After “once upon a time”

Once upon a time,

a girl was lying in her bed crying.

She wasn't crying because of a breakup or being a broke teenager.

She was crying because she was holding up a mirror.

The concealer she had put on could not cover the mental scarring she had been given with years of being told pretty enough for a soul to love her

Her straightened hair could not hide how she couldn't straighten up her fear of being unlovable.

The heels she wore were unable to set her above her problems.

So she kept looking, and she then realized how all books that start with "once upon a time" always end up having a happy ending.

And it was at this moment when she realized that her story was not over

And her happy ending is yet to come.

So she wiped away her concealer, that hid her flaws.

Washed her hair back to its frizzy, imperfect state.

Took off the heels that ached her feet, simply so she could be taller.

She looked back at the mirror and saw herself.

She realized that she was living a timeless story, one to occur to thousands of others.

But she knew that in the end, she would only become stronger from her current despair,

As every "once upon a time" story will end in prosperity.