The little girl turned to the man expectantly and demanded, "I need a story, tell me one please!"
He smiled indulgently, "You always want stories. What will you like?"
And she answered, "A happy ending!"
He closed his eyes and thought a while, looking a bit serious when he answered her. "This is going to be difficult. I will then tell you a story of negation, a fairy tale of what wouldn't happen. You would learn to swim and climb trees from me. You would keep every friend you made in primary school. You would grow up and find a job that really made a difference. A boy would ask you to stay for him, and you would. You would always be happy. You would be there to hold my hand when I finally take my leave."
She went all quiet.
"What would really happen?" she finally asked.
And he replied, "You would grow up behind everyone else, make mistakes and try to learn somehow. You would be petty, average and common, but I would love you anyway. You would miss me sometimes, and one day imagine we had this conversation".