Once upon a time, in faraway land lived a little girl,  she was 5, her name was Ember Moon. And she was a girl who loved to sing and write. Act and play the piano and guitar. She wasn’t very good at the guitar, then again who is. It’s a very complicated instrument, so hard to play. She wanted to give up, but her mom and dad said “no”. They said, “the only way you’re ever gonna get good at something, is if you practice until it’s perfect. Practice makes perfect.” I’m pretty sure they came up with that. So, the princess practiced day and night, and for 5 years old she was pretty determined. And her parents were right, she practiced and in three weeks she was very good at the guitar. People in the village bullied her, picked on her. Called her names, told her that she’ll only succeed in life because of the jewels and gold her parents have. Cause she will be queen, and it’s important to respect your authority. She stood up to them, she told them things like: “I’m a princess in my own way”. Or, “The only reason your picking on me, is because you’re sad and lonely. It’s okay, I’ll be your friend” or, “you don’t have to be mean, you can be nice. I think you’ll find it way better than being feared”.  She made everyone in the kingdom loved, made her kingdom beautiful. She wasn’t a traditional princess, no. but she was their princess. And everyone loved her. There was no one, not even the bullies who had a bad thing to say about her.

But then tragedy fell on to the kingdom. She disappeared, never to be seen again. People say she was killed by her kidnapper. She was at the wrong time in the wrong place. She was kidnapped. She ran away because she was not being treated correctly. She offed herself. Those are rumors. Fake news. So, what happened to the 5-year-old girl. The truth is, that the five-year-old girl was the princess for 18 years. She was born on October 16th, 2002, it is now October 27th, 2020. She’s 18 years old now, and she disappeared because she was making a potion for her subjects to have confidence. It was really just water, she believed in everyone. They just had to believe it too. But, she got trapped in the cave. A group of bounty hunters took her. So, in a way she was kidnapped. Her kingdom fell through a deep depression. Her parents fell through an even deeper depression. Everyone stopped singing, stopped dancing. Stopped eating. The kingdom smelled like smoke, not candy. People were getting sick. They stopped taking care of their kingdom. A parent’s worst fear came true. That their child was taken from them. I think that is anyone’s fear, that their loved one is gone. They go into shock and start asking questions. What could I’ve done? Why did this happen? Is it my fault? Could I have talked longer? Hugged her harder, sang to her more. Shouldn’t have let her go. Where is she? What could I have done differently? 

She was just sleeping. He was just wearing a hoodie. He was just in his car. He was not okay, he needed help, not death. He couldn’t breathe. She had a family. We don’t know what happened, but she needed help too, instead, a taser and a single shot ended it all. He just went to his grandmother. He was eating ice cream. He had a loved one and maybe a soon to be daughter, who will now grow up with the very idea that all police are bad. He was selling CDs and DVDs. She was at home. He was in the police van and died shortly after. She was at home, it’s not just straight people of color. But people of color who belong to the LGBTQ. Here’s another, he couldn’t breathe. He was just leaving his apartment. She was just driving. He was just playing in the park, and his sister did nothing. He was walking with a friend. She needed help, and the family is supposed to help their family. And they thought they did, but the police had different ideas of help.  “I can’t breathe”, “I need help”, “I can’t breathe”, “I’m a lesbian, proud to be”, “I can’t breathe”, “Family protects family”, “I can’t breathe”, “I didn’t do anything”, “I can’t breathe!”.

Months before her death, The same thing happened to the princess, she was just making sure her kingdom was okay. Then after they found her body, the kingdom wanted to avenge their fallen princess. But then a voice came, and it was her. And she said, “No, revenge or vengeance is never the answer. You can fight for me, but don’t kill for me. I’m alright, I’m in a better place. And one day, there will be someone who will protect us all. Lesbain, black, brown, trans, gay, purple. They will protect us all. But for that person to come, they need a welcome”. And the kingdom did exactly that, they stood up for injustice in their kingdom. They stopped the murders. And when the trial came, the mother went up to the killer and said “I forgive you ” powerful words, you know it’s easy to be mad and hate someone. It’s harder to forgive them. They build a statue in honor of their fallen princess. Fallen daughter, to remind everyone that anyone can make a difference. That even in death their precious princess is not forgotten, she may be gone. But not forgotten. And Ember watches over the kingdom for eternity and comes down as an angel to remind everyone that hate is just love in disguise. That dark and evil is just light and heroism in disguise. And they sang a song that the princess used to sing every day until she died. And they all lived happily ever after.

The end