Short Story – The Prince of My Own Fairy Tale
Photo credit: hilarycl from morguefile.com
I always liked fairy tales from childhood and believed them too. Still believe them. When I was kid, I used to hide below cuts, behind doors, or sit in a corner, away from everyone’s eyes so that no one can disturb me and I can read as many as fairy-tales I can.
Every fairytale has one prince with all the amazing qualities like bravery, courage, strength and clever mind. He keeps searching and fighting his way to rescue the most beautiful princess. As a kid, wished to have all the characters of the prince, specifically clever mind and courage to fight back the cousins who tease me so badly especially that they wanted to marry me some day. Still now I wonder how they could think about marriage that tender age!!
Though I used to feel happy reading the fairy tales ending in marriage and living happily after, I hated marriage more and more because of the teasing. And I always longed for the love her parent’s showed after their beloved beautiful daughter returned with the prince. It’s not like that we are not loved by our parents, it’s the imagination which enhance to more powerful and maybe I longed that.
During my growing years, I started to create a world of those fairy tales in my mind to escape from all the unwanted things at least for some time. Some people may think it is a weakness to run away from reality to fantasy. But for me it was the way to strengthen myself inside out and to get courage from my imaginary prince. I felt and believed I was a rebellious kid fighting against my surrounding silently. If someone asked, you should do this and that.” I would question to myself “Should I do this?” If I did not agree, I would feel miserable for not having the strength to do that my way. If they asked me not to do something and I would feel that’s what I should do, I would silently try to accomplish what’s right according to me. When I look back at that time, I wonder how right I was in most cases even in that tender age!
By the time I was grown up, I was so used to constantly moving in between the real world and my fairy world. And one day in the real world, I started fighting against all my family members, relatives and friends who wanted to stop me from going into more real and chaotic world. They thought they were protecting me or that I should follow the path what they think was right for me. I did not know which the stronger reason was. Somehow, while fighting inside and out, I reached the edge of that real world as well as the edge of the forest in my mind.
When I reached my teenage, I started waiting for my fairy tale prince to rescue from the difficult situations I was facing, especially all the forced marriage proposals and not letting me to do job on my way. I never left my fairy tale world, instead it grew stronger in my mind and more clear. I was happy on my own thoughts in my heart waiting the prince, though my surrounding was a chaotic place. As it always happens in real world, and to all my disappointment, the prince never came.
While fighting to settle down in a new place in this world, I reached at the edge of the mind forest. And memory of all black shadows and evils of the fairy tale came flooding into me, and I started pacing on the edge not wanting to enter into the forest of my mind.
Suddenly I stopped pacing! I realized that I am the prince of my story of the fairy world I created, who badly wants to reach the beautiful princess waiting with the hope to be rescued from the deep inside of black forest. But do I have the courage to enter the forest? I imagined all possible things that can go wrong, all black and evil animals who can injure me badly, even I may be dead before night falls. Scared of all black things and shivering the results of facing them, I paced more frantically near the edge of my mind forest for a long time. I didn’t know how many days passed like that. I did not want look like a coward in my own eyes.
One morning, I woke up and came out from the secured tent of my mind and got a glimpse of a beautiful deer. When I was trying to get a full glimpse of that beautiful creature, there came a herd of deer in full view. I was watching them and was mesmerized with their beauty, their graceful moves, then one calf looked at me as if challenging me, “I Dare you to come inside and enjoy the beauty of the forest! Are you going to sit thinking of only the black shadows?”
Suddenly I wanted to enjoy the beauty, so I stood and entered with them. They started walking ahead of me as if showing me the path. I kept on walking and enjoying beauty. After sometime, I realized that they are really showing me the path and keeping me on the brighter side with other nice animals like rabbits, squirrels and so many others. Butterflies, peacocks and different type of birds too came to me as if they are my fairy protectors keeping evils at bay. I was happy making friends with good animals, talking to plants and flowers, and eating juicy fruits given by sweet friends, and nuts collected by squirrels.
Simultaneously, in the real world I was fighting my way from fake job to real job, temporary job to permanent and secure job. I had thought private jobs were not secure, but I was able to find out one for me! In mind forest the way was long because I was trying to avoid black shadows and evils. Still some time they would peep inside the brighter side making shadows and tried to hurt me. I got hurt too trying to keep them away or going away from them. I did become tired and started losing my strength and courage. But, my beautiful friends (animals, birds, butterflies, grass hoppers, all flowers and plants) helped to recover on the way and encouraged me to go ahead searching the hidden princess of hope and confidence. Later I learned how to get the hint of evils peeping and tried hard to keep them from reaching me.
I still have to go a long way before I can reach the beautiful princess of my story, the positive world, where no negative thinking can cross the mind. I hope I can at least get a glimpse of her about whom I heard a lot and heard admire and longingness in their voices while describing her. As I traveled deeper inside the forest of mind, I learned that those who are brave enough to enter the forest to find out and reach to their princess of knowledge, hope and confidence, are great people who not only fought the negative situations around them, but also gave this real world some new things to enjoy. They are the ones being admired by others. And those who are still pacing at the edge of the forest of mind making all kind of excuses like busy in day to day life because they are scared to fight with black and evil shadows, are really missing the chance of enjoying so many beautiful things, are general people like us who keep wondering how those great people can achieve so much!!
I wish I will keep this journey with all my strength, courage and bravery as well as friendship with all the good natured creatures and enjoying all beauty of nature of both my mind forest and reality. I am not sure if I will be among those great people, but I definitely wish I will be the prince of my own fairy tale and one day I will reach to my beautiful princess hidden in my forest of mind. And as all fairy-tales ends, we will live happily ever after in my fairy world as well as in real world with all love and admiration.
–END–
Ninadini Panda.
14-May-2016
