Once upon a time, there was a girl whose beauty was breath-taking. She was known as Snow White. When Snow White was still a new-born, people came up to her baby carriage and gasped, astonished by her beauty. People in her town whispered about how her hair was shiny as sunlight on snow, her lips red as blood, and her hair black like the darkest nights.
Snow White looked just like her mother, who was a stunning woman from the outside but had a kind heart as well. This made her even more magnificent than she already was. Before she passed away, her mother used to tell her: “Always be kind, Snow White. Even if the others’ kindness is difficult to find. Beauty does not come from the outside, a pretty face on its own will not make anyone satisfied.”
Snow white mother’s death was the start of a lot of changes in her life. When Snow White was 18, her father married a new woman, who was almost as young as Snow White herself. She was called Stephanie and was beautiful as well, but there was something about her that seemed a bit off. She was not generous and kind like Snow White’s mother, but she was resentful, harsh, and jittery.
You might think that they must get along well since they were the same age, but the opposite was true. Snow White despised the idea of someone replacing her mother, no one could ever fill up that empty space in her heart.
Stephanie on the other hand could not stand Snow White because she looked just like her mother, reminding her every day of what she had to live up to. The ghost of the mother was ever-present whenever Snow White was in the room, and everyone showed her clearly how much she was missed.
Things between them got worse when Snow White began started posting on social media. She started going to the solarium, playing around with make-up and quickly grew on Instagram. Stephanie was successful on social media as well; she engaged in lifestyle and beauty content and had been able to make a living off it for a few years now. However, when Snow White started, it only took her a few months to gain thousands of followers.
It made Stephanie furious, her jealousy grew, and she was filled with bitterness for her stepdaughter. So, she started picking fights with Snow White, accusing her of stealing sponsors and tagging the wrong brands. One grey autumn night their fight escalated, Snow White ripped the phone from Stephanie and before anyone knew what had happened, they heard the fracturing of glass. The mirror, which had been in Stephanie’s family for years, had broken into millions of pieces. “I’m sorry! I did not mean to do that. Please, do not be mad” Snow White gasped. Stephanie’s eyes filled with tears of shock and anger. “That’s it. I will make sure you are in big trouble, Snow White, no words anymore. Otherwise, I will make sure that for weeks, you will not be seeing any daylight’’.
Stephanie had run out of patience. She had been struggling with the presence of her husband’s daughter for a while. Everything seemed to just fall into Snow White’s lap. She was beautiful, admired, successful, and treasured by her husband. She could not stand living in Snow White’s shadow any longer. The breaking of the mirror was the tipping point. Stephanie came to a decision: She had to get rid of Snow White. So, with the support of research, lingerie, and red wine she talked her husband into sending his daughter to boarding school.
She knew that her approach was more than problematic, but she thought to herself that once Snow White was gone, she could still work on her character and value system.
The day Snow White had to leave for boarding school, Stephanie woke up excited. She was brushing her hair when her husband rushed in: “She’s gone! Snow White is gone! Her bed was empty when I wanted to wake her at dawn” he panted, bewildered. “Gone?” “Her room is empty; her things are gone. We must find her, before the end of the day, I prefer!” “Darling, “Stephanie put the brush down and turned around, “She is a teenager. And she is angry. Give her some time. She will come back, eventually. Calm down, everything will be fine” “But how can I know she is okay? Does she even know where to stay? “Well...” Stephanie took out her phone and refreshed Instagram. She held the display into his face. “Like that.” Snow White had already uploaded a story of her rushing through the woods, burbling that she was going to get a change of scenery. “On Instagram, you can watch every breath your daughter takes and when she awakes,” Stephanie said, shrugging her shoulders. “The youth of today. Would not survive one day offline. Their Instagram page is their lifeline’’.
At first, Stephanie did not care about the whereabouts of her stepdaughter. But at some point, even she could not ignore the growing popularity of Snow White and the seven dwarfs. She woke up with a feeling of resentment and bitterness, it followed her like the ghost of Snow White’s mother once did. “Enough of this. There must come an end to her bliss!” she thought to herself. And produced a plan. Humiliation. She would serve Snow White blunt humiliation.
Her husband was euphoric about Stephanie’s idea to have a big family gathering- and inviting Snow White to it, of course. He missed his daughter dearly and was ready to forgive her anything. The whole, big family arrived. They had tea, coffee, cake, and pastries. Of course, Snow White was late to the party. “She must always have a grand entrance, as she should this time since it is her last chance.” Stephanie thought to herself, “only this time it will be an entrance she will regret, and we can finally say goodbye to that pretty-looking brunette”.
When Snow White entered the room, everyone stopped talking. Then suddenly, everyone started talking. “So good to see you!”, “Look at you- an adult lady’’, ‘Even prettier than your mother, maybe..’.“Welcome home, Snow White. I truly am filled with delight” Snow White recognized that voice within seconds. She turned around: “Father!” She fell into his arms, apologizing over and over for running away. Her father gives her a hug: “It´s okay Snow, I missed you too. You look just like your mother; I have never seen a more beautiful woman than you. In so many ways, she reminds me of you. Always doing things the way you want to...” Snow white sobbed. Slowly, she let go of the hug. Stephanie stood next to her father. She smiled, but it seemed crooked and artificial. Snow White looked at her remorsefully. “Stephanie, I truly am sorry about the mirror. I know how much it meant to you. Can you forgive me, please? We could start working together, I could really use your expertise” “Of course, my dear. Why don’t you two already sit down? Would you like some cake? You know how I love to bake!”, her stepmother replied with a forced friendliness. “Oh, no I’m gluten-free vegan- maybe just an apple or some other fruits? As long as it doesn’t contain any glutes” Snow White gave her a shy smile. This. Was. Not. Part. Of. The. Plan. “Oh, well, of course. I will get one. This is going to be so much fun”, and Stephanie rushed away.
She had intended to give Snow White a piece of lemon cake, selling it as sugar cake. She knew her stepdaughter to be highly allergic to lemons. Not life-threatening, of course. But just enough to look absolutely revolting. What now? “Think quick...there must be another way to trick,” she thought to herself. Her eyes fell on a bright red apple on the kitchen counter. “Well... An apple she will get, and she is going to love it, I bet’’.
The apple looked delicious. It was so red and shiny, the inside white as snow... But when Snow White finished the apple, her skin started to turn all red, just like planned. “Snow White are you okay, my dear? Your skin is covered in red spots!, While a few minutes ago, it was still clear”, Stephanie gasped loudly. Everyone at the table turned around. Snow White took her phone out to see herself: “Oh no, I straight up look like a tomato!” Her face was pure red, it was covered with spots. Mortified, she ran outside. Stephanie felt as satisfied as she hoped.
But to her irritation, the family was worried and concerned with Snow White’s health. Not a comment about her face, no bad feelings for her running away, AGAIN.
Later that evening, Stephanie saw Snow White’s post on social media. Snow White was talking about “a lesson” and how the rash was “meant to happen”. “Stupid girl, she’s so dumb. Just like her mom,” Stephanie said to herself, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Snow White's words. For how long had she tried to prove her worth to herself and her husband? And how many times had she tried to triumph over the glorious stepdaughter, without any success...? Maybe Snow White was right. This was meant to happen. Because it undoubtedly showed that regardless of the countless attempts, Stephanie was not able to cover the truth: Snow White was loved, and Stephanie was jealous. She started to regret what she had done. Because in the end, it did not change anything for Snow White. There was nothing else for her to do but to let go of the way things were. Well, there was one thing to do. Stephanie hated the idea of it, but as Snow White apologized to her for the mirror, she might as well apologize for the apple dipped in lemon juice.
She rang the seven dwarf’s doorbell. Snow White appeared, beautiful as ever and with a puzzled expression on her face. “Snow White I have to talk to you. I did something terrible, and the guilt I feel is just not bearable. When I gave you the apple at the family gathering, I dipped it into lemon acid, knowing that you would get a rash... hoping that your beauty would burn to ash. I am sorry. I just could not stand your presence, always feeling like I was in your shadow... And your mum’s shadow. I do not have to feel that way, your father loves me, I know. But...” She took a deep breath, “Of course, what I did was out of proportion. Completely childish. I do not know what I was thinking. I am sorry. I would like... if you want... I’d like to start over, that is what I truly wish.”
Stephanie felt uncomfortable and awkward; she barely felt so out of control. And before she could think about it, Snow White burst into laughter. “Why are you laughing? Did I say something wrong?” Stephanie snapped, insecure and irritated. “I don’t know, I just... this whole situation is completely ridiculous. But... yes. Yes, let us start over! I am sure we can finally get along”, Snow White gasped. Stephanie smiled. And before she even knew it, she joined Snow White’s laughter. Because yes, the whole situation was more than ridiculous.
Anyways, they lived happily ever after.