What happens after happily ever after?
Snow White swallows a mouthful of poison,
this time on purpose,
after finding out her prince secretly slept with
seven other girls.
Cinderella runs away
in the middle of the night,
realizing Prince Charming isn’t so charming
after twelve glasses of wine.
Aurora grips a metal spindle,
cuts her wrist
once, twice,
washing off the memory
of the man who raped her, who saved her
from the monsters under her bed.
She sighs, smiles, and smoothens
her skirt.
What happens after happily ever after?
Rapunzel uses her cut-off hair
to hang every witch who dares
burden her kingdom.
Jasmine steals Aladdin’s magic carpet.
Travels the world and makes it
her own.
Ariel sells her soul
and slits her husband’s throat. Wild heart aching
for adventure, screaming to be freed to love
all the men she could’ve.
She could’ve.
What happens after happily ever after?
Happiness, I suppose. Somewhere
the moon is full. Somewhere…
Red Riding Hood becomes the wolf.
Sade Andria Zabala is a 24-year-old Filipina surfer sometimes living in Denmark. She is the author of WAR SONGS and Coffee & Cigarettes, and is a columnist for Berlin ArtParasites. Find her at surfandwrite.tumblr.com.
