Phantasm

As the cultural leader and representative of my course and institute in Mumbai, I could legitimately bunk class and participate in every college festival. This fantasy story was written for Sophia College's annual fest when I was in the second year of my course. We had to pick a fairy tale of our choice and give it a modern twist. Here's what I wrote:

Judy first noticed the four discoloured patches on the ceiling. Then, she noticed the spider crawl up the wall beside her bed. And then, she screamed.

“Okay, Judy; one last push,” the nurse seemed bored but alert.

Judy mustered all the strength she could, and pushed with all her might. She hated the man who was putting her through this even more now. But her eagerness to see her baby was only growing.

“It’s a girl!” the nurse announced and cocooned the baby with a white blanket. With moist eyes, Judy carefully wrapped her arms around the little bundle of joy. The first feature she registered saw was this: the sun shone in through the window and highlighted a perfect golden crop of hair above her baby’s deep blue eyes.

“So, decided on a name yet?” the nurse had snapped the new mom back to reality. Judy looked deep into her new born's eyes and pushed a few strands of hair away from them; then she smiled and nodded.

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Judy had promised to give her daughter everything and more. Their life was more than comfortable, thanks to a hefty inheritance. She did everything to insure her child would never make any of the mistakes Judy had lived to regret. Rapunzal’s future was bright and nothing would stand between her and a perfect happily ever after.

Being born to a world-renowned artist had had its perks for Judy, until she had decided to fall madly in love with the wrong man. A messy divorce later, Rapunzal was the only direction Judy needed to help her get by.

This turning point of her life was a sure sign from the force. Most so, she believed that the magnificent golden-brown hair was no stroke of genes or heritage. It was a sign. All Judy had asked from her beloved daughter was to keep the hair. The locks had brought good times and luck, and so, they stayed. Rapunzal had agreed.

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Rapunzal adjusted her Gucci sunglasses and squinted towards the blazing sun. She was relaxing on her private beach this weekend. Rubbing an extra bit of lotion onto her body, she removed her valuables and made her way to the clear-blue sea. What a mood setter this water was, she concluded. Dabbing herself with a bright pink towel minutes later, she noticed her phone deep awkwardly.

“Trish! Where have you been!?” she squealed as soon as she answered; her laughter hitting a high pitch. “Yes, yes. A lot has been going on. A bit unnerving, yes. You know how it is. We need to talk. By the way, how was London!?" As the only person who had her mother's full approval from the get-go, Trish was Rapunzal’s best friend.

Like every detail in Rapunzal's life so far, her life after her imminent high-school graduation was chalked out and ready for launch. But like every other decision, she didn’t want to gulp down what was planned for her this time. She wanted to throw up. 

Having every wish fulfilled in return for obedience never seemed like a bad barter.  But the thought of leaving high school, the town of Brishineberg, and certain people behind, had begun to prick. She tugged at her hair, scrawling. Certain people? Chris.

They went to the same school and had met a party two years ago They were inseparable since then. He was the son of a hardworking plumber who'd taken several loans to ensure his intelligent son went to the best school. He had no mother.

Rapunzal and him shared an interest for the same courses and had reached a compromise for the same extra-curricular activities too. Anything beyond that was not permissible. She knew the rules and always abided by them. Her mother would only read "hardworking" as "poor" and "penniless".

But over time she had formed a special bond with him and this had gained momentum, instead of dying down. Trish would help her. There was a plan. Life seemed so clear and simple unfolding itself right beyond the fluttering waves that kissed the shore and retraced themselves before her eyes. She smiled and grabbed a towel. It was all going to end well.

“You dhonth say!” muffled Trish in between bites of tiramisu. “ Yes! I do say! She is my mother and she will understand!” Rapunzal tried her best to sound convincing even if it was only to herself. “ Listen,” cut in Trish, finishing the tiramisu and sounding serious. “ I hope you know where you’ll be getting at with this... this confession of sorts! Chances are you’ll be disowned! That to from this gorgeous mansion! Is it really worth it!?” Trish tried hard to reason but Rapunzal, tossing her hair into a pony and putting on a shrug, just smiled in reply.

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Judy was half-way through Painting the Right Picture: An Artist's Voice when she heard her study's door gently shut. She looked over the book and adjusted her posture on the leather sofa. Rapunzal stood before her, stooped back with each hand over the other, in front of her. Judy sat up. She knew this body language well. Her daughter only stood this way when she was about to break news of causing trouble. Like the time she had cut the garden pipe into bits to test the sharpness of her new scissors.

What trouble could she have caused now?

"Mom," Rapunzal began, "we need to talk."

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The discussion between righteous mother and teenage daughter began to turn into an ugly brawl soon after. In between muffled cries and shrieking howls, Judy decided to drive off and Rapunzal, feeling her heart being wrenched out of her chest.

She threw herself of her soft bed and cried till her head hurt. It may have been well into the night when she sat up and wiped her tears. She was angry, hurt, and irrational. She got off her bed and went all the way to the basement. There, she slowly opened the storage closet.

It hadn’t come to use, that phenol bottle, until Rapunzal drank it without a flinch. “I’m sorry, mum” was all that escaped her.

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Judy's car pulled into the driveway about half an hour after the incident. The servants were dreaming sweetly in their quarters, oblivious to the catastrophe that awaited the house.

She had decided to reason with Rapunzal and meet Chris. She understood the cost of love too well, and that she could not protect her daughter for ever. Maybe Chris would make a good man after all.

Musing to herself with a slight smile of her face, she entered the house to be hit by a strong smell of floor-cleansing liquid.

Following the acidic smell, she switched on the light in the basement and felt the ground below her feet tug away.

Kneeling beside her daughter’s cold body. Her life passed her by. What had it been worth? Making the perfect life for someone else, when she could not even make a perfect life for herself? Was it her exceedingly pushy attitude that had driven away the man she loved and that too only because he was no match to her father? Tears streamed down her face rapidly as all these thoughts revolved around her was fantasm. It was now pulling her away.

She stood up and made her way back to the main door robotically.  What had she done? Why had the perfect ending driven her to such hysterical levels? A million questions flooded her mind.

She kept walking now hitting the sandy beach. The moon radiated the skies above giving them a perfect gleam. The moon gave its light to all of what was plunged in darkness. She wished she were the moon. The cold water hit her feet as she embraced the waves. That was how it would end. The stars shone and the moon spread its light. They all lived happily ever after.

PS: I have a certificate that says the above won first prize. I hope to develop the story and characters further, sometime.