Fairy Tale of the Ugly Princess

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She was about eight years old. A little bit chubby for her height with hair like a bundle of live wire, a set of teeth that grew too small living small gaps in between them and a skin as dark as chocolate. One day, her aunt decided to bring her to the beach with some of her friends.

The young girl loved the waters so much, as small and as young as she, she waded in the waters all by herself so she can reach the shore from the floating hut they rented for that day. She had the hardest time with all the other huts on her way, but she did not mind because she was so excited to reach the shore. She was nearing it until two boys came near her and splashed her with salt water. It hurt her eyes so much but they did not stopped. They enthusiastically continued splattering seawater in front of her while shouting on the top of their voices the words that brought the little girl nightmares.

"PANGIT! PANGIT! BUNGAL! BUNGAL!"

The girl just stood there, astounded. She tried to keep her eyes wide open though it hurt from the stinging salt water. Totally shocked, the incident kept her from moving until her aunt's friends came to her rescue. They shooed the little boys away and helped her move to the shore.

That little girl grew and have forgotten about that incident in her life, but that was what she thought. She grew seven years more and started to have her heart worked loads and loads of that intoxicating emotion of admiration. In school, she liked a boy whom she knew would never be comparable to her, not with that dark, scratchy skin, big, curly, dry hair, outward body curves and teeth gaps that prevents her from learning to smile. But, her hopes were lifted by a three-word message handwritten on a torn piece of paper. She knew the handwriting so much, and it belonged to him. On it written the words girls her age would so wanted to read for themselves.

"I LIKE YOU."

But she knew it was all a joke planted to hurt her and make fun of her. Still, she enjoyed the moment. She locked all the doors and windows in the room and hugged the letter tightly. Her smile grew wide, from ear to ear. Then, she took a deep breath, tore the paper to pieces and threw the paper outside so people can see her throwing it. Because she was smart, she knew better. Boys like him won't do her good. They only planted the message in her bag so they can have a good laugh about it. 

She withdrew from the people around her and did not talk sense with them. She did not trust anyone anymore. She knew people hated her. They even engraved their hatred towards her on the chalkboard using a sharp-edged material. On it written,

"HELL YOU ABY"

They did not know she called her father to fetch her that afternoon. She waited for him to come so she can cry. She cried all night. People were cruel to her when all she did was to get away from them because she knew they were bad. People shamed her over and over with the obvious.

"BAKIT MARAMI KANG UGAT SA MUKHA?"

"BAKIT GANAN NGIPIN MO?"

"MUKHA KANG LABANDERA."

"ANG PIMPLES MO PUPUTOK NA."

"BAD HAIR DAY KA BA O MALAKAS LANG HANGIN SA LABAS? 

MAGSUKLAY KA NAMAN!"

"KAMUKHA MO SI SPONGEBOB"

Finally, high school was over. The girl started losing some weight, straightened her hair with strong chemicals and had her teeth encased with painful wires. She focused herself to books and her dreams to get away from the places she was hurt. She wanted to get away. 

Seventeen. It was her first time to feel infatuation with a twenty-year old man. He was a good man, she said. He saw her beyond her looks and accepted her for who she was. But those were lies she wanted to believe. Before they even breathe in the same air around them, their story already ended without a single good bye. She blamed herself for talking too much and asking for a lot. She blamed herself because she was doomed to stay in hell since the curse inflicted to her when she was fifteen by those witches who carved her name on the thick board for everyone's amusement for eternity.

Nineteen. She finally, fell in love. She fell because no one caught her. She never felt anything as painful as unrequited love. In her head, she built all these wonderful pictures of the two of them. But, reality check, he just did not love her like that.  While he was mending his brokenness, he used her fragility, left her with a lump stuck in her throat and shattered into pieces. She blamed herself because she was not pretty enough. She blamed herself for being ten inches short, for having a skin few shades darker than the the one he left her for, for her five thousand pesos less of well made up hair and for her six inches wider waist. She was a fragile girl for him, an easy prey to fill him while he was hollow. When he bounced back in the game, he left her broken.

The girl left school and started working. The path she took has a bitter taste in her mouth. It did support her needs, but it did not bring fulfillment. If she was just confident enough, she would have taken a different path for the world ought to be her oyster. But she was different. She was timid, doubtful and hateful.

Twenty-four. People came and people left. She blamed herself because she was not interesting and loving enough for them to stay. She blamed herself for being somewhere she did not want to be in. She was supposed to live, finally! But, fate did not allow her to. She was not able to live this forsaken place she hated so much. Now, she's lost, seven kilos heavier. Her skin's three shades darker; her dry hair is four inches shorter; she's thousands of pesos broke and a lung weaker. More broken than ever before there is nothing left for her to be thankful for. But, life is full of so many surprises. It is in her brokenness that she finds life.

Eight. 
She found people who helped her move forward away from those little mischievous boys.

Fifteen. 
She found strength no one knows where she got from. 
She was an achiever. 

Seventeen. 
She found out that true love stays, and should never live her without anything even a single good bye.

Nineteen. 
She found friends whom she can rely on no matter how big or small her problems are.

Twenty four. 
She found out that the world does not revolve around herself.
She found out that her family is always there for her no matter what. 
She found out how she blamed herself over and over for the things she did not do, and how she hated the feeling it gave her.

Do not try to compare your life from others.

You may never know what they are going through.

So, live your own life.

Do things that truly make you happy.