Young girls could always see a little bit of themselves in the idea of Sleeping Beauty, tricked into a state of unconsciousness and left to wait for a once-in-a-lifetime dream--a gorgeous hero to pledge their love and seal it with a kiss. I could see that. I'm pretty sure the modern Sleeping Beauty, however, is a dude hooked on video games loaded with fantastical and ridiculously over-endowed, top-heavy women, knowledgeable in the field of magic, and scantily clad in garments customized to his visual approval at the click of a button. He spends his life trapped in his parents' basement, caught by his own apathy toward the world above the stairs, fantasizing about someday meeting his perfect female companion. His mind is ensnared, hypnotized in utter numbness, waiting for destiny to fulfill itself without a hint of his own participation. He dreams of being found and awakened by the kiss of a voluptuous real human vixen who is driven by her secret desire to seek out her perfect mate by searching the basements of random mid-western houses for a skinny, unshaven, man-child in his late twenties/early thirties in a pizza-stained Red Hot Chili Peppers t-shirt, devoid of ambition, and no discernible talents other than texting, playing video games, and making bubbles with his spit. And like Prince Charming, the thing is, about such a woman... she only exists in fantasies.

The curse now was to be

never sleeping you see

But the last Fairy godmother

altered the curse so now she has ADHD

You ask how this related

Simply this can keep you awake

seeking a dopamine reaction

can leave you ceaseless and always in action

Instead of a Prince

She gets a diagnosis

And medicine breaks her free.

I took some inspiration from 7v7's post One Day Briar Rose...

Once upon a time, not so long ago, the Big Sleep was the curse, and it befell the Princess in one Kingdom of Werk, where in a squabble over gold bowls and musical chairs led to a wretched absence of one more seat at the table, and the slighted relative instead of bestowing another Good upon the child, for longevity and life of leisure, proclaimed for her an early Death!

But fortuitously, the final invited fairy godmother arrived just time to modify the potency and reduce the spell to Comatose. This was our lovely Briar Rose, in that first incarnation in times before... asleep for 100 years or more until, kissed by a Prince by which the coma was broken. And duly life went on...

But now, Tomorrow or the next day, Briar Rose meets a different fate. The modern curse is Insomnia. In that newfangled Citydom of Querk, our heroine in the ceaseless squabble over bowls and chairs, is doomed to always be awake!! But by the grace of Fate, the final invited godmother, modifies the spell to Dreamlessness. And so, our Princess sleeps restlessly, and never dreams... until one day, Briar rose...

07.06.2023

Modern Fairytales challenge @DanPhantom123

The destiny of love is well-known by the time every girl reaches puberty. The prospect of marriage, carrying on a family legacy that Briar Rose no doubt felt throughout her lifetime. Her parents would smile sadly at her musings of how one day she would be queen and the kingdom would be hers, knowing the inevitable would happen. And though her father banned every spindle in the land, the curse still came true when Briar Rose found an old woman weaving and pricked her finger on the spindle. While the good fairy, who managed to save the king and queen the brunt of the evil old fairy's curse of their daughter's premature death, managed to put all the servants into a slumber so the princess would not awake alone, her parents still locked up the castle and left her.

Being a wonderous thing, the mind weaved Briar Rose a bubble of dreams to pass the century comatose. The prince came first, as she had always dreamed. Her father had introduced her to the gentleman, a far-off prince who liked everything she liked. She took him to her chambers, and the pair talked about everything under the sun for hours. Upon finding their compatibility, they wed under a sea of stars and before all of the guests. Her father handing her off to her husband as her mother looked on tearfully was one of the happiest memories her brain concocted. From there, the kingdom grew strong, and the pair looked towards expansion in many ways.

By the time Briar Rose had their first child, a baby girl, the pair had annexed two surrounding kingdoms. The prince's excellent negotiation skills secured the other dukes in the land to join him. By the time the pair had their second child, Briar Rose's elderly father had died, putting her husband in power and giving her the role of queen she always wanted. As her third child was just learning to walk, the kingdom had almost tripled in size, her husband had successfully won his first war, and the pair were looking to grow the kingdom more, given that her father-in-law was ill, and her husband was his favourite. Then, a few days before her father-in-law died, her mother called her into her room.

The queen had been ill for a while, and the heart sickness of losing her husband had only been assuaged by seeing her grandchildren grow up. Yet, the sickness was winning. She called Briar Rose in, who could barely see her through her tears. Taking her daughter's soft hand into her own as she had so many times before, she hugged her daughter.

"You'll get along without me, darling," the queen said with a teary-eyed smile. "The good fairy made sure of it."

"What are you talking about, Mother?"

"Many years ago, you were cursed to die. A fairy came and stopped your demise. Destine to lose you, your father and I kept you from realizing until you opened your eyes."

Sleeping Beauty is dead.

But under the light of the full moon her lovers kiss wills her awake.

Touching lips sends the Prince through the River of Sticks to retrieve his beloved for just a day.

Sometimes, they share an adventure together but most often they sit in the garden and read in silence. So went life for many moons, until the Prince crossed the River of Sticks never to return. Locked in a kiss with his Beauty they slept and died happily ever after.

I've survived for years. This journal helps keep me sane.

Maybe it doesn't work.

I'm alone. When I've had friends, accidents happened or complacency killed.

In this new world, the dead eat, and they walk.

I'm not dead yet.

I've carved a life in this Florida sunshine. Summers are hot, winters mild. The storms haven't been more than I can handle.

I made a home on a municipal pier. People used to pay to cross through a turnstile and fish. Now, they pay more if they get too close.

The dead can't get to me. I removed planks, and open air that spills down into the ocean is the moat to my castle. This old Winnebago took a one way drive on a short pier, and it'll never roll back to the mainland. It's the only shelter I need.

I thought I was finished with lonely. I figured after I mourned my last friend, I'd move on.

Then I saw what might be a new friend.

She opened up scars I figured had long healed. Now I realize they weren't scars, just scabs. I'm left with itches that must be scratched, even though it slows healing.

This is a small town, but it's filled with houses. I'm years into this thing, and I subsist from the sea and the flotsam of a thousand vacation homes that broke against the rocky shores of an apocalypse. Scavenging is always dangerous, but I have it down to a science. By the numbers, I move street by street. Day by day. Door by door.

I lost count of how many times I've almost been bitten, and I don't know how often I've been shot at. I remember clearly how often I've shot back.

I'm still here.

So is she.

Today, I introduce myself. I'll move shortly before the sun rises, but full darkness is too dangerous.

I think she is, too.

When I spotted her through a window, she was perfectly still, like she was napping. She had the hue of a walker.

I've never seen them sleep.

Maybe she was dormant, waiting on prey stimulus. I have seen walkers standing like statues and lying like corpses.

Maybe that's all she was doing on the couch.

Maybe she was alive, and I didn't disturb her.

I almost wish I'd broken my rules yesterday, but rules keep me alive. I'd already scored a wagon of supplies; I couldn't carry more. Besides, I need daily routine. Idle hands and devil's work are best friends, but not mine.

What if she's alive?

What if she's not?

I didn't notice decomp. These houses are ovens, baking inside. Results vary on how walkers are impacted, but it's never pleasant.

Luckily they can't open doors, but I wish they'd crack a window.

All I can think about is the gorgeous woman sleeping on the couch.

Either she's alive, or I'm crazy.

Both things can be true as much as none of the above.