The Greatest Gift

"I want to live, forever and ever."

"Are you sure?"

"I lost everything," she answered softly. "My mother... my father. I don't want to lose anything else."

"I said I would grant you whatever you wish for. If eternity is truly what you desire, then so be it, but let me also give you a gift."

"A gift?" The fairy nodded and leaned closer, whispering a single word into her ear. "But isn't that-"

"A gift," the fairy answered. "One that will set both you and the one you love free."
**********
Years passed, then decades, then centuries, yet she stayed the same as she was since the day she made that wish. People came and went in her life, but she remained unchanged. She loved, again and again, and she lost, again and again. Soon, she couldn't stand the pain of losing anyone anymore, so she went into the forest once again to seek out the fairy.

"I don't want to live forever anymore," she said, tears streaking down her face. "Please, do something. I just want to be a normal girl again."

"I can't do anything," the fairy told her. "Not anymore. You wished for eternity, Mayu. I merely granted your wish."

"Then can't you take it back?"

"It doesn't work that way," the fairy answered sadly. "I warned you to be careful of what you wished for, but..." It reached out gently with a hand and brushed at the tear that had formed at the corner of her eyes. "Don't cry, Mayu. I gave you a gift before, didn't I? Do you still remember it? If you find someone you truly love, then give them that precious gift, and it will set the both of you free. Only then will you find the thing you truly desire."

"I don't understand." Alone again, Mayu hung her head. I want to love… but I can't stand the pain of losing the ones I love again. So… Torn, she stayed in the forest to watch as time passed in solitude with a single vow. So I won't love anymore. Time lost all meaning for her as day after day flew by. Soon, her memories faded, and the person she was became lost in the stream of time. Soon, she didn't care about anything around her anymore. She didn't see or hear anymore. She sat alone in the heart of the forest and waited for eternity to pass, knowing that it never will.

One day, a single sound woke her from her trancelike state and, curious, she wandered to the edge of the forest to see what it was. Something rolled to a stop at her feet, and she glanced down to find a small sphere shaped object. Bending down, she picked it up. What is this? she wondered. A twig snapped, and she looked up to find a small boy standing at the edge of the forest. All the time she had spent alone was like a second compared to the eternity that one moment seemed to be. His large dark eyes were warm and kind, and when she looked into them, she felt something she thought she would never feel again.

Cole looked back at the young girl standing alone in the trees with curiosity. She was interesting, he decided. With blue eyes the ocean, showing so much, yet hiding even more. She was pretty too. Then, with the carefree nature unique to the young at heart, he asked one question. "Do you want to play?"

She had forgotten everything over time, including her name and how to act like a human being, but through the kindness of one boy, she began to find herself once again. Days no longer felt so long, but rather too fast as they played together for hours on end. When the day ended, she found herself waiting impatiently for the time that he would return to the edge of the forest to play again. Some days, he brought friends, usually a little girl named Karen. She didn't mind. For someone who had been alone for centuries, being around others was heaven.

However, time did pass, and Cole and his friends grew older and older. Soon, they no longer played as much, but rather sat and talked. She didn't mind that either. Soon, she found herself thinking that nothing mattered as long as he was there with her. After ten years passed, Cole's friends stopped coming one by one until only he and Karen came regularly to see her.

Finally, he asked the one thing she had dreaded above all else. "You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"No," she answered honestly. "And I'll stay this way forever."

"Is such a thing possible?" Karen murmured, but both she and Cole already had their suspicions. Ten years had passed, and while both of them had grown, she still remained the same young girl.

"It doesn't matter in the end, does it?" Cole asked, his dark eyes warming. "In the end, you're still you."

She was happy to find that nothing had changed between them, and looked forward to each new day with the same enthusiasm. Then, one day, he said the three words that she never thought she would hear again. "I love you."

Surprised, she shook her head slowly. "I have nothing," she said. "And I want nothing. I know that what I have will eventually disappear...so I'm happy with the way things are now."

"But I still want to be with you," he said. "Let me. Please."

"But…" She looked over at Karen, who stood silently off to the side. "I'm not the one you should be with. Time has no meaning for me."

"But you still have time," he answered. "Isn't that enough?"

She shook her head again, slowly, and was surprised to find tears in her eyes. I love him, she realized. I love him… but it's not right. This is not right… Tears she had forgotten suddenly spilled down her cheeks, but she smiled through them. I'm not supposed to exist here. I had my chance, long ago, but I don't belong here. This isn't my time anymore. And then she remembered the gift. Is this what the fairy meant? she wondered. "I love you too," she whispered. "That's why… I'm going to give you a gift."

"A gift?" Cole asked, frowning.

"Yes," she whispered, and for the first time, felt like a great burden was lifted from her shoulders. "A gift, so you may keep living." My body feels so light, she thought, and looked at her hands to find her form fading. I'm... disappearing.

"You've found it, haven't you?" the fairy asked from where it perched on Cole's shoulder. "The thing you want most."

"I... think I understand now," she whispered. "All I wanted was the feel needed... to feel loved. But right now... if I stay here, I will only hurt them, just as I hurt so many other people before."

"You will cease to be."

"No, I will live on," she whispered, and the fairy smiled as it faded away. This is right. This is how it should be. She fisted her ethereal hands slowly and looked up to meet Cole's gaze. I will continue to live on... in his memory. "This is how it should be."

"Wait!" he shouted, reaching towards her. "Please!"

"This is my gift to you, Cole," she whispered. This is how it should be. This... is my eternity. She smiled warmly, and shattered into shards of light. "Goodbye."