This Is How It Always Is

by Laurie Frankel

But the problem with fairy tales is that they end, and quickly too. The lead-up is everything. Then you get transformation, love, and happily-ever-after all in one breath. That story’s nice, but it’s not big enough to hold us. There’s no room for the hard parts. There’s no room for the transformations and the loves that come next and next and next. In a story, nothing is unalterable, but nothing is alterable either. After the magic, there’s no more change.