The Wedding Story

She read the invitation countless times. If reading could wear out ink, the page would have been blank. "I love you and can think of nothing that would bring my heart more joy than spending the rest of our lives together in the land of my Castle." She could quote the line from memory, and did as she got the dress out of the box that had been sent with the letter.

It was flawless. She had never seen silk and lace combined to equal such splendor, it radiated with purity and beauty. When she put it on it seemed to change everything, her smile was brighter, the room seemed less dusty, and even the mirror she looked in seemed to reflect back awe at the sight of the gift of the Prince. Somehow it was more than something she was wearing, it showed who she was becoming and pulled her to who she was soon to be.

She lifted the dress slightly so when she walked to the door the hem wouldn't drag on the floor. She couldn't wait for the groom to see what it looked like on her. When she started walking on the road to the castle the wind was stronger than she thought and dust and leaves were attaching themselves to the dress. She thought, "Maybe the Prince won't notice, or maybe he won't care."

Her arms soon grew too tired to hold hem of the dress up, so she let it drag on the dirt road. It seemed a shame but it was just the hem and wouldn't be obvious, "Maybe the Prince won't notice, or maybe he won't care."

It had rained yesterday and some of the puddles where still claiming their right to the path to the Castle. She cursed yesterday's rain and its mark it made on the dress but continued picking up her pace to the home of the Prince.

Unfortunately, her haste resulted in tripping over a tree root in the path. She caught herself before her whole body landed in the waiting mud, but found herself on her hands and knees in muck that would not be brushed off. "Maybe the Prince won't notice, or maybe he won't care."

When she got to the castle the dress was a long way from the flawless garment of joy she was to wear to her wedding. But the more she tried to brush the dirt off the deeper it seemed to go. She thought, "If I could just carefully rip the hem off, the dirt would be less noticeable." But she could not tear the material straight and soon had a jagged rip from the hem to almost her knee. And every place she touched the dress left a blemish that exposed how dirty her hands were.

The silly thought echoed in her mind, "He certainly would notice, but maybe he wouldn't care. Maybe his love for me is great enough to overlook the obvious."

But alas, shame began to sing louder than hope, and the maiden turned to go home without giving the Prince a chance to see her.

The Prince was at the throne of the King. He had received word that his prospective bride had arrived, had been abused by the elements on the way and had begun the journey back home sure that as great as the Prince's love was - it couldn't be so great as to see past the dirt and damage.

He was told that the dress was unrecognizable and the maiden had been so ravished by the journey that she was just a shadow of what she used to be.

The Prince looked to the King and pleaded, "Yes I love her, I love her more than anything we've ever created in the Kingdom, but there must be another way! Please tell me there is another way we can be together."

The King turned his head with no reply. They both knew there was no other way.

"Perhaps I could send her another dress and a garrison of soldiers to escort her through the dangers…"

"What if we let her in and dressed her when she arrived…" the ideas disappeared as quickly as the words.

The King slowly said, "You must go and get her. You must find her. You must help her be ready for the wedding."

"But, I have never left the castle. I have only viewed her land from a distance. Please, can't love find another way to unite us?" the Prince softly let the words fall from his voice, but he knew the answer.

Silence echoed in the Throne room. Tears found their way to the floor from the face of the Prince, and the face of the King.

"I love you enough and I love her enough to….

Once upon a time someone was loved enough by the Prince that he would give everything to marry to them. He wouldn't over look the dirt -he would cleanse it. He wouldn't ignore the damage -he would repair it. He wouldn't send someone else to the one he loved –he would go himself.

D. David Kessler