The Dreamer's Maiden

Once upon a time there was a boy in a village
He had been raised in a normal family, but things weren't always the best
However, this boy was a dreamer, with his head in the clouds
When life had given him lemons, his dreams would help him keep going
And one day, the boy had met a beautiful maiden
The boy had gotten along well with the maiden, and the two of them had formed an unbreakable bond. They have fallen in love.
But one day, the boy could not see the maiden anymore, but despite that he would never forget her.

He had decided to lead his life in the maiden's honor, doing the very best he could for her.
Some women approached him with romantic interests, but he had turned them down simply due to not loving them as he did the maiden

After some time a man had caught on to the boy's behavior, and approached him
"Please, end this nonsense" the man pleaded, "it will only lead to ruin"
The boy, listening to his heart and the joys his love for the maiden had been letting him experience, had ignored the man and continued on his merry way, much to the man's dismay
Some years later, however, the boy had started to long to see the maiden again.
It was around this time everyone in the village had figured out the boy's love, and had began to mock him for it.
The boy felt a great deal of shame and pain, and did not know how to go on any further without the maiden he was longing for
Soon later the boy had decided to take his own life,  to which the village was mostly neutral about.
The boy had awoken in the pits of hell, everything hurting him as he had recieved great pain and was subject to him and those around him partaking in great suffering
However, there was a ray of light that soon emerged
It was the maiden, who appeared before him as an angel
The maiden had managed to free the boy from his eternal damnation, and send him back to the world he had lived in before
The boy woke up alive, smiling at how he had been saved by the maiden, and had decided to give the world another shot

The village, upon hearing that the boy had tried to kill himself, kept quiet and did not talk about the boy in his presence.  Since they had not heard about the maiden, and the boy would lie about his love for her, the village had assumed the maiden was out of the boy's mind, and that his new found joy was because of that
However, the boy's love for the maiden was still strong, and she had given him the strength to make it through his days

But one day, the boy had met a girl. A girl who had similar appearances and mannerisms to the maiden, but a fair share of differences from her as well.
The boy had developed feelings for the girl, which had caused a conflict with his feelings for the maiden. However, the boy had realized lying about his feelings to the maiden would be worse than accepting the girl, and he had decided to ask to the girl
The girl had refused, much to the boy's relief. Word of this spread, and the village had no doubts anymore about their belief maiden being gone from his mind
But the boy went back to loving the maiden and cherishing her as normal, after getting over the girl's rejection of course.
Some while later while he wasn't having a good day, he had decided to read a story. After all, a dreamer like the boy loved a good story

At first the boy was irritated about how much of a crummy way it was to end the story, but eventually the maiden had come to his mind, but instead of the joy and motivation the maiden usually offers to make the boy the best person for the maiden possible...
He had remembered something he had forgotten at some point in his journey
The maiden, too, is from a dream
This left the boy feeling stabbed in the heart and betrayed
He tried and tried to carry on, but he could not escape this realization
Daily life had gotten harder for the boy, who had grown up alongside his love for the maiden
The boy, who had now become a man alongside his feelings for the maiden, had began to see the world change around him
People were getting married, having children, growing old together, all things he desires to do with the maiden
But he cannot
He has not even seen the maiden grow into a woman like how he grew into the man
He had wondered what the maiden was up to lately, but cried as he realized there was no answer
Life had not gotten better for the man, not just with his feelings, but with the world around him
Now down on his goals entirely, he had saw a boy talk about his feelings for a girl who's life status sounded like the maiden. He had asked the boy questions, who had looked back at the man confused, and had eventually walked away.
The man had eventually withdrew from the world entirely. There was no maiden in the world, so there was no point. Seeing the world grow and change around him just got worse and worse the more the boy was without the maiden.
His love for the maiden did not go away, but it had only filled him with pain, as the dreamer only suffered seeing the maiden, knowing not only that he could never be with her, but that she does not even exist, had only filled the man with the desire for everything to end.
But unfortunately for the man, the only thing that will end is this story, as his suffering will continue for years to come
The End