ONCE UPON A TIME
Once upon a time far far away there were three best friends. And even though they did not live very close to each other, they would make it a point to meet every Saturday and Sunday at the same place under the large banyan tree in the beautiful dense forest that bordered two kingdoms. Two of the friends, Snow White and Aurora were the princesses of the two kingdom, and Red, a commoner, lived with her grandmother in forest, at the edge of Aurora’s Kingdom.
Snow met Red or Red Riding Hood as they lovingly called her, as she always wore a red cape with a hood, (the only memory of her mother), while she was being given hunting lessons and her arrow got stuck in Red’s wooden house. They soon met Aurora, who they teasingly called Sleeping Beauty as she loved to sleep, in a tavern where they had snuck out in disguise to have a couple of ales and maybe meet some boys.
It was an unlikely friendship, two princesses and one commoner, but it worked. They loved each other, sharing every possible bit of their lives. The three girls would meet and talk endlessly about every thing and nowadays about how excited they were about their futures as they were approaching marriageable age.
Snow’s father wanted her to marry a prince he had met in his travels. He would regale her ever day with anecdotes of her future husband’s charming ways he witnessed during his long stay in the prince’s kingdom. Snow was already in love with this prince charming, and longed to meet him. But every time an opportunity arose, her step mother thwarted her plans somehow.
“She is a witch” the three girls concurred.
Aurora too was betroth to a handsome prince but had to wait for her 21st birthday to be able to wed, as the curse on her would be lifted then. Aurora was always complaining she had nothing to wear, since the curse foretold her dying by a spindle on her 21st birthday, no spindles or weaving was allowed in her kingdom and hence no clothes were made.
It was Sunday, a bright sunny winter day; Snow and Aurora were waiting for Red, in their usual meeting spot in the woods. On Sundays, Red would usually bring delicious fruit pies made by her grandmother for them.
Red was always getting late nowadays, they complained. Red soon came running through the woods all flushed and glowing, but instead of her basket filled with pies, her hand held that of a boy. “I wanted my best friends to meet Adolf, my boyfriend” she said apologizing for her tardiness.
Adolf was tall and handsome and definitely not a boy, a man, with a wolf like face and a lean build.
Snow and Aurora were surprised that Red had never mentioned him earlier and were anxious to get her alone as they had a 100 questions.
The four of them talked, and they found out that Adolf and Red met 5 days back while she was delivering her grandmas pies to the nearby villages. “He saved me”, she said, “It was dark returning home and I saw two shining blue eyes staring at me through the woods, Adolf came running as I screamed, he reassured me and he walked me back home”
“Adolf also has shining blue eyes” Snow said jokingly.
The next week and a few weeks week after that, Red used to show up all red- eyed and teary, Adolf and she were fighting a lot., Snow and Aurora urged her to break up with him as he was abusive and mean and he had even taken to raising his hand on her.
One day Red appeared with bruises to her face and hands. She said there were rumors that she had heard Adolf was using her to steal her grandma’s land, when she confronted him he had hit her and even torn her cape.
Shocked and upset, and worried for their best friend, Snow and Aurora made her promise never to see him again; else they would make sure that he was banished from the kingdom. Snow also promised to get a sewing kit next time they met to stitch up her cape, as in Aurora’s kingdom, there was a no needles policy.
The next week they waited eagerly for Red, and knowing that she would be upset over her break up, Snow got her their favourite food, sweet candied apples, which surprising her step mother got made for her and insisted she eat it and also share it with the two girls.
They waited and waited, slowly the bright sunny day changed to twilight and there was still no sign of Red. Worried, as this had never happened before in all their friendship, they decided to go to her house to make sure she was fine.
It was getting dark and as they knocked on the big wooden door of Red’s house, they heard a scream coming from inside.
They knocked harder and called out for Red, but there was now silence, scared they looked at one another as Snow grabbed an axe lying near a felled tree and broke down the door.
As they entered the house they saw Red’s grandma tied up on a chair, her bleeding face had claw-like marks on it.
Adolf, tall and hunched was standing over Red about to plunge a rake into her heart.
Hearing them he turned around, his piercing cold blue eyes were blood shot and he was breathing heavily. Snow and Aurora froze, unable to move with shock and fear. Adolf turned back and let out a growl, about to bring the axe down on Red.
Snow realized there is an axe in her hand and with all her might and strength hurls it towards Adolf. The axe finds its mark in his skull and Adolf crumples into a heap over Red.
Snow and Aurora rush over and pull Red out from under his lifeless body. Sobbing all three of them in hold on to each other as shock and fear washes over them. Red rushes over to her grandma and unties her. “She is alive”, she whispers in gratitude. The girls embrace each other again, staying for a long time, grateful for their lives and friendship.
They clean up Red’s house, get Aldolf’s body out and nurse her bruised grandma and put her to bed. Soon they are sitting around the fire place holding hands and talking about all that happened, happy that two of them were in time to save Red’s life
Snow then remembers the apples “lets celebrate our victory today” she says as she takes her candied apple and also gives one to each girl…
“Mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all”
“You my queen” replies her mirror, “Snow white is no longer alive”