No Happily Ever After

Part One: Just Right

NOTE: No Happily Ever After is a full length novel currently available on Amazon, along with it's sequel, Wondernever.  The novel retells our most beloved fairy tales, in the original Brother's Grimm style of Creep and Chills, with modern twists.  The novel will be  added in it's entirety here, starting with part one, which tells the tale of Goldilocks, AKA Zoe Locke, the petty thief.  Check back Wednesday for part two where we'll touch bases with Snow White!

Just Right

Chapter 1

Once upon recent months, in the town of Faraway, Washington, a troublesome and unfortunate situation unfolded. Frankly, a lot of the problems actually occurred within the shadows of the dangerous wood, just outside of town. But certainly, many of the residents within the city limits of the gloomy burg also played their parts.

And hopefully, if there be even an inkling of justice within this dastardly strange universe... Hopefully, they'll regret it, every day of their wretched lives.

Our tale begins with one Ms. Zoe Locke, a girl who grew tired and desperate. Every day grew colder with the promise of a particularly harsh winter. Every day she sat pressed against the cold panes of her living room window, watching the snow angrily swirl from the barren grey sky. And, every day, she hated her life more.

In particular, Zoe Locke hated her mother. At age sixteen, Zoe was left mainly to fend for herself. Her mother managed the bills (most of the time) but outside of that, responsibilities fell upon Zoe. If she didn't want to live in filth, then it was up to her to clean the apartment. If she became ill, it was up to her to find her own remedies. If she had difficulties at school, she had to sort it out alone. And if her stomach growled, it was up to her to fill it.

Sometimes, she could track down her mother, at a job, or a friend's house, or on one of her many dates. She could convince her that she needed grocery money. Sometimes, she'd be given grocery money for a week.

Sadly, for a number of years, Zoe had known she had to stretch one week of food for three.

Zoe stared forlornly down at the street from her second story roost. She lived right down town in a tiny apartment above a decades old bakery. The heat from the ovens and the scent of the pastries rose pleasantly upwards. It was Zoe's one small blessing, the only thing that felt like home in her life.

She watched townsfolk come and go below, hurrying to escape the cold. Thanksgiving steadfastly approached. And people below walked with brisk steps to conduct their preparatory business. They visited the deli to secure their turkeys and hams. They passed in and out of the offices of lawyers, accountants, and the newspaper to get ready for their extra day off. They briefly paused to exchange pleasantries and polite smiles.

She wished that one of them, any of them, would cast an upward glance and notice her there watching.

But no one did. No one ever did. She doubted a single soul knew she lived up there. Or if they did, they certainly did not care.

Zoe dragged herself from the window seat and sulked to the bathroom where she stood before the mirror. Her blue eyes appeared sunken, lacking any sort of sparkle or life. Her cheeks were hollow as she was far too thin. Her lips were pale and chapped. And her hair. Oh, her hair; it disappointed her most of all. Her long golden locks hung limp and stringy, as she had been out of shampoo for quite some time, and washed it only with water. Zoe's hair should've been such a beautiful thing, yet, like everything else, it had fallen into shabby disrepair.

And nobody noticed.

Staring pensively into her own sallow face, Zoe Locke decided once and for all, that she must be invisible. Which was awful. Except that, invisible people could do remarkable things; wasn't that so?