Beastly Beauty

Fifty-Four

Some say that fairy tales are windows that show us a make-believe world. Full of impossible creatures.

But they are wrong.

Fairy tales are mirrors, not windows. They show us this world. They show us ourselves.

Come close, take a look, right here in the silver glass … That’s not an ugly stepsister, an evil queen, a bad fairy you see in there.

It’s you.

Snatching the glass slipper away. Rigging the beauty contest. Leaving sharp objects lying around.

It’s you.

Lost in the forest. Locked in the candy house.

Alone. Afraid. And angry, so angry.

Because a wicked stepmother cut out your heart.

Because a careless father left you to the wolves.

Come closer to the mirror, child. Closer. What do you see?

Troll? Witch? Ogre? Beast?

Hunt the beast, the old ones say. Kill the beast.

But what if you are the beast?