“Good Day, “ said the Charming Thief. The Beautiful Liar nodded,
“Good Day to you Sir.”
They smiled at each other as they crossed the old wooden bridge together. “Headed to town?” asked the Thief.
“I suppose it would appear that way” said the Liar, not wanting to give up her secrets. The Charming Thief smiled a charming smile at her.
“Why won’t you tell me where you are going?” he asked.
“Because, “said the Liar, “I know you are a Thief and you may follow me to my home and rob me of my possessions.”
The Thief laughed and shook his head,
“You may fool some men but I know the truth. You just do not wish to share your secrets with me.”. This embarrassed the Beautiful Liar which caused her to blush.
“You are very Beautiful,” said the Thief with a small smile, “but you are also a Liar.”
To this statement the Beautiful Liar replied,
“Well you are very Charming, but you are a Thief!”
“No one is perfect.” said the Charming Thief. “Since we are both headed to town, on the same road, I suggest we keep each other company.”
“What if do not like your company?” asked the Liar.
“I think you do.” He replied. This made her smile. She did like his company.
So The Charming Thief and The Beautiful Liar continued on together, sharing conversation, enjoying the landscapes on the way. They talked a bit about their past and a bit of their dreams for the future. They stopped to eat along the banks of a small river. He picked her a flower. She picked him an apple.
“It is still a long walk to town, and I am tired from the mornings journey. Do you mind if I rest a while in the shade of this tree? The grass is so cool and I feel as though I may have wonderful dreams..” said the Beautiful Liar, stretching back to rest her head in her hands. The Charming Thief looked at her. She was very Beautiful and she wore a single pearl strung on a long silver chain about her neck.
“Yes, I think a rest is due. May I lie beside you while you sleep?” he asked her. She nodded dreamily as he came to rest next to her.
“Where were you going when we met on the bridge?” he whispered into her ear.
“I was on my way to the castle, “said the Liar, “to meet the Prince and be his Bride. Some day I will live in the highest room of the tallest tower and look out over the entire country side. I will have fine gowns made of silk and precious treasures made of silver and sweet milk and honey for breakfast every morning and I shan’t ever be unhappy or have to do anything I dislike ever again..” she sighed. This was a lie. The truth was she was only on her way to the mill to buy grain for baking bread, but she was a Liar with a great streak of vanity, and did not want the Charming Thief to think she was common or plain.
“Is that the truth?” he asked her.
“Yes.” she replied and slipped into slumber.
The Charming Thief lay awake next to her and pondered what to do next. He did not know if what she had said was true. He liked the Beautiful Liar and wanted to sleep beside her and kiss her rosy cheeks when she awoke, but if she were to be married to the Prince then what would she want with him, a marked criminal, and if it were not true then she was lying to him. The thought filled him with rage and unhappiness as he did not like to be made a fool. Confused about what to believe, he did the only thing that seemed natural to a Charming Thief. While she slept, he slipped the necklace from her neck and made off into the sunset with her pearl.
When the Beautiful Liar awoke it had grown dark and the stars in the sky had appeared. She was cold and damp from the dew on the grass, and she was alone. The Charming Thief was no where to be seen.
“Hello?” she called into the dark. There was no reply. She wondered why he had left? It seemed as though they were enjoying each other. Even if he was a Thief, he was indeed charming, and handsome, and he had made her laugh. It was only as she stood up and dusted herself off that she noticed her necklace was gone.
“O, no!” she cried, “He has stolen my pearl!” and she sank to the ground weeping, “I never should have trusted him.”
The sad, Beautiful Liar walked the rest of the way to town alone. When she got there she stopped at the Tavern for food and warmth. Seated at the Tavern Bar was the Charming Thief. Furiously she marched over to him,
“You took my pearl!” she yelled.
“You’re off to be a Princess, you’ll have plenty of pearls.” scoffed the Charming Thief.
“No!” she said, “That was a gift to me from my mother! It is most dear to me!”
“It is only a trinket. Your Prince will buy you all the pearls in the ocean.” he said .
“It is no trinket and there is no Prince!” she cried, frustrated, “I was on my way to the mill when we met. I’m not to be married or a Princess! Now give me back my pearl, please!”
“Why would you lie to me about such a silly thing?” He asked angrily.
“Why would you steal my most valued possession?” she wept.
“It is my nature...” said the Charming Thief.
“As it is mine...” said the Beautiful Liar. A moment of silence passed between them.
“I liked you before this.” he said to her.
“I liked you before this, too.” she replied wiping her eyes, “May I have my necklace back now?” she asked.
“No.” he said as he stood up, “I am keeping it to remind me of the Beautiful Liar I journeyed with one sunny afternoon, whom I might have loved one day.”
She watched him through tears as he walked to the door,
“I never would have loved you!”. She lied.
Her words cut him deeply and he flinched at the sound of them, but he did not stop or turn around to meet her eye, and, too proud to go after him, The Beautiful Liar let The Charming Thief slip away into the night . Many years later she still can’t help thinking of him every time her hand brushes the empty spot where her pearl would have hung.
i met a girl. i wanted to be her. i met a man. i wanted to be him. i end up alone. but its not the end yet. yet the end is always near.
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