"No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly."
"The Decay of Lying", an essay in the collection “Intentions”, by Oscar Wilde
Dan entered his house and there she was, perched on the kitchen table right next to the bowl of fruit. She was round, fair, and curly, wearing a miniature dress of dry yellow leaves. She looked like a bigger apple herself.
If he was a normal person, Dan would have been stunned, shocked, frightened, surprised, angered; or all that at once. He would have pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He would have fainted. However, since Dan wasn’t a normal guy, he quickly stepped back and hid behind the coat stand.
‘Come on!’ He heard her sweet voice. It was lush and sticky like apple juice. ‘Come here, don’t be shy!’
It was exactly what Dan felt at this moment: shame.
Because he wasn’t a normal person.
‘Come on, I’m here to make your lifelong wish come true!’
Dan considered the creature’s words. He’d had only one lifelong wish. If he had suddenly stepped into a fairy tale, he’d better check out if the strange thing on the table was following closely his line of thought.
‘Who are you?’ He got out of his hideout and walked slowly towards the creature. He was painfully aware of his short height, skinny figure, sagging chin, big fleshy nose, and bald head. Yet he forced himself to reach the table and sit on one of the chairs. Being this close Dan could see that the creature’s face and bare arms were covered with golden freckles and her red curls were flickering as if stars were hiding among them.
Her eyes were dark blue and perfectly round.
Her teeth flashed mischievously at him.
‘I’m your Fairy Godmother,’ she said.
‘What?’ Dan’s jaw dropped. He was sure that now he looked even uglier. Although he didn’t know if it was possible to be uglier than the ugliest.
‘Every person has a Fairy godmother,’ she explained patiently. ‘If they wish for something long enough and hard enough, then the godmother comes and fulfills that wish.’
‘Wow!’ Dan said. He realized his body was trembling. He was sweating. Stains of sweat under his armpits wouldn’t make the ugliest uglier, but would perfectly complement the picture.
‘I know that you can’t stand your looks.’ The Fairy grabbed one of the smallest apples from the bowl and bit at it. Golden juice dripped down her chin and seeped into the skin of her neck. A new array of freckles quickly formed there.
Dan thought dizzily that he probably wouldn’t be able to touch an apple any time soon.
‘All your life, the only thing you’ve wished for is to be handsome. To be able, by some miracle, to get taller and muscular; to grow beautiful hair, and change your facial features. You’ve daydreamed about this for so long that you’ve managed to call on me.’
She was chewing while talking. Now Dan understood why her voice sounded sticky. Too many apples.
The Fairy swallowed the last bit and smiled at him.
‘I’m going to grant your wish.’
‘What?’
‘I’m going to make you handsome.’
‘But…but that’s impossible!’
‘There’s nothing impossible for us Fairies. You’ll go to sleep and tomorrow morning when you wake up, you’ll look different. Your family, friends, and colleagues will remember only the new version of you. They will believe you’ve been like that your whole life.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Completely.’ The Fairy looked at the apples and chewed at her lower lip. She stood up and jumped on the kitchen counter.
‘Well?’ she looked at him, tapping her foot at the counter’s surface. ‘What do you say?’
‘What do I say?’
‘I need you to confirm that you really want the transformation!’
Dan blinked. The Fairy sounded a bit angry now. Her eyes were constantly darting in the direction of the apples.
‘Well? Do you want it?’
‘I…’
‘Hey, are you stupid or something? Do you want me to make you handsome? Tell me at last!’ She stomped her feet. ‘Tell me, because I need to leave. There are too many temptations in this kitchen and I’m on a diet. Trying to lose a freckle or two, if you understand what I’m saying.’
‘Okay,’ Dan said quickly. He realized there was nothing to lose. If what was happening in front of his eyes wasn’t real; if it was another extremely visual daydream of his, he’d simply remain disappointed. And if it was real…
Well, then…
‘Perfect!’ the Fairy clapped her hands. ‘Happy new life, Dan!’
She disappeared.
…
Dan woke up. The morning sun tickled his eyelids. He dragged himself to the bathroom in his usual unwillingness to meet the world, but the moment he looked in the mirror, he felt fresher than a rocket before take-off.
Another man was looking at him from the shining glass.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Muscles twitching impatiently under smooth, golden-brown skin.
Thick brown curls over a high forehead and a face like the ones he had seen only on magazine covers.
Sensual. Powerful. Careless. Seductive.
Dan felt the world thinning around him, greyness slowly taking over the palette of colors when he remembered the Fairy.
The crazy apple creature from yesterday who had promised she would make him handsome.
She did it! She changed me!
The colors of the world returned.
Dan stared again in the mirror.
He smiled widely.
…
It turned out that presently, Dan had a higher position in the company he had been working for. It turned out that his parents loved him more. It turned out that he was the brightest flower in his big bunch of friends. He expected that a girl should call any time now, calling him ‘babe’, but nothing like that happened.
No girlfriend? Well, we can easily solve this problem, can’t we?
After work, Dan walked down the main pedestrian area of the town. It was full of cafes, shops, small decorative trees, wooden benches, and people.
Half of the people were women.
Isn’t it nice that there are so many women in the world? How come I haven’t noticed this before?
Or maybe he had, but they hadn’t noticed him.
Unlike now.
Dan was enjoying the way all the women reacted to his appearance. Some would give him a slight smile. Some just a shy look. Some would stare arrogantly at him. Some would even turn to look at him again.
He was sizing up all of them, determined to choose the best.
A few outstanding beauties passed by him, but strangely, their perfection did not attract him. They looked somehow artificial. He wanted something else. Something like…
…this.
She walked with another girl, probably a friend. She was an elf-like creature: small, tender, fragile-looking. Waves of blond hair were tumbling down her slim shoulders. Enormous green eyes. A small, heart-shaped face. A mouth like a stolen kiss. Such an exquisite being…and yet, somehow ordinary.
Unobtrusive.
Reachable.
Dan was about to make a move when he heard her quiet voice.
‘Look at this one, for example!’ She shot a glance at him. She was talking to her friend, who lazily followed her eyes. ‘The way he looks down on everyone! The way he’s turning up his nose at us! Those jerks are born to think they are better than everyone else. Imagine living with such a man? Can you even imagine it?’
‘He’s staring at you!’ The other girl giggled.
‘Let him stare! I told you; I’m not looking for pricks like that. I’d rather have someone short, bald, and skinny. With a small, sagging chin and a big fleshy nose! And a good soul! This is exactly how I picture the ideal man. It’s just that I can’t find him anywhere. You know I’ve been looking for ages…’
They moved on, but not before the blond girl gave Dan a last intense stare.
A stare, full of disdain.
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Always yours,
Nev
Ahhh... beauty isn't everything. It's great to see the other side of it and the perspectives too. Hang in there, Dan!😀
As a not normal person, I'd have done the same thing!
Lovely story. I wish it goes viral. 🥹