Fairy Tales: Where Are They Now (Short Short Stories)

[JoannaB]

I hate it that everyone assumes that the clothes I wear define who I am. That's so shallow. Noone understands me, especially not my mother. And so when she first told me that I needed to take a stupid picnic basket to grandma who was home sick, naturally I rebelled. My inner wolf reared its head, roaming the forests of my mind, and I assumed that this trip would be a waste of my time. How wrong I was! When I arrived at grandma's I quickly realized that her inner wolf had positively devoured her. I could hardly recognize her. And no, I don't think it was delirium. We connected on so many levels. I could tell her anything, and we talked until the middle of the night. Around midnight we felt like a snack, so we looked inside that stupid picnic basket my mom had sent with me, but all it contained were some healthy easily digestible foods. Blah! Grandma surprised me by unearthing a gallon of ice cream from her freezer, so we shared it straight out of the package. The only thing that could have made that night more perfect would have been if a handsome guy had suddenly burst into the apartment, and hunted me down. You may think that that is shocking for a visit to grandma's, but I got a feeling grandma wouldn't have minded at all. She gets me, even if she was originally the one who gave me that stupid coat that led to the nickname. Oh, how I hate it when people call me that! I am not little anymore, you know. Call me Wolverine! Girl power with long sharp finger nails.

[JoannaB]

I've learned the hard way to never tell a lie. My old man would twist my nose and pull painfully every time he caught me in the act of fibbing as a boy, so that I had afterward needed to check in the mirror to verify that my nose was not any longer than it used to be. But he was right you know: I've learned that real men don't lie. They don't have to. Once you grow old enough to use sarcasm, irony, and all that other bullshit to your advantage, you don't have to lie anymore because you can always obscure the truth so that noone knows what you are actually talking about. They call me Mr. P. Those who don't know me will ask what P stands for, and I suggest that they ask again only if they got a death wish. Noone asks me that question a second time because I'm known as the man who never tells a lie.

[Darkmatters]

Bravo!! Excellent. (And I know what the P stands for... )

[Darkmatters]

This is excellent as well - I like the way you allow the reader to wonder for a while - vast possibilities seem to loom up. Maybe because I had read Real Men Don't Lie first though this one seems to hit the reader over the head with the unnecessary revelation at the end. I'd take out the words "Little Red Riding Hood" and just leave it at "the nickname" - that's all that need be said. Especially considering the next sentence says "I'm not little anymore" - people will get it. Have you ever read any of Angela Carter's short stories? Yours remind me of hers (and that's about the highest compliment I can pay anyone). If not you MUST get her collected short stories!!!

[JoannaB]

This is excellent as well - I like the way you allow the reader to wonder for a while - vast possibilities seem to loom up. Maybe because I had read Real Men Don't Lie first though this one seems to hit the reader over the head with the unnecessary revelation at the end. I'd take out the words "Little Red Riding Hood" and just leave it at "the nickname" - that's all that need be said. Especially considering the next sentence says "I'm not little anymore" - people will get it. Have you ever read any of Angela Carter's short stories? Yours remind me of hers (and that's about the highest compliment I can pay anyone). If not you MUST get her collected short stories!!! Thank you Darkmatters. You may note that I took your suggestion, and have edited the story removing the nickname - good point! Also I shall definitely check out Angela Carter. Thank you!

[JoannaB]

Merging previous threads - will add new stories to combined thread.

[JoannaB]

I am not going to tell you what that woman who lived in that corner house down the block from our childhood home used to do. You don't need to know the details, and it would give you nightmares. Suffice it to say, she used to bake ginger bread cookies, and use them as bait to lure kids into her home. They say women are less likely than men to do this - well, my sister and I testified to the fact that statistics are at times overrated. We were shocked to find out from the police that we had not been the first kids lured in by her magic. However, unlike the others we made sure we were the last. Children, if anyone ever does anything unspeakable to you, make sure to speak up about it. Sometimes evil lives in a gingerbread house, but just because noone yet knows about it, and just because the evil appears nice, don't assume noone will listen to you just because you are kids. Sometimes I dream that we shoved her into an oven instead of getting her arrested, and the cleansing fire burned away her dirty deeds.

[JoannaB]

For the first part of my life I had developed a bad habit of blaming others for all of my cursed ill luck. I used to sleep-walk through life, focused way too much on my looks and nothing else. My attitude could have been described as prickly. When I first met him, he made me see myself as others saw me. At first I hated him for it, even as I began to change for the better. It was quite a shock to me when he first kissed me. I guess I should have realized that he would not have fought so hard to get to me if he did not care. I owe it to him that my beauty is no longer skin-deep.

[JoannaB]

For as long as I remember I was the one bearing the family burdens, taking care of my older sisters and stepmother. I only got to go out and have a fun once in a blue moon. Everyone always assumed that I was tough as nails. Sometimes though I wished I had a fairy godmother who could make it all go away with magic. Underneath the tough exterior was a fragile self-esteem, and I had to be careful at times not to break my glass slippers. When I first met my husband to be, I thought that he was too good for me, my prince charming. He took care of me for a change. My older sisters actually tried to make a pass at my boyfriend! After years of marriage sometimes my husband still needs to remind me to not try to bear the weight of the world on my shoulders, especially when one of my sisters calls to whine. But I know my priorities now, and if they have not learned how to clean up their own mess, that's their problem, not mine.

[JoannaB]

I never felt like I belonged, and my mind was on a different wavelength relative to my my peers. During my teenage years my neck grew longer to enable me to look outside the box and around corners that others couldn't solve. My legs grew longer, too, to enable me to make strides over problems that others ineffectively waddled through. I only wished I could grow wings to fly, but my thoughts and imagination allowed me to soar. I had way more energy than mass: a tall and skinny, restless and nerdy kid.*"Careful not to trip over your own feet, Einstein!" the bullies at school used to tease me. However, I learned that no matter what you say, you quacks, I know at least my mind is beautiful.

[KuroNeko]

These are really brilliant Joanna. It's quite cool how you've taken classic fairy tales and gave them a totally modern twist, and not only that you've actually made them more realistic - which actually makes them more interesting and entertaining. Also, you've condensed them too and all the while not making them boring. I'm really impressed, you're a really good story teller.

[JoannaB]

These are really brilliant Joanna. It's quite cool how you've taken classic fairy tales and gave them a totally modern twist, and not only that you've actually made them more realistic - which actually makes them more interesting and entertaining. Also, you've condensed them too and all the while not making them boring. I'm really impressed, you're a really good story teller. Thank you KuroNeko, as you already know I find your poetry very moving, so I guess we enjoy each other's creative endeavors. I really look forward to reading more of your poems whenever you post any.