A fairy tale.
Stories told while sitting on your motherâs lap as a child.
Fairy tales always begin the same way.
Once upon a time.
The moment those words appear, the noise of the world fades, and weâre invited into kingdoms that never existed or castles floating high in the sky.
A magic spell where the line between reality and fantasy blurs, transporting us to a world where the impossible becomes possible.
We dream with Cinderellaâs glass slipper and learn about love through the Little Mermaidâs choices.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf teaches us not to lie, Jackâs theft of the giantâs treasure reveals a revolutionary mindset, and the three sister pigs surviving by outwitting a wolf show wisdom.
Fairy tales give us courage, move us to tears, and leave us with the gift of hope.
Even when children grow into adults, the stories they once heard continue to shine somewhere in their memoriesâlike a warm ember kept alive in a world thatâs grown cold.
And I was going to use that ember to move the dwarves.
âA fairy tale? I think I see what youâre getting at, but do you really think itâll work?â
âOf course.â
âHow can you be so sure?â@@novelbin@@
âBecause Iâve already seen it work.â
Ulbram looked puzzled.
To him, it probably seemed like I was brimming with baseless confidence. But I had my reasons.
Did it capture the bittersweet, heartwarming tone of a fairy tale?
Did it showcase Ashiesâ beauty?