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She Found Him At A Bookstore But She Didn't Get A 'Happily Ever After', She Got This

( words)
*For representational purpose only.

Once upon a time, there was a cheerful little girl who had doting parents and didn’t have a care in the world. Her life was a piece of cake and she lived in her own little world. As she grew up, she dated a few men but none were good enough to be worthy of being introduced to Daddy Dearest.

Then came along a fine man who had gone overseas for education and work. He was like no other. He wooed her and managed to make her fall in love with him. And he asked her to marry him.

All those months of courtship later, when the girl lay in bed thinking of whether she should marry him or not, a Fairy Godmother came to her and took her to see what her future would be like if she did marry him. 

The girl couldn’t recognize herself in the future. She was a totally different person. The man was someone else too. He wasn’t the same person. The 'Happily Ever After' didn’t exist! This was ‘real’ life! He wasn’t besotted with her like he used to be earlier. She had also become cranky and irritable without a job to keep herself busy. He couldn’t spend all day looking into her eyes; he had to work- because in real life, you need to pay for stuff.

The girl then realized why fairy tales don’t show you what comes after the 'Happily Ever After'- the dark and ugly side of it all.  

The girl asked the Fairy Godmother to take her back to her college days and to let her spend a few years there. At first, the Fairy Godmother refused, saying that no such thing is possible, but the girl reminded her that this is a fairy tale in reverse and therefore certain changes are allowed to be made. The Fairy Godmother relented and took her back to her college days. The girl thanked her profusely and bid goodbye.  

The glimpse into the future had frightened the girl. She began to take her studies seriously. She got involved in a lot of other activities as well. Versatility would get her a better job after all. She went abroad to pursue higher studies after college. She even did a bit of traveling and that helped her learn a lot about the world and different cultures. And one fine day, she got herself a wonderful job and did herself and her family proud.

She was self-sufficient and didn’t need a man to take care of her financial needs. But she did long for love and hoped her Prince Charming (read: a nice well-read man who tells her that he loves her everyday and means it) would come along someday.  

One day while she was at a bookstore, she was about to take one particular book off the shelf when she noticed that a young lad also had his hand placed on the same book. When he realized what had happened, he let her have it. She insisted that he could take it but he being the gentleman, wouldn’t agree to it. The bookstore had just one copy of this book (because things like that do happen so that the story can continue), and the girl promised to lend the book to the gentleman once she’s done reading it. They exchanged phone numbers, and also befriended each other on Facebook and Goodreads. 

Late at night, when the girl was stalking the gentleman’s Facebook profile, she found him to be the same man who had wanted to marry her, before her encounter with the Fairy Godmother! Of course, she mentioned nothing of it to him lest he consider her crazy.

As time passed, they grew very fond of each other and one fine day, the girl proposed marriage to him. He was overjoyed and agreed to marry her. They had a simple wedding ceremony and they split the expenses. 

They didn’t live 'Happily Ever After' because being happy all the time is ridiculous. As if they were Barbie and Ken with a smile plastered on their faces! They had their highs and lows, but they shared a wonderful relationship. They had immense love and respect for each other and treated each other as equals. Both of them worked hard at their jobs, spent lovely evenings together, and sometimes they went to bed angry because they were a normal couple, after all! They took trips together, travelled to distant places on earth and in books, partied with friends over the weekend, and tried to live life to the fullest. 

The girl thanked the Fairy Godmother everyday, and wished that every little girl were shown the correct path so that she too has a bright and beautiful future and her very own reality of ‘Happily Ever After’.

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