NO MORE FAIRY TALES

When Crystal was six years old, she believed that all stories began with 'once upon a time' and ended with 'and they all lived happily ever after'! Of the lines in between these two phrases there was not much to say ' countless handsome princes and dashing heroes rescuing endless damsels in distress and creating princesses out of scullery maids. And, yes, there were dragons that spat fire; wicked witches ready to curse the beautiful babes and a surprising number of evil stepmothers to be overcome!

But overcome they always were and the final sentence of all Crystals' fairy tale books remained etched on her mind.

One day, however, the Big Bad Wolf escaped from the pages of fantasy and fairy tale and chose her to be his next victim. He huffed and puffed but not to blow her house down! He lay in the bed, but not wearing grandma's nightdress and cap! Neither did he have great big eyes, great big ears or great big teeth ' but he gobbled her up nonetheless!

So life went on, but in a terrible parody of her favourite story, Crystals' heart was turned to ice by a freezing splinter of hate thrown from the Snow Queen's shattered mirror. The magic was gone; her eyes lost their sparkle and became bleak and dead. Her young soul fled from the darkness that consumed her and she became empty!

When beauty and joy are gone from the world that echoing space is rapidly filled with bitterness and anger, and so it was with poor Crystal. Doomed by her brush with the Big Bad Wolf she found herself at the mercy of every and any predator that came along. Almost as if she wore a flashing neon sign proclaiming ' choose me, I am already dead, already defiled, already sacrificed!

Can you imagine, for just one moment, what it must be like to find oneself in the grip of the Big Bad Wolf and to not be saved? The fear of that slavering monster overcoming any possibility of speaking out, hiding the pain in order to protect the secret! The realisation that illusions of 'happy ever after' were just that ' illusions ' not reality! Who could see into Crystals' heart? No one! Carefully guarding herself, she became at school the 'quiet one', at home the 'well behaved one', and in the community of wolves that surrounded her she was the 'perfect one'!

As she grew she knew there would be no prince on a dashing white charger and even if there were, it was too late ' she would destroy him rather than take the risk of living. For who would truly want her, be able to overcome her pain and guilt, avenge her wasted childhood? She tried to tell herself that it did not matter, the past was the past and there was surely a whole new life waiting for her not too far in the future. However, she was unable to convince herself of the truth held in that belief and just gave up! Who could blame her? Those to whom she showed her stories and poetry did not see the despair and anguish locked into every word. Those whom she loved were blind to her misery ' or if they were not ' it was easier to ignore it! The real Crystal became invisible, just like the Emperors' New Clothes.

On the bed lies Crystal, her skin pale and cold. Eyes closed and on her cheeks dried trails of tears. Not to be woken on her sixteenth birthday by true loves first kiss!
A piece of paper held in place by the empty bottle on her table, four words only, 'No more fairy tales'.

Even the Big Bad Wolf wiped away a tear!

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