Break Free

Gayathri Achar posted under Flash Fiction QuinTale-35 on 2021-11-24



“Rapunzel!” a voice said.  “Let down your hair!” She sighed and let it down, as her mother, or rather, the woman who claimed to be her mother, climbed up the tower, where she was confined. “When will I get to see the world outside? Will I forever be stuck inside? I want to sail across the seas Kissed by the cool misty breeze." “Rapunzel, my dear, why do you want to go out? Don’t I give you everything I ask for?” “But mother, I feel so bored stuck inside this tower. Why can’t I go out?” “It’s not very safe, dear. The people there could harm you. You will stay safe here, in this tower.” Rapunzel sighed. There was no way she could convince this woman to let her out. She had been living for twenty years in a lone tower, in a patch of land in the middle of a forest. She hadn’t seen any other human being other than her mother. She longed to go out and see other people and other places. She hoped someone would come to the forest by chance, see her, and help her escape from the clutches of boredom. "Am I going to be here forever Stuck in this lonely tower? Won’t anyone come and save me? I want to go far away and be free." The next day, her mother again went out in the morning for a while. Rapunzel sat next to the only window in her tower and stared out dreamily. She had read many books in which a handsome prince saved a princess. Perhaps, she was a princess too. Maybe a prince would come to the forest on a magnificent white horse, and save her from this miserable state.  Suddenly, she was struck by a thought. Why did a prince have to come and save her? Why did anybody have to save her at all? She could escape from this prison herself. It couldn’t be that hard, could it?  She thought for some time. Mother had removed all the steps to the tower, so there was no way she could go out through the steps. But how did she come up? Well, she came up by climbing up her hair through the window. “Hmmm,” Rapunzel thought.  "Can I cut my hair To escape from this nightmare? Mother said its dangerous, Cutting it could make her outrageous. But maybe I could give it a try.” She took a long pair of scissors from the cupboard. After taking a deep breath, she cut her long, beautiful hair.  She tied her hair to the window and let it out. She then climbed down the tower. "My days of boredom are now of the past, I’m free from this prison at last, I can finally be a free bird, My voice will now not go unheard." She walked away from the tower, determined to start a new, fresh life.   Penmancy gets a small share of every purchase you make through these links, and every little helps us continue bringing you the reads you love!