The Childlike Empress

The Childlike Empress looked out her single window and saw the vastness of her empire as she always did whenever another visitor left her Tower. Through long hours of apparently endless sadness she would stare at the forests and fields which were green and busting with life and joy. Yet, the glass was always so covered in dust that she was unable to make out the colours as they really were; they all seemed paler than they might actually be, almost gray.

This time she decided to cleanse the glass with her hands before looking out. And she did.

She had no words to relate the joy of what she contemplated. Seeing everything as it really was for the first time, neither better nor worse, she felt immensely happy. I could fill pages with beautiful descriptions of the sight she caught but why should I tell you? It is after all her own land.

She felt all the healing energy she had always bestowed upon others suddenly return to her by its own means. The red light filled the entire room, converting the hundreds of guards into tiny golden butterflies which scattered throughout the entire Tower which had long ceased to be completely white and had now become absorbed in a mild golden light, like a peaceful sunset in winter.

She knew her time had now come. She got out of the bed where she had comfortably remained for decades and started to come down the long ladder, step by step. At times, doubt filled her head-- "what if what I saw is not as I thought it was? what if I catch a cold? what if people don't want me out there?". Every time one of these questions appeared, a bunch of golden butterflies would surround her and tickle her to make her heart light and her face smile.

And so she continued descending until she finally reached the grand door. For long she had only seen it from afar and was now remembering every detail of it, its weight and the reason for it being so strong and secure. It frightened her. "What if I am not capable of opening this heavy door?" she thought, but her hand was already placed on the doorknob, for she longed to be on the other side so much that her doubts were no longer as paralyzing as they used to be.

Needless to say, she did open the door and it turned out to be as easy as blinking... and out she went. The grass felt fresh to her ever airy feet as the wind felt comforting to her ever weary arms...



The Ivory Tower collapsed behind her by itself due to it being unneeded and not once did the Childlike Empress lament it. The rubble left on the ground made for, as a lesson learned, the perfect material for the foundations of a new Tower, one not so tall, made of clay and full of large, unglazed windows. It should be noted however that the Empress spent more time on the outside than within the new unnamed Tower, and this pleased her entire empire.

She is out.

But what of the visitors who would seek for her healing light? At first, they would come and feel bewildered at the sight... was this the healer they had heard about? How could she be so self-centered and kind at the same time? How does she dare to deny healing? Aren't healers supposed to be sacrificed figures? Alas, there lies the false statement which had kept her captive for so long! Those who truly cared for her, rejoiced in her bliss and were thus healed. Those who could not see beyond it, left disappointed and even more bruised than before, never to be seen again for they saw her more as an enchantress, a witch who would trick and entice them only to slave them. It is in their fallacy that lies the reason for which the Ivory Tower had been erected in the first place. The Childlike Empress saw happily the end of her frightened days.