When the Ugly Duckling reached maturity, and beautiful grace dripped from its every movement, the other Swans came and enticed it to join them.
"You belong with us!", they cooed all day. But the Ugly Duckling, with pitiful longing in his eyes, would avert his gaze and noiselessly shuffle back to the flock of ducks he had grown up with.
And oh! how the Ugly Duckling would dance! Across the moor where they lived, the Ugly Duckling often trailed a shimmering ribbon of white as he danced to please the ducks, hoping to earn a place amongst them.
And oh! how the Ugly Duckling would sing! The stillness of the air was frequently punctuated by the melodious exertions of the Ugly Duckling - every note as unique and mesmerizing as the first snowflake of winter, every note a humble plea to be accepted and cherished.
But still the Ugly Duckling lived on the fringes of the flock, and no duck went out of its way to make the Ugly Duckling feel welcome.
Early one morning, as the Ugly Duckling stirred fitfully in his sleep, searching for the answers he so desperately wanted, a hunter came upon the moor. This the Ugly Duckling noticed immediately.
"Wake up, wake up, flee while you can!" the Ugly Duckling hoarsely screeched, flapping his wings in agitation. But the ducks awoke too slowly, and as the hunter raised his rife and took aim at the ducks...
... the Ugly Duckling soared into the air a final time, his outspread form against the bleak morning sky becoming a tableaux of timeless beauty, the inspiration for a thousand poets... the perfect target.
The gunshot was the switch that flooded the moor with life.
As the Ugly Duckling lay crumpled upon the grass, the red taint spreading across its feathers, his gaze lingered upon the backs of the ducks scattering away. Hot tears of bitterness threatened to sully its pristine beak, but the Ugly Duckling fought them back, soothed as he was by the satisfaction of helping the ones he loved.
Being the epitome of serene beauty, the Ugly Duckling was also graceful in the way he accepted the realities of life.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
White Lie
04 seconds before Karen hit the ground, Jerome materialized in a puff of white smoke.
His outstretched wings quickly, neatly folded up in 02 seconds, and he tucked them behind him as he gingerly sat on the ground next to her. Angels were fastidious beings.
14 seconds passed before Karen opened her eyes and groaned. Jerome knew it was 14 seconds exactly, because he was counting them under his breath, especially now that time was very, very precious.
"Hello Karen. My name is Jerome. I'm an angel, and I'm here in case you want to talk."
"An.. angel? Am I dead?"
"Nope. But you will die soon. I thought you should know that."
Karen coughed quite hard then, and couldn't form any more words until Jerome touched her throat lightly. A brief glow emanated from his finger, and the blood in her throat cleared sufficiently for her to talk again.
"Karen, it's important you understand quickly so you don't waste any time. I specialize in keeping company those unfortunate people who die in solitude, so that their passing from this world to the next is made a littler easier. Capiche?"
Karen nodded, closed her eyes and started sobbing. Jerome grit his teeth, and inwardly swore (even angels do!) at the rules that forbade him from interfering with her pain. But a suspicion lingered that the hurt afflicting Karen, wasn't exactly physical.
Through the sobs came Karen's voice, weaker by the second. "I spent my life on him, my entire life! My parents wanted me to give him up, said single mums rarely made it... but I did!"
"I know, it's something..."
"No! You don't understand... I had no friends, no one else in my world but him! I gave him everything! And I never asked for anything back, nothing at all..."
Jerome laid a cool hand on her fevered brow, and it brought a calming to her troubled heart. Her involuntary twitching lessened, and Karen struggled with her broken hands to brush away her tears. Jerome did it for her.
"Tell... me... Jerome. Will... he have a good life? Will that... wife of his... make him happy?"
A sardonic smile nested itself on Jerome's face. Ah, he thought. This is the legendary selflessness humans possess... selflessness even in the face of abandonment by one's own child. What a bittersweet thing to witness.
"Worry not, Karen. He'll come to his senses eventually, and he'll raise two children who'll love and respect him."
The lie burned Jerome's ears even as it unrolled from his tongue, but he would rather be damned than deny her a fleeting moment of peace after her years of toil. Heavens knew how many others, like Karen, needed it.
"That's... good... a pity that I wouldn't be around to..."
Jerome sat there for a while more, eating into the 86 hours, 04 minutes and 17 seconds that would pass before a jogger would come by this way and discover Karen's body.
His outstretched wings quickly, neatly folded up in 02 seconds, and he tucked them behind him as he gingerly sat on the ground next to her. Angels were fastidious beings.
14 seconds passed before Karen opened her eyes and groaned. Jerome knew it was 14 seconds exactly, because he was counting them under his breath, especially now that time was very, very precious.
"Hello Karen. My name is Jerome. I'm an angel, and I'm here in case you want to talk."
"An.. angel? Am I dead?"
"Nope. But you will die soon. I thought you should know that."
Karen coughed quite hard then, and couldn't form any more words until Jerome touched her throat lightly. A brief glow emanated from his finger, and the blood in her throat cleared sufficiently for her to talk again.
"Karen, it's important you understand quickly so you don't waste any time. I specialize in keeping company those unfortunate people who die in solitude, so that their passing from this world to the next is made a littler easier. Capiche?"
Karen nodded, closed her eyes and started sobbing. Jerome grit his teeth, and inwardly swore (even angels do!) at the rules that forbade him from interfering with her pain. But a suspicion lingered that the hurt afflicting Karen, wasn't exactly physical.
Through the sobs came Karen's voice, weaker by the second. "I spent my life on him, my entire life! My parents wanted me to give him up, said single mums rarely made it... but I did!"
"I know, it's something..."
"No! You don't understand... I had no friends, no one else in my world but him! I gave him everything! And I never asked for anything back, nothing at all..."
Jerome laid a cool hand on her fevered brow, and it brought a calming to her troubled heart. Her involuntary twitching lessened, and Karen struggled with her broken hands to brush away her tears. Jerome did it for her.
"Tell... me... Jerome. Will... he have a good life? Will that... wife of his... make him happy?"
A sardonic smile nested itself on Jerome's face. Ah, he thought. This is the legendary selflessness humans possess... selflessness even in the face of abandonment by one's own child. What a bittersweet thing to witness.
"Worry not, Karen. He'll come to his senses eventually, and he'll raise two children who'll love and respect him."
The lie burned Jerome's ears even as it unrolled from his tongue, but he would rather be damned than deny her a fleeting moment of peace after her years of toil. Heavens knew how many others, like Karen, needed it.
"That's... good... a pity that I wouldn't be around to..."
Jerome sat there for a while more, eating into the 86 hours, 04 minutes and 17 seconds that would pass before a jogger would come by this way and discover Karen's body.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Not Entirely Broken
School bells rang.
Edna looked up from the wares arranged nearly in front of her. She didn't need to look twice to know that these boys, this specific group jauntily strolling out of the school gates, would be trouble.
They were the upper-years, a gang of boys who had long ago discovered an almost refined palate for cruelty to those too weak to fight back. It seemed as if no school anywhere, nay, no society anywhere was complete without them.
"Hey guys, look! Edna's back! Let's see what she has for sale today!" Hoots of laughter rose from the group as they rushed over to the humble two-by-four groundsheet on the sidewalk that comprised the entirety of Edna's enterprise.
Edna positively looked like an oasis of calm next to the jackals that had descended upon her store. The boys scrambled over each other as they rushed to manhandle the little toys that lay on the groundsheet, competing to see whose wit was sharpest in ridiculing the toys.
"Guys, look at this one! Is it just me or is this doll a leftover from Halloween?"
"That's nothing next to this set of tin soldiers! Any kids who suffers this would be better off under Welfare!"
Soon, when even their diseased little minds ran out of insults for the toys, the boys moved on to their next target.
"You're old and ghastly! Why don't you get someone younger and prettier to sell your toys!"
"No one wants your toys! Who wants useless broken junk? Go home Edna!"
"Oh, sorry I forgot! You have no home to go back to, right? Who would want you!"
But not one word left Edna's lips. She simply kept her eyes downcast and waited for their store of delinquent energy to wear itself out, as it always did. Mercifully, they soon tired of Edna the way they tired of the toys that wouldn't fight back, and they cackled as they left the battlefield triumphant.
Once they turned their backs, however, Edna sprang to life. As quickly as she could, she rearranged the toys neatly, and straightened out the groundsheet. Moments after she was done...
... school bells rang again, and this time it was the lower-years who were released from school.
As they spilled out from the school gates, they made a bee-line for Edna and her wares. They crowded around her store, transfixed as they always have been at the worlds Edna brought to them.
One little girl, drawn to a petite pinwheel, cautiously picked it up and admired it. As the colourful silver-foil wheels turned in the afternoon breeze, the little girl couldn't help but smile.
And it was then that Edna received her first payment of the day.
Edna looked up from the wares arranged nearly in front of her. She didn't need to look twice to know that these boys, this specific group jauntily strolling out of the school gates, would be trouble.
They were the upper-years, a gang of boys who had long ago discovered an almost refined palate for cruelty to those too weak to fight back. It seemed as if no school anywhere, nay, no society anywhere was complete without them.
"Hey guys, look! Edna's back! Let's see what she has for sale today!" Hoots of laughter rose from the group as they rushed over to the humble two-by-four groundsheet on the sidewalk that comprised the entirety of Edna's enterprise.
Edna positively looked like an oasis of calm next to the jackals that had descended upon her store. The boys scrambled over each other as they rushed to manhandle the little toys that lay on the groundsheet, competing to see whose wit was sharpest in ridiculing the toys.
"Guys, look at this one! Is it just me or is this doll a leftover from Halloween?"
"That's nothing next to this set of tin soldiers! Any kids who suffers this would be better off under Welfare!"
Soon, when even their diseased little minds ran out of insults for the toys, the boys moved on to their next target.
"You're old and ghastly! Why don't you get someone younger and prettier to sell your toys!"
"No one wants your toys! Who wants useless broken junk? Go home Edna!"
"Oh, sorry I forgot! You have no home to go back to, right? Who would want you!"
But not one word left Edna's lips. She simply kept her eyes downcast and waited for their store of delinquent energy to wear itself out, as it always did. Mercifully, they soon tired of Edna the way they tired of the toys that wouldn't fight back, and they cackled as they left the battlefield triumphant.
Once they turned their backs, however, Edna sprang to life. As quickly as she could, she rearranged the toys neatly, and straightened out the groundsheet. Moments after she was done...
... school bells rang again, and this time it was the lower-years who were released from school.
As they spilled out from the school gates, they made a bee-line for Edna and her wares. They crowded around her store, transfixed as they always have been at the worlds Edna brought to them.
One little girl, drawn to a petite pinwheel, cautiously picked it up and admired it. As the colourful silver-foil wheels turned in the afternoon breeze, the little girl couldn't help but smile.
And it was then that Edna received her first payment of the day.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Rapunzel
Rapunzel waited by her window until the first prince came along.
Help me up, he said. And she did, for she had been waiting her whole life to be rescued. He climbed up her tresses of gold, proclaimed his undying love for her, and together they joyously celebrated.
That night, as she slept, he took down her Magic Mirror, her Magic Apple, her Magic Brush, packed it all into a bag and crept away into the night.
When Rapunzel awoke she was sad, because she had lost that which was important to her.
Rapunzel then waited by her window until the second prince came along.
Help me up, he said. And she did, for she was also taught that trust is the road to love. He climbed up her tresses of gold, proclaimed his undying love for her, and together they joyously celebrated.
That night, as she slept, he lay with her against her wishes, and took her dignity and pride. When he was done, he crept away into the night.
When Rapunzel awoke she was sad, because she had lost that which was very important to her.
Rapunzel then waited by her window until the third prince came along.
Help me up, he said. And she did, for now more than ever did she need to be rescued. He climbed up her tresses of gold, proclaimed his undying love for her, and together they joyously celebrated.
That night, he shared his deepest fears and insecurities about the world, and soon his words poisoned her little heart. After his cynical views had taken her idealism and hope, he crept away into the night.
When Rapunzel awoke she was sad, because she had lost that which was most important to her.
Rapunzel then waited by the window again, but for what she no longer knew.
Help me up, he said. And she did, for she had been waiting her whole life to be rescued. He climbed up her tresses of gold, proclaimed his undying love for her, and together they joyously celebrated.
That night, as she slept, he took down her Magic Mirror, her Magic Apple, her Magic Brush, packed it all into a bag and crept away into the night.
When Rapunzel awoke she was sad, because she had lost that which was important to her.
Rapunzel then waited by her window until the second prince came along.
Help me up, he said. And she did, for she was also taught that trust is the road to love. He climbed up her tresses of gold, proclaimed his undying love for her, and together they joyously celebrated.
That night, as she slept, he lay with her against her wishes, and took her dignity and pride. When he was done, he crept away into the night.
When Rapunzel awoke she was sad, because she had lost that which was very important to her.
Rapunzel then waited by her window until the third prince came along.
Help me up, he said. And she did, for now more than ever did she need to be rescued. He climbed up her tresses of gold, proclaimed his undying love for her, and together they joyously celebrated.
That night, he shared his deepest fears and insecurities about the world, and soon his words poisoned her little heart. After his cynical views had taken her idealism and hope, he crept away into the night.
When Rapunzel awoke she was sad, because she had lost that which was most important to her.
Rapunzel then waited by the window again, but for what she no longer knew.
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