Revamped Fairytale
“Yucks!! It’s sheer disgrace to have her in our school!”
“More of, to have her in our group for the annual day play.”
“Lionna, you got to do something.”
The high school girls pestered their team leader while dosing profanities at the newcomer. Lionna, too, was highly disappointed on receiving a dark, black sheep in the herd of plastic dolls. The theme was ‘Revamped Fairytale’ and here, her teammate, whom she disapprovingly acknowledged, needed heavy rebooting. They had to win, but with this newcomer forced upon her, the chances were slim.
None spoke to the ugly duckling, as the loner waddled through murkier waters. No shoulder was offered to a drooping sunflower. It was all clouded for Olette, the newcomer.
For Lionna, the gloomy day extended into an equally heartbreaking night. She shuffled in the satin sheets with no relief. Before the newcomer could screw her creativity, Lionna had a perfect play written. Her fairy was a fair, delicate, crystalline girl with a flawless complexion. She had someone to suit this role. But what was she to do with Olette?
“Make her the rock from which the fairy emerges!” a shrewd teammate had suggested.
“Yes, that’s the only way to give her a role and not have her butting in between. It isn’t my fault that she was born black!”
Lionna very amicably cleared herself of all the guilt.
Suddenly, the dark sky outside thundered. Clouds gathered to veil the moon. The thundering was so explosive that a piece of the sky fell on the floor, in Lionna’s bedroom. Scared to death, she jumped out. Without a minute of hesitation, she rushed for the doorknob.
“Wait my beautiful lady.”
A honeyed voice stopped her. Lionna turned around to see her intruder. The sight had her eyeballs dangling out of the sockets. A plump, dark, mottled face stood smiling at her. Black, jet-black skin with braces teeth, grinned at her.
“Whhhhh….o are you?” Lionna managed to stammer.
“I’m Snow-white.”
“But you seem different!”
“Ohh, I was holidaying in the Bahamas, got tanned in the extra indulgence.”
Tanned or charred,Lionna suppressed a mock.
“Ain’t I beautiful?”
Gosh, she even considers this blasphemy!
Now Lionna burst out in laughter. To her surprise, the charred Snow-white too chuckled.
What kind of joke is this?
“Darling, I have learnt to laugh my dark ass off on myself. No better entertainment you see!”
“How dare you spy my thoughts?” Lionna’s mood altered. Her anger thundered like the sky.
“May I ask you the same question in an altered form? How dare you judge people by their skin color?”
The dark piece threw light.
“Do you know how talented Olette is? Did you check her command over language and flow of emotions? I’m very sure, the answer is NO.”
Lionna’s thunders diffused in the accusations. She stood trembling in guilt.
“Get back to see Snow-white in a new light. Get back to seeing fellow humans beyond their mortal structure. Appreciate the colour of intentions over imperfections. And by the way, being dark isn’t an imperfection even. Vanilla tastes good with a little drizzle of dark chocolate, isn’t it?”
***
“Girls, Olette is going to be the fairy in our play,” Lionna announced.
“You seem different. What happened?” Shrewdness spoke.
But Lionna didn’t care to give a shit to this objection. Her objective was achieved when Olette proved what a Revamped Fairy she was.
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