A Fairy Tale Life
Updated: Apr 27
Many of us love fairy tales because they tell us moralistic stories, fantastically romanticise our world and offer sympathetic characters. However, what if one lives in the real world as though they were living in a fairy tale?
“A Fairy Tale Life” by Vrinda Wakhlu tells the story of a man who has lost his senses and no longer realises the difference between a fairy tale and real life. It is all the same for him; others must live with it.
Credits
This contribution is critiqued by Sravani Dhulipala, reviewed by R. S. Chintalapati, edited by Tarun Chintam and photographed by Nikhila Kotni.
Product
This short story is available in a paperback & ebook.
He woke up in a dark and eerie place. Deep in the corner, there sat a girl, so small that she would have gone unnoticed had it not been for her long tresses curling over themselves and making their way up to his feet. Legs bent up to reach her chest, and with her head between her knees, she was whimpering.
“E-Excuse me…”
She kept crying. It was surprising how her soft sobs tugged so hard on his gut.
He must have hiked this mountain a hundred times with his friends, and he could have sworn he had never seen this castle before. His friends had all been just as surprised but, surprisingly, not even half as curious as him. Their fear had gotten the better of them, and they had left him all alone on his quest to explore the castle.
More astonishing to him was his lack of fear.
Unlike most guys of his age, he had always loved fairy tales. His strange fascination with these tales of magic and wonder had carried over well into adulthood. But, even if he hadn’t, drawing a comparison to his favourite story was easy. The eerie-looking castle, the sad girl, living at the top of the tower, her unusually long hair - this was Rapunzel.
He might not have feared much standing at the castle door, and he had no idea how he had climbed up all the stairs without even thinking of running away; but looking at her now, she shook with every little sob. He was a little afraid. He was afraid that he had landed right inside his childhood dream with a stroke of luck. The days when he used to practise fighting the wicked witch with the sticks he used to collect from the forest had prepared him for this one moment.
And just then, the girl looked up. With a slight upward tilt of her head, she looked at him, and he looked into her big, bright eyes. And that was the moment he knew she was his Rapunzel. He didn’t know how he had manifested his dream, but he would, and God was his witness, save this girl at any cost.
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