Saturday, November 21, 2009

Sunday Scribblings #190: Beauty

Apologies, very rushed and rough....

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"You know you remind me a lot of myself when I was your age," the old lady said.
Leila sighed impatiently. What would the senile old hag know, after all she was just another ugly old woman with wrinkled skin and wiry grey hair.

With her long silky black locks, emerald eyes and flawless skin, Leila on the other hand was beautiful. She had come into this world beautiful, announcing her arrival with one loud indignant scream, followed immediately by an angelic smile. From that moment on, her parents devoted all their time, money and energy on pleasing their only child. As the days and years passed her beauty only became more and more apparent. Leila learnt at a very young age to use her beauty to manipulate and dominate others.

"This will be perfect for your tea party. It's a new recipe I've invented. I haven't named it yet. You'll be the first to try it, " the old lady said presenting Leila with the pie.
"A special gift for you and your husband," she added.
Without a comment, Leila ungraciously took the pie, turned on her heels and walked out of the store.
From the store window, the old lady watched with amusement as Leila pushed her way through the busy street. "May you get what you deserve."

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"This is absolutely delightful," the Mayor's wife trilled, taking another delicate bite of the pie, as the other guests nodded their agreements.
"It's a new recipe I came up with. I haven't named it yet." Leila lied.
"You'll have to let us in on your little secr ---"
The Mayor's wife gasped as the other guests looked on in horror.
"Leila...your face..."
"What is wrong with my face?" Leila cried, running her hands frantically down her face. Where once there was flawlessly smoothe skin, Leila now only encountered bumps and grooves.
"A MIRROR! I NEED A MIRROR!"
No one moved. Their attentions were focused on Leila's hair, clumps of which now lay on the floor.

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A month passed, doctors came and went. Not a single one of them knew why or how the once beautiful Leila came to lose her exquisite looks. They could only shake their heads in pity. Only one person knew the real reason and she called it a slice of humble pie.

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5 comments:

Catherine Denton said...

Clever! Enjoyed reading this.

Anonymous said...

What a clever twist. I never suspected what was coming. A perfect faery tale.

Old Egg said...

What an utter delight this piece is. Thank you so much.

Tumblewords: said...

I love it when payback occurs so quickly! Nice tale!

Dee Martin said...

dark and awesome, just the way I like them :)