The Statue

Once upon a time there was a girl. She was neither pretty nor ugly, clever or dim. Infact she was just as ordinary as you could get. She was quiet. She liked helping people. She was always there in the background when wolves came to the door and when giants came to town. She was never the hero though. She held things together so other people could fight the dragons and be the hero. Sometimes nobody even noticed the girl. She was just there. She never got invited to the parades or balls. She didn't mind that. She was just happy to help. One day, a fierce, dark storm hovered over the town. The darkest of the clouds settled over the girl's house. As the storm cleared however this one dark cloud lingered on. Following the girl wherever she went. Days and weeks past and the girl continued on in her daily activities. Nobody noticed how the black cloud created a dark shadow over her face. I guess they weren't looking carefully as she continued doing all the jobs that needed doing in the village. One day, a long time after the cloud had arrived the girl stopped. She turned to stone. She couldn't move. The only thing you could see moving were two silent raindrops rolling down her grey, cold, stony cheeks. At first people noticed the new statue. People would look and wonder where it had come from. They kind of recognised the face but it wasn't quite the same for some reason. Soon nobody even noticed the statue. It was just there. One day there came a great rumbling sound across the town and suddenly a great fire erupted out of the statue. The brave heroes tried to put out the fire. Everyone was afraid of the statue and the fire. The fire continued to burn but it never spread further than the statue itself. A few people obtained burns if they got too close but soon people got used to having a fire in the town. Like everything over time they stopped noticing. It just became part of the way things were.Nobody ever tried to put the fire out again, they just stayed away. The fire wasn't helpful. Neither was the statue. It turned out the girl wasn't particularly useful either. People in the town had long ago forgotten the her helpful ways. Her quiet nature had slipped away from memory. Occasionally people would say "It seems different since the storm" but they never really questioned what or why. A brave warrior passed through the town one day. Just with a few quiet words he spoke to the fire. The fire went out. The passionate colourful fire ceased to exist. The townspeople were glad the fire was over. It had been getting a bit annoying now it was summer again. They praised the warrior and gave him gifts as he travelled on out of town. The statue of the girl remained. Now cold stone surrounded by summer flowers. The girl remained trapped in stone. Now without even the pain of the fire to remind her she was once alive. Much time passed and the statue began to crumble. It happened so slowly, chip by chip, that nobody noticed until the statue had completely disappeared and all memory of the girl with it.