Rapunzel - Modern Remake (Feminism Power)

• Ria Chhaya, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2022

It all started on the 12th of December 1812 when a poor farmer’s wife fell pregnant. Barely earning minimum wage, the farmer couldn’t keep up with his wife’s occurring cravings. One day, he scampered through a hole in an open fence, resting his hand upon the ripest apple he’d ever seen… that was until he got caught by the witch who lived there. Trembling with fear, he agreed to give his first child away in exchange for the apple, and any other fruit he desired from her garden, to feed his wife.
 
On the night of the little girl’s birth, she was gone; taken. The witch had locked her up in the 8th block off an old flat down in Punzel woods, consequently naming her “Rapunzel”. Stuck there for years, the witch devised strategic ways of hiding her from the outside world. Whenever the authorities would check the buildings, the old witch would visit the night before, commanding Rapunzel to throw down her hair so that she could climb up and secrete the activities undertaken.
 
One day, Rapunzel woke to the troublesome voice of a child coming from the flat above her. At first, Rapunzel ignored it. That flat had been abandoned and unoccupied for years. Getting more and more eccentric by the second, Rapunzel decided to find out what the noise was. The problem was… the key to leave her room was stored in the witch’s pocket.
 
Rapunzel conjured up an infallible plan and waited for the witch’s next visit. Distracting the witch with her long, luscious hair, Rapunzel had the perfect opportunity to snatch it!
 
A few hours later, once the witch had left, Rapunzel established the courage to open her door, seeing the light of day for the first time in years! Immersing herself in the daylight’s warmth, she travelled up the stairs to witness a devastating sight. Hundreds of other kids like her, locked up!
 
Many thoughts raced through Rapunzel’s head. Should she take her chance and leave? Save herself? Commencing to turn back around, her instincts hounded her to go and save them. One by one, Rapunzel unlocked the doors of each flat to find children, but more prominently, hair of all types! Purple hair, plaits, bangs… the witch had all types of beauty veiled behind those walls.
 
Not saying a word, they all gathered and evaded from the building. Breathing in the fresh air, hearing the birds sing and admiring each other’s hair as if it connected them in some way.

That was when Rapunzel started her journey, as a hairdresser.