Sat the 11th of Jul – Amaranta of Little Red

Having watched one Disney Fairytale too many, I decided to put my obsession to good use. This tale is dedicated to my sister Mara and to Richard who, like me, believes it will come true.

As a disclaimer, this story is loosely based on real life events. Some characters are fictional and their names modified to respect their privacy. Also some events may be figments of my imagination or yet to happen….But they will happen because it is so Written.

On a final note, to increase the credibility of this fairytale, please imagine the characters bursting into cheesy songs and add, at your discretion, the appropriate background melodies of love, danger, fear and happiness at the relevant times.

ONCE upon a time, in a Kingdom far far away, lived a young Princess by the name of Amaranta. Not only was Amaranta fair, she was also blessed with a very kind heart, great intelligence and a sharp wit. She was dearly beloved by her family and the entire Kingdom of Little Red.

One cold winter day, the wicked Sorceress Lukemia, jealous of Amaranta’s spirit, cast an evil spell on her. She vowed that on Amaranta’s 34th Birthday, she would be cursed with a deadly illness. It would mysteriously come from deep within and spread like fire through the rest of her being. Upon hearing of this dreadful curse, Amaranta, whose most precious gift (although she did not yet realize this) was the gift of life, stubbornly refused to accept the fate laid before her and swore to find a way to break this spell. And so, accompanied by her loving parents and the loyal tiny Fairy Tinkerpawl, she set upon traveling to the land of her Father’s ancestors in search of the Great Wizard Martellius. Although he could not reverse the Sorceress’ spell, for her power was great and feared through out the Kingdom, he could alter Amaranta’s fate.

“Indeed”, said he, “On Amaranta’s 34th birthday, she will be stricken by a cruel sickness and fall into a restless and weakening slumber. But, she will not die and on the eve of her 35th Birthday, she will awaken from her deep sleep through the magnificent strength that lies within her. Her path will be strewn with adversity and danger but it will be so.”

And so it came to be….The Sorceress held Amaranta captive in the highest, darkest tower, guarded by indifferent Trolls. Amaranta remained brave and soon found company in Drippy, the octopus, and Tuby, the elephant. With the help of her new friends, Drippy stretched his far reaching tentacles out of the window down to Tinkerpawl who climbed up and snuck into the tower. In spite of her weakened state, Amaranta still sang, danced and laughed with Tinkerpawl, Drippy and Tuby. The indifferent trolls, who came to find out about this intrusion, were so charmed by Mara's good nature that even their hearts warmed to her.

Time slowly went by and one day Lukemia was called away to an important gathering with her other evil siblings to plot against Humanity. The Wizard knew the time was right to strike against the Sorceress. And so he advised Amaranta’s Father, King Rock to gather his most seasoned and trusted soldiers. That night, they attacked the castle defeating the demonic creatures the Sorceress had enlisted from the fiery depths of hell.

But the evil enchantress soon discovered the deceit and summoned her fiercest servants to destroy Amaranta. First her fire spewing Dragon Radius was ordered to burn her with his scorching flames. But Amaranta, armed with the Shield of Faith, braved the beast and protected herself against its burning rays. Furious, the Sorceress then sent for her cruelest servant yet, the insidious Serpent Kemos. Amaranta, this time, faced her adversary with the Whip of Strength and though the snake stung her, she survived its poisonous bite. But she felt its venom had weakened her and she feared what was yet to come…

Tinkerpawl, sensing Amaranta's distress, called upon all their friends in the entire Kingdom and with their help, they created a magical force that flowed through Amaranta thus restoring her strength.

Amaranta’s imprisonment in the tower gave her time to reflect over her predicament. She searched deep into her soul and realized that in order to live she must let go of the fear of not living. She must know, with complete faith and certainty that her love for life was so great and her will to live so powerful that the Sorceress no longer mattered and ceased to exist. The key lie not in facing her but rather in facing herself and embracing the beauty of life with total abandonment. The moment Amaranta came to this realization, the Sorceress’ hold over the Princess dissolved thus breaking the spell. The curse was finally lifted and was no more…

The fate of the Sorceress is uncertain. Some say her wrath was so immense at this humiliation, her failure so unbearable, that she auto-imploded, disintegrating into millions of dust particles. Others claim that she was banished from the Kingdom, never to be seen again, by the Wizard Martellius and his army of Elves.

As for the Princess, she fell madly in love with one of the handsome Elves and returned to the land of her Mother’s roots, not Flatland but the other more exotic South Eastern Land of Spirituality. She vowed to do good, continuing her quest for the meaning of life and spreading the valuable lessons she had learned. The fairy Tinkerpawl, followed her, opening her own little fairy dust shop by the beach, tanning all day and sipping tiny pina coladas with tiny little paper umbrella straws.

Amaranta, her Parents and Tinkerpawl all lived happily ever after.

The End.