Write Your Own Story

This is a story that began in the first chapter. But every story has to come to an end someday. And this happened with Madeline also. Her life started from hellfire. She wanted to die on the first day itself. She cursed her fate. She grew up in foster homes after losing her parents in a car accident when she was just 7 months old. Little Madeline was attached to her cradle in the backseat. When the truck hit their car from the front, and the car rolled multiple times, the spectators believed that none of them would survive. But Madeline's survival was, what doctors called, a miracle. To Madeline, her survival was a curse because since then, her life had toppled upside down.

She went to foster cares that only treated her sadistically. When she was just two years old, the family fed her dog food. The foster mother was psychologically distressed. She treated Madeline worse than a pet.

Since the beginning, she has been moving from one foster home to another. And each time, the foster family would be torturous. Many well-fare groups tried to help her. But Madeline's fate was sealed: she met with more and more problems each year.

Now she was 19 years old. It was her last year in high school. She lived in a one-room apartment that could only accommodate her. But even the rent of the small space was overpowering for little Madeline.

After college, she worked at a Theatre, selling popcorn. Then, she worked at a library during her recess. She did not catch any break. She needed to earn money to survive. So, when all her classmates were out partying, poor Madeline was working behind dusty shelves, only to earn some extra cents.

It was her 20th Birthday, and she was exhausted. She wanted to give up. So, she skipped her duty at the theatre and took a ramble at night. It was silent. The clouds were still. The Moon was big and stared at her misery from a thousand miles away. She walked with her earplugs on. She did not know where she was going. She just did not want to stop.

Hours passed by and she kept walking until she reached the countryside. It was more silent and so picturesque than the town she lived in. She pulled her earplugs out and heard the sound of sea waves far away. It caused her to smile instantly. She loved waves. She loved the rain. Now she was not walking anymore. She ran and followed the sound of the waves until she reached a Marine drive. She stopped and felt the breeze gently hit her face. She closed her eyes and could feel her mother's presence around.

She slowly walked toward the sea and sat cross legged beside it. She bent to play with the water. When her fingers touched the sea, the pebbles underneath ignited blue light. It was so beautiful. She picked up the blue pebbles and saw them radiate so much light in the darkness.

She sighed and sat there for a long time. Madeline raised her head and talked to the Moon, 'mom, I am 20. Can you believe it?' She chuckled sorrowfully. Her eyes became teary. But she did not tear up yet.

'I was supposed to die twenty years ago. Why am I here? I don't want to be in this cruel world. I can feel that you are in a much more peaceful place. I wish I had died in the car accident with you. Why did I have to survive? The doctors say I am a miracle. It is all a lie. I am a curse. I should have not survived.' She whimpered and hid her head between her knees. She burst into tears. Nobody was around to hear her sobs. So, she cried audibly, knowing that nobody could hear her misery.

Just then, the pebbles underneath the water began vibrating. She felt the movement and quickly raised her head to see what was happening. She saw a faded reflection of her mother in the water.

Madeline blinked twice. She rubbed her eyes and jolted forward. She tried to touch her but her fingers only felt the water.

'Am I dreaming?' she slapped her face.

'Daughter…' she heard the water speak softly.

She rubbed her eyes again and stared at her mother's reflection. 'Happy birthday, baby!'

'Mother?' She asked curiously.

'I am your fairy godmother.' She said.

Madeline laughed. 'Oh i must be high!' She could not stop laughing.

'Here is your gift…' the water spoke. Madeline looked at the water carefully. There was nothing. Just then, the water moved in her direction and a box floated to her lap. She knelt forward to pick it up.

'Change your fate. Write your own story…' the mother said.

Madeline looked at the fancy box. It was so beautiful that she was scared to open it.

It was a wooden box that was carved with minute details. There was a butterfly carved in the middle of the box that was glowing just like the neon blue pebbles.

'Is it true?' Madeline turned her gaze to the water. But her mother's reflection was not there anymore. 'Mother?' She called her desperately. But the water did not respond anymore. She felt the waves moving away from her, to the opposite direction. She tried to pull them back. But her fingers could not get hold of anything.

She thought it was all a facade. But when she looked down at her lap, the fancy box was still there. She carefully picked it up and walked back.

Now it was too late. She was too exhausted. She could not walk that long. So, she waited at the bus stop alone. It was pretty dark and not a lot of people were around. She kept staring at the wooden box as she waited for the bus.

Finally, it arrived. She was the only passenger from that bus stop. She took the end seat and leaned on the window. She was exhausted and wanted to sleep. But the suspicious box kept her awake. She wanted to get back home and open it quickly.

Soon, the bus stopped and she got down. She ran toward her apartment. The first thing she did was to run toward her study table.

She opened the box. As it opened, a small blue colored butterfly flew outside. She was taken aback by its sudden movement.

There was a blank book inside it with a blue colored pen.

She opened the book, hoping to read something. But to her surprise, it was blank.

'What kind of gift is this? Who gifts a book that is empty?' She chuckled.

Soon, her eyes fell on a folded note. It was an old paper. She could smell the fragrance of the old books from that piece of paper. It was brittle to touch. She carefully unfolded it and saw RULES written on the top.

'Rules? What for?' She thought. Then, she read the first rule.

There can be only 29 chapters in this story.

Each chapter ends at midnight.

Once you start, you cannot go back.

Madeline had a confused expression. She read the rules twice, thrice to make sense of the meaning.

Just then, she remembered the words of her mother:

'Write your own story!'

Madeline's heartbeat raced. 'Will it be true?' She panicked. She did not know if she was excited, or it was just another dream.

She needed to give it a try.

Her fingers shivered as they grabbed the blue pen in the box and started scribbling on the first page of the blank book.

Madeline was a big fan of fairy tales. As a child, she would escape reality by reading the stories of the Princesses. She wanted a life like Cinderella's or Snow White's.

So, she started scribbling:

"Madeline was being chased by the attackers at night. She kept running, until her hair got stuck to a broken wire of a pole. It pulled her ponytail back with so much force that her hair opened and danced in the air as she ran forward. The road was empty. She had nowhere to go.

She stepped on the pavement and waited for a cab. Just then, the street lamps flickered and she heard the sound of hooves approaching her.

She was panting heavily when she saw the shadow of a man on a horse. She could not see his face yet. It was so dark that she could only see the edges of his body.

He rode forward. As he rode forward, the fluttering streetlamps started working properly. Now his face was visible. He had a brown complexion and had a huge pair of blue eyes. His hair was curly and long. He wore the bodysuit of a warrior. There was a sword on his waist belt. He rode and struck the legs of the attackers with his sword. She screamed.

He dismounted his horse and walked slowly toward her. Just when he pulled out his hat, it started to drizzle…"

Madeline yawned and fell asleep on her study table. The pen dropped from her fingers and the page was left half-filled.

Since Madeline was asleep, she could not witness the fascinating sight of the butterfly fluttering around her book. When it landed on the page, the entire page became blue.

Her story was about to come true. And Madeline was fast asleep to even notice it.