I Am

Traded for a Rose (Part Two)

Clutching the thin coat to her trembling body, Beauty watched as the leafless oak trees zoomed by her window. Her father sped down an icy, gravel, narrow road. Worried that he might crash, she sat stiffly in the passenger seat and listened to the wheels click and the engine rattle. The car smelled like old cigarettes and strong, musty cologne. Her father did not engage her in any conversation, nor did he try to relieve her of her fears. Beauty wished he would tell her something extraordinary about this new place they sentenced her to live, yet she had so many questions to ask about the Beast. She knew her father would not answer her the way she wished him to. So, she kept her silence because his answers would only cause her fears to magnify.

She glanced now and then out the window to see if she spotted Mr. Unknown, but no matter how far they drove, she did not see him anywhere. Beauty rubbed her hands together to warm her numb fingers, which ached from the cold. She blew into her interlaced fingers and held them out to the broken heater.

They drove further into the dark snowy woods. The ice turned into snow, and the car struggled to navigate through the snowy roads. Over each bump and dip, Beauty clutched her hands together and prayed for someone to hear her. Why was this happening to her?

She worried about being abandoned by both her family and Mr. Unknown. Once she completed this story, she would move onto the next one and then the one after that. She felt like a spinning top, and once she crashed and failed, would Mr. Unknown forgive her? Or would he leave her in limbo?

Why did the original Beauty want a rose? If she had asked for seeds and soil instead, she could have grown them on her windowsill. Plants withered and died quickly within the desert. Was the rose a premonition for her future? Beauty did not understand the story's purpose. How did a woman's value equal a flower? Of course, Beauty believed it did not, but what she thought did not matter to anyone in this world.

"We're here, Beauty."

Wiping the moisture away with her fingers, Beauty looked out the fogged window. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared openmouthed at the fantastic sight. Rows of fruit trees lined the cement road that seemed to go on forever in the dark. Hundreds of lights lined the streets and branches. As if winter did not exist within this magical place, there was not any sign of frost, ice, or snow. Everything was full of life and vibrant colors. While the real world slept through the dead of winter, the Beast's estate existed within an ethereal, fantastical spring-like realm.

Beauty whispered in awe, "The Beast lives in such a magical place."

"A monster will surround itself with beautiful things to hide its ugliness," her father replied with disgust as he drove underneath an arch of wisteria.

Beauty did not reply to her father's comment and thought back to her sisters. Even though Teresa and Gloria were both pretty, their inner selves were hideous and unpleasant. Perhaps the Beast was only ugly on the surface and was truly remarkable on the inside.

She pressed her face against the cold window as she gazed out into the gardens. Hedges of roses circled a large water fountain sculpture of Cupid and Psyche.

"So beautiful," Beauty breathed. "I'd love to walk in the gardens."

Her father remarked, "The devil curses this place. Remember why we are here, Beauty. He threatened to kill us all if you refused to come to this place. Do not let him seduce you with his magic. He's a demon in disguise."

"Yes, papa," Beauty replied. She straightened in her seat and folded her hands in her lap. She closed her eyes and hoped to see Mr. Unknown again.

"That's where the monster lives."