Something Like a Fairytale...

Once upon a time Madi stared out an open window of a large lighthouse. From her past summer experiences, courteous of her foster mother, she didn't think that this summer could be any worse but she was wrong...so wrong. She had to spend her summer coped up in a dingy lighthouse with no one within miles to talk to, except her foster mother of course and talking to her foster mother was like talking to a wall. 1

Madi's blue eyes stared at the setting sun as her mind began to wander. Why had her parents given her up for adoption and who allowed someone like her foster mother to become a parent? Everyday Madi hoped for her parents to appear out of the blue and take her away from this place...but they never did. So she remained in the care of this horrible person she had to call mother. 2

"Madi!" a screeching voice called up from the ground. At once Madi knew it was none other than her 'mother' and she quickly plastered a smile on her face before looking down. Madi's foster mother was a 42 year old widow who no doubtingly was the reason why her husband killed himself. Her face was always orange since she did nothing but tanned all day and the wrinkles on her face made her look like she was 30 years older than her real age. Her mid length hair looked more like spider webs than hair and her brown eyes sometimes looked as though they were red when she was angry. Right now a grin was on her wrinkled face and her lips were pushed together, a sign that she was about to say something that Madi wouldn't like. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, so that I may climb the golden stair." she said as laughter followed.3

Madi rolled her eyes at her foster mother's comment. Back at school all the students use to tease her about her long blonde hair and they would always say that quote from the fairytale Rapunzel. If Madi wasn't afraid of getting in trouble she would have left the woman down there on the ground but she was afraid so instead of leaving her, she grabbed a rope ladder and tossed it down to the ground. "You know it would be a lot easier if you just got the stair case repaired." Madi pointed out as her foster mother struggled to climb the rope ladder.4

"No way," she muttered as she continued to climb, "I'm not wasting any money on those stairs. This method is just fine with me."5

Madi sighed and the stroked her blonde hair, this was something she always did when she was bored or nervous. "Dinner's almost ready." Madi told her foster mother when she had finally made it to the top. "The table is already set." she added quickly, hoping that she hadn't missed anything. 6

"Good, good," her foster mother said as she dusted herself off, "then go get my plate ready while I change." And with those words her foster mother walked over to her room to change.7

Madi sighed and looked out the window once more. The sun was already down below the ocean and she doubt, even if the sun set wasn't over, she'd be able to paint it. Madi shook her head, turned on the switch for the light on top of the light house to light up and then rushed over to the kitchen to prepare the food.8


That night Madi found herself singing a random tone that had been stuck in her head since dinner time and then started to make words up to it. She quickly jotted the words down in her journal and then went to bed. Maybe tomorrow she'd have better luck. Maybe tomorrow someone would sweep her off her feet and take her away from this place.9


The next morning, Madi waited until her foster mother left once more before singing the tune again and painting happily. Every now and then she would her noises from the ground and quickly stop her singing and check to see if her mother was there but then when she saw no on, she started up again. By time her mother returned, she didn't even care about the annoying quote that she repeated everyday. She just let down the rope and stepped out of the way. "How was your day?" Madi asked with a smile.10

"Horrible..." her mother muttered and then raised an eyebrow. "And why are you all smiley today? If I didn't know better I'd think you were sneaking up boys."11

Madi blinked at this comment. "No, I wasn't!" she quickly said in her defense but her mother just held up a hand to silence her.12

"I was only kidding but maybe I'm not too far off the mark." she said and then left the room. 13

Madi was never allowed to date, at least not until she was 18 and out of her mother's house. All she needed was two more years and she'd leave, she didn't care where she'd go. She rather live on the street than with her mother's absurd rules. After dinner that day she returned to her room to hear noises down below her window. She quickly peered over the ledge and blinked when she saw someone standing there.14

Right there below her window was a young man, probably about 18 or 19, standing there and looking up at her window. A smile appeared on his perfectly tanned face at once when he saw her and he pushed back his black hair before clearing his throat and then saying, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, so that I may climb the golden stair." A grin appeared on his face, much like the one that had appeared on her mother's face just earlier but it was nothing like her grin at all. His grin was adorable and his comment didn't bother her at all. It actually made her smile. 15

"Who are you?" Madi asked the young man as she sat on her ledge.16

"I'm an assassin here to kill you." he told her and then let out a laugh. "Kidding," he said after seeing Madi's face, "I was only joking, calm down. My name is Paneul and I came here because I fell in love with your singing and I was hoping to see the face behind the voice and vola! Here you are."17

"Well, Paneul, I'm flattered that you like my voice but I think it would be best if you didn't come around here anymore." Madi said as she hopped off the ledge and started to walk away.18

"Wait," Paneul quickly yelled and Madi stopped in her tracks, "I thought that when I asked you to let down your hair you were supposed to do that."19

Madi tugged at her long blonde hair and then placed if over the window. "Sorry, not long enough." she said and then walked away.20

"I meant the rope that you let that lady climb up." he quickly said, hoping that she'd hear him and she did but she pretended not to. "Okay, I understand...I sound a bit stalkerish but still. I really want to get to know you better. Can't we hang out sometime? Maybe in the morning or something. We'll just walk along the beach or something. Whatever you want."21

Madi sighed as she listened to his pleads. She really wanted to get to know him better but she knew that her foster mother would flip out if she knew that she was seeing a boy behind her back...but she wanted to know him better...but she'd get in trouble...but she'd probably never met someone like him again. "Fine!" Madi quickly yelled and then looked over the ledge. "I'll meet you at the beach tomorrow morning. Eight o' clock sharp!" 22

Paneul nodded and a grin flashed across his face once more. He waved good-bye to Madi and then he was off.23


The next day Madi met up with Paneul after her mother left for the day and she had an amazing time with him. They hung out all day and he walked her back to the light house and didn't leave until she climbed all the way up to her window. After dinner he returned and Madi lowered the rope and allowed him to climb up to her room. They joked and let out muffled laughs and giggles until it was morning again and then Madi hurried Paneul down the ladder. For the next few days they did the same things and then Paneul invited Madi to a party at night. Madi came home extremely late the next day and had a smile on her face, only to have it erased when she saw her mother standing there. 24

"Where have you been?" she asked Madi. Madi cleared her throat several times, trying to force her voice out but her voice still wouldn't come out. "I know exactly where you have been. You've been with that boy who you keep on sneaking up to your room at night." she told Madi and Madi was shocked to hear that she knew about Paneul this whole time. "You didn't think I'd figure out, did you!?" she shouted and then grabbed Madi by the neck and pulled out a knife. Madi scream as she struggled to get out of her step mother's grip and even when she managed to escape her, her foster mother had chopped off her beautiful hair. "Leave Now and Don't You Dare come back!" her foster mother shouted, pointing the knife at Madi and then watching as she hurried down the stairs. 25


The next day Paneul returned to the light house, not knowing what had happened the night before. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, so that I may climb the golden stair." he said like he always did and then he watched as the rope ladder dropped over the ledge. "Wasn't yesterday great?" he asked as he continued to climb. "It was the best time I've ever had...Madi?" Panuel said as he reached the top. His eyes searched Madi's empty room and then stopped at the doorway. He took a few steps toward the doorway but then stopped when he saw Madi's foster mother appear with a torch in her hand. Paneul's eyes widened when he realized that Madi's foster mother was still here and that she hadn't left yet.26

"If you're looking for your dear Madi then you're looking in the wrong place." she said as she walked closer to Paneul, "I kicked her out last night. You'll probably find her outside wandering around with the other trash out on the street." 27

"How could you!?" Paneul shouted. "Madi didn't do anything wrong it was me who kept on insisting we meet. If you want to punish anyone then it should be me!"28

"Oh," she said with a grin, "I intend to." Paneul didn't know what she meant at first but as she tossed the torch at him, he realized what she meant. He grabbed his eyes in pain as the flames scorched them and then stumbled back out of the window to avoid the now burning room. Paneul tried to open his eyes but the burned to badly and even when he managed to open them he could see nothing. All he could hear was the roaring flames engulfing Madi's room and the laughter from her psychotic foster mother. 29


Paneul spent the next few days searching for Madi and hiding the fact that he could be blind. In his hand he tightly clutched onto a diamond ring that he had wanted to give Madi. His searching ceased when he heard a familiar voice. He hurried to the voice until he heard it stop it's singing and say, "Paneul?" 30

Paneul smiled as he felt Madi's embrace. She was crying and saying so many things at once that he couldn't understand her. He quickly shushed her and held out the ring that he wanted to give her. Along with the ring her asked, "Will you marry me," and since Madi couldn't think of anyone else she'd rather be with she answered with a yes and kissed him on the lips. Paneul's once foggy eye sight cleared and he was able to hear once again. THE END.31


Madi said as she closed her blank book and smiled at her daughter. Her son was already sound asleep but her daughter was still wide awake. "Wait, but I thought he couldn't see. So wouldn't it be that he could see again, not that he was able to hear once again?" the daughter asked. 32

Madi let out a sigh and then laughed. "I guess you're right. Jeez, you always pick out my mistakes. Now go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."33

The little girl nodded her head and let out a whine but then did as told. Madi turned off the lamp beside the children's bedside and then closed the door half way behind her. She walked straight over to her husband and kissed him on the lips. "You really should have told them that." Paneul, Madi's husband said, "Now they're going to be afraid of your mother."34

"Oh well. They asked for a bedtime story so I gave them one. Why not spice up our life a little?" Madi said with a smile before kissing her husband once more.35