Once upon a time
But that is not the way to start this story. Those whose story it is are not constricted by time in the way that most beings are, after all.
Once in time
But who is to say it only has/will/is happened/happen/happening once? The universe holds many possibilities.
In time, and of time, there was a boy. This boy had a close friend, a companion, if you will. But, by forces neither could control, his companion was taken from him, and the person who was there in his stead was a shadow on a disturbed pool, a reflection in a broken mirror. But still, the person who he once was could sometimes be seen. The first boy, w