and family had watched her grow old and heavy and had forgotten the impulsive, energetic young princess of long ago. It gladdened her to see that girl reflected in his eyes and memories. She hoped that it heartened him to know that she still saw the vibrant prince when she looked at him…and heard his low velvety voice.

Seeing him had inspired her to rediscover her own sense of adventure and spontaneity. She looked forward to hearing his voice again and to continuing their correspondence for many years to come. While she still wasn’t “in love” with him, she loved, respected, and admired the prince. The awe of her youth had changed from that of idolizing someone famous into wonderment at the strength and grace with which he lives and acts.

And they both lived happily ever after…