Second Place: Fairytales, Romance, and Other Nonsense by Sara Ratliff

Second Place: Short Fiction Fairytales, Romance, and Other Nonsense Sara Ratliff

Every little girl has grown up surrounded by stories of fairytales, true love, and those fated moments where Prince Charming comes and sweeps you off your feet. We all know how it goes. It is always once upon a time, somewhere off in a faraway land. For explanations sake, let’s zoom our fairytale story in on a young girl with an uneventful life, living in a small village at the edge of a grand kingdom. This young girl’s life never seemed quite complete, just like a puzzle piece was missing from her world. That is, until a courier arrived on the steps of her cottage, delivering a golden envelope which held an invitation to the holiday ball held within the palace walls. The girl, as you can imagine, was ecstatic. Okay…let’s pause for just a minute. Everyone knows it can’t be a fairytale story without the discovery of true love. You might be thinking, of course, the poor, little village girl would find her knight in shining armor at the ball; and, you would be correct in this. But, the girl in our story was completely oblivious to this fact. She hoped to meet a nice, young tradesman or some other respectable gentleman, but she must not have realized that you can’t be the subject of a fairytale without fate sticking its unwanted nose into your life. On the night of the ball, the village girl put on her best dress and began her long journey to the castle nestled along the sparkling coast. She was on an adventure unlike any she had ever known. As her carriage approached the magnificent castle walls, the girl began to worry. She saw all the beautiful people in fine silks and dresses and, no doubt, she felt very plain in comparison. Nevertheless, she gathered her courage and walked confidently through the entrance of the grand ball room, but not before running directly into a tall, uniformed man. A blush spread across her face, and as she looked up to apologize, she realized she was standing directly in front of the future king of her land. She was instantly frightened, but she saw on the prince’s face, not anger, but a large, goofy smile. He extended out his gloved hand and asked her to dance with him. She, of course, smiled and gladly accepted. It was at this exact moment that fate placed its magical kiss upon her future. As the girl and the prince glided across the floor, she saw that his eyes were only on her and not on the multitude of beautiful girls dotting the floor. They continued to dance until the girl realized she had fallen in head-over-heels in love. The prince seemed to be the missing puzzle piece that she needed to feel complete and the prince apparently felt the same way about her. As the ball came to a close, he knelt down on one knee and asked for her hand in marriage. She said yes and a big wedding was held, with celebration occurring all over the kingdom. She was his queen and he was utterly devoted to her and their children for the rest of their lives. Everyone lived happily ever after. Does this sound familiar? I mean, who has not heard stories like that their

entire childhoodthe poor girl saved by the handsome prince. Once upon a time, everyone lived happily ever after…blah! It’s always the same. Every little girl dreams of the day her real life fairytale will come, and the handsome prince will sweep her off her feet. I was like that when I first met him. At a young age, I moved away from my small town to the big city. My life should have seemed great. I had a well-paying job as a clerk at a retail store, I rented a comfortable apartment, and I was surrounded by immense opportunity. Yet, everything did not seem complete. Something was missing. I thought I would find this missing piece, my prince, as they say, at my boss’s New Year’s Eve party. I was walking into the house and admiring its interior when it happened. I guess I was not paying attention and I walked right into him. I was so embarrassed, but he just smiled and asked me to dance. We talked all night about anything and everything as we spun around the room. He owned a chain of successful stores along the coast, yet, he said he was falling for a girl like me. Can you believe it?! He was my real-life prince. He proposed six months later, and we had a big church wedding that made it into the pages of magazines. We had two great kids -a boy and a girl- and we lived together in bliss for the rest of our lives together. It was my real-life fairy tale. Well…at least that’s how I always imagined it would happen. The truth is that we really did not meet at a beautiful New Year’s Eve party. We actually met at the pub on the corner of Paisley Street and Terrence Boulevard. I was with some friends at the bar and he was with some of his pals at a table across the room. I noticed him staring, but I tried to avoid his gaze. I was walking over to the table by the window that my friend found when, out of nowhere, he bumped into me. My drink came arching out of my glass and made its graceful landing onto the front of his jacket. I was so embarrassed, but he was a sweet talker to the end. He told me that I could make it up to him by going to dinner with him the next day. This was my moment when fate sealed up my future. I was his. I did not even know about his wealth until later. With that handsome grin and his kind words, he had somehow talked me into falling in love with him. After six months, we had a big, public wedding and I felt like a princess. Life after I said “I do” was not that bad either. I was the woman behind his empire on the coast, and he made me believe I was the only girl in the world. Sure, he had a wondering eye every now and then, but he was always faithful and treated me well. The kids we planned to have never came, but I was still happy. That missing puzzle piece wedged itself into my life with the sound of those wedding bells. We were the perfect couple that everyone wanted to be. At least, that is the appearance we put up. Since my therapist says I need to try to be more honest, I have got to tell you that my marriage was far from perfect. Shortly after the wedding, my husband started leaving for business trips. It was lonely in our large house, but he bought me a dog to keep me company. Even though he was missing from most of my life, I was always there by his side during public events. I was the faithful and doting wife used

to make him look good in front of the cameras. Things were tense at times, but he always came home and reminded me that I was his princess. He was my one and only… He never actually bought me a dog. He said they were too much of nuisance and made too much of a mess. Those long weeks were, in reality, very lonely. I spent most of my days alone, taking walks along the sea and watching the birds fly over me—full of the freedom I no longer had. After my wedding, I drifted apart from my friends. They never really trusted him. They always told me, “Kara, you don’t know him. He’ll leave you in an instant.” He just told me they were just jealous of us. Without my friends, I was by myself whenever he left. Those times apart where not that hard though, because my prince always came back to sweep me off of my feet. Here I am trying to tell you my story, and I am still not telling you everything. He wasn’t always the prince he portrayed himself to be when I first met him. He was distant and cold most of the time. He also had a temper that I frequently fell victim to. I asked him once why he married me. He said that I was the perfect candidate; the retail clerk from a small town, swept up in a storybook romance with a wealthy man. For the publicity, he could sweep in on his white horse and save me. He told me it was merely a plus that I had a pretty face. I made him look good, and we were perfect headline material. He was often angry, but he never laid a hand on me, at least that’s what the makeup showed. His true love was the bottle. When he was home, he was always drinking. Alcohol always made him angrier and I was there to receive the brunt of his rage. I had nowhere else to go. I had cut all ties when I married him. I came to appreciate the time he was away on “business” with Lisa, Melissa, or whoever the girl of the week was. I just had to put on a pretty face when the cameras were out. It wasn’t him acting like this, it was the alcohol. I stayed by his side through it all, at first. I did leave him eventually. While he was away in Europe with who knows who, I packed up my stuff and drove far away. I left him and never looked back. I was on the other end of the country, living the life I always wanted. I met a wonderful man who treated me the way I should be treated. He loved me with all of his heart and I loved him just as much. But…once again…that story is just the stuff of dreams. In reality, I tried to leave, but he would not let it happen. I was a bird, longing to fly but unable to escape that beautiful cage that I had dreamed of as a little girl. I would never be free of him. He controlled every part of my life. With all his wealth and power, I could never escape. I had no option but to take that control away. I decided, then and there, that he would never lay another hand on me. One night, when he was home, I slipped something into his beer. At least, that is what they tell me I did. He apparently never knew what was coming. They told me I was sitting at the dining room table when the officers finally came. They were too late, however, because he was already gone. I was taken away from my cage, but not the way in which I had always dreamed. Still, in that moment, I was free. As I sit here, behind these bars, they sometimes ask me if I regretted it, but I don’t know if I ever have. The truth, the real truth, is that it never really happens like the storybook

romance. You know, the one where the girl meets the guy, the guy falls for the girl, wedding bells ring, and they live happily ever after for the rest of their lives. That’s just the kind of baloney Hollywood feeds the public in movies to play off of the hopes and paychecks of those starry-eyed, hopeless romantics, waiting for their day to come. They spin some unreachable tale about true love and those romances fated for the stars. I used to be one of those dreamers who thought they would find their one and only. You know, the one that they claim the world created just for you. I thought I had found him. I thought I had found my storybook ending, but my fairytale chewed me up and spit me out. The movies don’t portray the whole truth of life, of love, or of happiness. But really, what is “truth” anyway?