A Courtly Contrivance

My sister, Alexis Renee, has always enjoyed parties, as is evident from the photograph. When she was just a little tyke, perhaps five years of age or so, I decided to take advantage of the fact that I was four years older than her, and thus equipped with infinitely more cunning. In the same swift blow I would take advantage of Alexis's fondness for parties. I intended do so with a special invitation addressed to her from none other than an allegedly magical queen.

I personally hand delivered this letter, written on plain wide-ruled paper, to my sister. Her face lit up with excitement as she studied the writing. Moments after opening it, when she remembered she didn't know how to read, I was granted the honor of reading it aloud to her.


Dear Alexis,

I would like to extend to you an invitation to join me at my castle for a party!
Please arrive at four o' clock. See you then!

Fondly,

The Queen


Needless to say, Alexis was beyond excited. She was so excited, in fact, that she even neglected to put shoes on before I began leading the way to the "castle", which, much to her surprise, was located but a block away from our house! She asked me what she would find there. I told her the interior was built something like an enchanted playground, with slides and ball pits galore, and that all her friends were also invited.

Before we had gone a mere twenty yards, I could no longer contain myself and erupted in fit of laughter. I will never forget the look on her face as I stopped and turned to face her. She looked utterly dejected as I proclaimed that there was no queen, there was no castle, and there certainly was no party.

I still often tease her about having been so gullible, though she was quite young. Either way, my heart now undergoes a series of hiccups as I ponder the internal goings on of my mind in between the moment that I first crafted such a devious plot and the moment when I revealed the truth to her. I cannot think of many catalysts for such a cruel deed on my part. The only semi logical explanation I can procure is that perhaps I wished to learn something by observing my sister's reaction to the whole thing. It is almost as if during my design of such a ruse, a part of me longed to believe in anything as faithfully as I knew she would believe in this.