Nursery Rhymes for the Mentally Ill

Rockabye Baby, to a Life Full of Lies

               Rockabye baby, in the tree top, when the wind blows your cradle will rock. When the evil fairy comes to get you, be quiet, don’t move, and she won’t see you.

The woman’s face softened and she opened the door wider for me to enter into the petite cottage. I smelled soup cooking, but when I looked at the furnace, there was no pot and there was no fire.

               “Oh dear, I’m so sorry for me judging face. I only thought- well that doesn’t matter. Please, come in and make yourself at home. My name is Flora. Please sit down, I’ll get the fire started and a blanket for ya and you can warm by the fire.” She said as she rushed around in a sort of frenzy looking for a blanket. “would you fancy some soup? I’m making it…” She glanced at the now burning fire, “Upstairs.”

               “Yes, that would be wonderful.” I replied, trying to hide my excitement at the thought of actual food.

               “Do ya fancy bread with your soup?” She yelled from the top of the stairs. I couldn’t tell what she was doing, it sounded like there was someone else up there with her, or maybe two other people. She was most definitely not getting soup.

               “Yes?” I was curious as to what she was doing, so I left the couch and crept up the stairs. When I got to the top, I saw two other, very small women. The two new strangers looked at me suspiciously as Flora turned around and faced me with tears on her distressed face.

               “Oh dear.” They all said in unison.

…..

“What is going on?” I asked as the three small, old women shoved me down the stairs. They pushed me onto the couch and all sat down on three tiny cushioned stools.

“We’ve got somethin’ to tell ya dear. And this won’t be easy to say… or hear. As ya already know, I’m Flora. This is Fauna, and that is Merryweather,” She said, gesturing to the two petite women.

“Like, from Sleeping Beauty?”

“Um… I’m not exactly sure what that is. Anyway, we are three fairies that are supposed to be watchin’ over a small princess. A very small princess-“

“A baby princess.” Fauna interrupted.

“Yes, a baby. And the night we brought her to this cottage in this here forest, she was taken by the evil fairy that we were protecting her from. Maleficent is the name of her. And she came here and transported the baby into another world. We all woke up and saw her as the baby disappeared. She told us that the baby was put in a world where she would have a family, but she would never grow up to be a great princess and queen, and that the kingdom was doomed because there was no heir to the throne. But what she didn’t know was that the princess had a twin, a twin brother-“

“Until I blurted it out. I was just so mad. I told her that her plan wouldn’t work because there was an heir.” Merryweather interrupted, as a tear rolled down her rosy cheeks.

“Yes. Maleficent, was enraged. A black cloud swirled around her and she was gone. So we rushed to the castle, to find the king and queen in the nursery. They were both cryin’. Both of their tiny, innocent children were gone.”

“And it was all our fault.” Fauna sobbed.

“I thought I would never see either of the children again. I thought all hope was lost. Until today, when you showed up at our doorstep.”

“Wait… you think I’m Sleeping Beauty?”

“Really dear, I have no idea what that is. We think you’re the baby princess. Well not so much a baby anymore. How old are ya dear?”

“I’m seventeen. Why?”

“Because that is how many years ago we lost ya dear. And do ya have a twin brother?”

“Yeah, but that could just be a coincidence.”

“Maybe. Can ya sing dear?”

“If you mean awfully, then yes.”

“Well, let’s hear ya.” Flora insisted.

“I don’t know. I really don’t sound good. Believe me.”

“Come on. Do it. Prove to us that you’re not the missin’ princess.” She said, totally playing me. But I had to prove that I was NOT a princess. So I started singing. Just a random song that I knew. The three women’s eyes lit up, like they had just seen a miracle. When I had finished they all started clapping.

“You sounded wonderful.” Merryweather said.

“Yeah but that doesn’t prove anything. Plus I have red hair. I thought Sleeping Beauty, or whatever, the missing princess has blond hair. didn't you guys bless her with beauty, and doesn't most stereotypical beauty include blond hair?” I persisted. I was pretty sure that I was not a princess. My parents were my real parents, and that was that.

“Well, we consider red hair way more beautiful than blond hair. When we blessed ya, as a baby, you were as bald as could be, so we blessed ya with red. And look how beautiful ya are now. Alright. Here let me show ya somethin’ dear.” Flora said as she picked up a small canvas. It had a painting on it that I couldn’t quite see until she handed it to me. It was of two infants. They both had crowns on their heads. They looked just like my brother and I when we were that age. So the thought occurred to me that I should check, and prove that I wasn’t the missing princess. So I pulled up the chain on my neck, until the locket was out from behind my shirt. I opened it and examined the pictures inside of it. The infants in the tiny picture in my locket were identical to the infants in the painting. It hit me like ice water. My brother and I were babies when we were taken from our actual home and adopted by our fake parents. We were lied to for our whole lives. I sat down on the couch and started crying. I didn’t know what to think. This was all happening so fast.

Suddenly the room became illuminated, so much that I had to close my eyes. The light in front of my closed eyelids dimmed, and I opened my eyes to see a person in the room. Not the three petite, old women. When the light completely died down, I saw, standing in the room, my twin brother.