Episode 1: In Which a Question is Asked

Submitted by Sharon Redgrave

Once upon a time is how most fairy tales begin, correct? Somewhere long ago and far, far away; maybe in another galaxy but perhaps not. It wants to place what tales the children will be hearing (one supposes it would be children) outside of the realm that they are in on a day-to-day, shake-hands-familiarity with. These are ‘special’ events, they are ‘extra ordinary,’ they can't possibly happen here. Because they just can't. Because you have to go to school, mow the lawn, and help with chores tomorrow.

And if they are very young children, how long ago is ‘long, long ago?’ Earlier that day? Yesterday? Last week? That would be stretching it. Or is it another time that exists next to theirs? What if one day, while they doing dishes, raking leaves, or walking down the road, that thin layer of what we insist on as reality, seeps open for the smallest of moments. The child stops. They catch the scent of a different land, with different people. Doing things that child itself might have been doing if life had just been, well, different. Then suddenly the window is gone, and they wonder if it was a fairy tale. A mirage.

What if? What if the whirlwind of once upon a time is more closely woven in with our everyday world, but we're just too busy to see it? Greater wordsmiths than I have created entire worlds, possibilities, and legends with the very premise of that magic window. And it's ours to explore. For better or worse. In a book.

Once Upon A Time.

About the Author

This author lives in the mountains of far north California with 3 cats, a husband, much wildlife, and a head full of stories to tell.