Blessing in Disguise
A story about a girl finding her true love and salvation through the curse
Everyone went silent when Emily walked in. There was something mysterious about her. Her deep brown eyes were looking for her prince charming.
The young prince was a handsome young man. He was known for his charming personality and was loved by all who met him. All the young women in the town were crazy about him, but today they were all mourning for him. Everyone had gathered outside his palace.
Today was his funeral.
When Emily came to pay her condolence, all eyes were on her. She wondered if they knew about her connection to the prince.
She wished she could tell them the truth. But it meant cutting her old wound wide open and letting it hurt for the rest of her life.
She had always ignored them, but she did not care anymore.
It was the funeral of the man who had taught her about love, and nothing could stop her from saying the last goodbye. She was not scared of anyone. She was no longer afraid of the curse. It did not matter anymore as she was ready to face the consequences.
Tears filled up her sad eyes to accompany her loneliness. Emily looked up and thanked God for the curse which felt like a blessing today. It felt like freedom.
She remembered the day she had learned about the curse. It was her fifteenth birthday, and she was very excited because, for the first time, her father had given his permission for her to go out of the palace. For some reason, her parents (the king and the queen) had never let her go out before.
Emily was going to her room when she heard her parent’s voices. They were arguing over something.
She heard her mother saying, “How can you let our daughter go out knowing about the curse? Do you remember that long-time back, before the birth of our daughter, you had ordered a man to be hanged? He was guilty of the murder of his friend. He was proven innocent, but it was too late. Have you forgotten the woman who had cursed our unborn daughter that she would die the moment she kissed any man? That woman was the widow of the same innocent man.”
“Of course, I remember everything.” The king said. “I remember the curse, and I am concerned too. But it would be unfair to keep her from enjoying her life. We must not forget that she is growing up. Also, we do not know if the curse will come true or not.”
The queen asked, “Do you think that we should take a risk to check that?” And they went silent.
Learning about the curse that day had broken Emily’s heart. She had always dreamed of getting kissed by her prince charming. But she did not give up. She decided to confront her mother.
In the afternoon, when her father was busy discussing the state’s affairs with his ministers, she went to her mother’s room.
The queen was sitting near the window, staring out at the girls playing in the garden. They were the daughters of the courtiers and were of the same age as Emily.
They are the free birds, unlike my daughter, the queen thought.
“Mother,” Emily said.
Her daughter’s voice startled the queen. She quickly wiped her tears as she did not want her daughter to see her crying.
The queen asked, “Emily, I am fine…” She tried to smile but couldn’t.
Emily could see the wet eyes of her mother.
She said, “Mother, I know about the curse. I have heard the conversation you had with the father.”
The queen was shocked. She and the king had tried their best to keep the secret from their daughter.
“Mother, I want to know everything about what happened. Is there any cure to that curse?”
The queen could not control her tears anymore, though she was trying hard. She put her hand on her daughter’s cheek and said, “Sweetheart, after the woman had cursed you, we begged her to spare you and punish us instead.”
The queen paused for a moment and looked at her daughter, who was calmly listening to her.
“Finally, her heart melted. The woman said that she could not take her words back, but said that she had realized her mistake of punishing an innocent child. She further told us that if the child kissed the true lover on her/his sixteenth birthday, then the child would be with his/her true love forever.”
Emily took her mother’s hand in hers and said. “Mother, I am very blessed to have parents who love me so much. But you need to understand that nobody is responsible for the curse. So, stop blaming yourselves. Everything in this universe happens for a reason. Nothing but time unveils the right reason.”
Emily continued, “You must not worry, Mother. Everything is going to be alright.”
She kissed her mother on the cheek and told her that she was excited to see the outside world. She was happy. There was still hope, after all.
Hope to be with her true love.
When she went out to see the town with her friends that day, she loved everything. While returning to the palace, she saw a young man helping a blind woman cross the road. She was impressed by the gesture of the handsome man. When the man looked up and saw her, he was awestruck by her beauty. Emily was mesmerized by the blue eyes of the young man. They both knew they were in love with each other.
She introduced herself, and the man told her that he was the prince of the neighboring state.
They started meeting each other every day, without anyone’s knowledge. But every time the prince would try to kiss her, she would evade him and would promise him the next time.
Emily was waiting for her sixteenth birthday when they would kiss each other, and there would be no fear of the curse.
It was her sixteenth birthday today.
With tearful eyes and a heart full of love, she looked at her prince charming, who was now lying in the coffin.
She leaned forward to kiss him for the first and last time, only to be with him forever.
She died on the spot.
She had found her salvation through the curse.
©️ K A Simran 2020. All Rights Reserved.
