Everything changed when her parents left the world leaving her hopelessly abandoned and scared. As a six year old girl, who’s all alone with no one to share her future memories with, it’s just a pity. Especially in a gigantic castle where she still could easily get lost in. Days passed by and her aghast emotions made it dragged even slower. All alone, knowing that she was trying endlessly hard on getting over the fact that her mom died when she was only 3; now all of a sudden the only person she only had left also, made her feelings indescribable with confusion and frustration. She sits there in silence, thinking, worrying, who is going to take care of me?

Just as Joleen’s tears fell from her cheeks, came a bang so loud that she felt the castle tremble. She just sat there, not knowing what to do. Alas, she finally stood up annoyed from the eighteenth irritating bang. She grabbed hold of the door handle and opened her gigantic door slowly. She looked up and saw a lady, whose eyebrows arched as high as the mountain top in Mt. Everest. If you squinted your eyes and focused on them carefully, you could notice that it was not real. The lady had the kindest smile anyone could ever have. But Joleen doesn’t know that looks could be deceiving, since she still had a mind of a six year old girl at the time.

“My dear, you look dashingly pretty!” said the lady that had the deepest, velvet voice disguised with this high screechy voice.

She then stepped in the house without hearing an answer from Joleen. Joleen just stood there, motionless with her hand still gripped on to the door handle staring wide-eyed at the lady. Her hand was just too small to hold on to knob of the door which had careful, detailed engraved art all over it. So instead, she just grabbed on to the handle that dangled from it. The lady then asked,


“Is anyone living here with you, my sweetie?” while she paced herself around the dark, empty castle fondling with every ancient furniture she could see.

Joleen just stood there in pure silence, wondering how she could say it easily that her parents whom she loved dearly, died. So instead, she didn’t answer because if she would, she would just start weeping again. The lady then brushed the question off and said to Joleen with a much sterner look this time,

“Joleen, you listen carefully,” demanded the lady with a much gruffer tone, “From now on, I am to be called your step-mum. You are here to serve me because I am going to take your father’s place. Do I make myself clear, Joleen?”

Joleen didn’t have a choice to answer or even question the fact that this stranger just barged in like it’s her own house. But practically, from the looks of it, Joleen has a feeling that she wasn’t kidding on behalf of what she said.

Days pass by and Joleen could slightly see the vulgar attitude her step-mum expresses. Weeks gone by and her step-mum commands Joleen to do this, to do that, as if she’s a crippled person. Her step-mum seems to make never ending rules. One of them consisted about making Joleen sleep in a small abandoned room in the other side of the castle where no one ever trespasses. Her step-mum even tells her to take off the clothes that her father made just for her, and find clothes for herself. The clothes that Joleen wears from the day that lady stepped into Joleen’s castle are old rags coming from the dumpster. At the time, she was too young to learn how to sew her own clothes but while getting older, she picked it up pretty fast and developed some skills all on her own. Her step-mum even mentioned one day with no expressions at all,

“You are a servant, for therefor you shall look like one, and act like one!” Just that one sentence rambles around Joleen’s head every night and day.

Years have gone by and Joleen stays the same with her naive self while obeying every command her step-mum and her daughter makes. Even though she let her step-mum treat her like some piece of garbage, she still manages to keep a straight face showing no emotions. She couldn’t just fight back and tell her step-mum to just leave. Her step-mum is actually the only one she has. Her daughter, Lea is only two years younger than Joleen. She is like the younger version of her step-mum. One day, Joleen was too exhausted from the entire floor scrubbing/waxing of the castle that her strength was lessening every passing minute. She was carrying a bucket filled with water and soap up the stairs so she could clean the upper level of the castle. When she finally reached to the top of the twenty-ninth step, she felt unstable and uneasy that she fell on her knees making the water from the bucket spill. Then all of a sudden, she heard a loud shriek. She looked up seeing Lea on the floor giving that look-what-you-did look. The next day, Joleen got punished by getting hit numerous times on her legs with a thorn whip made just for her. Seeing the red, dark blood slowly making its way down her ankle made her cry even more.

Growing up as a servant while her teenage years go by makes her feel despairing. Even worse, when she thinks about her parents that all of a sudden left. She is the girl who is heavyhearted and no one is there to help her. At times, she has this insane rage against her own parents for leaving her in this world all alone. On her old and ripped pillow, she screams her lungs out until she loses her voice. What else can she do but cry herself to sleep every single night?

Every night she lays awake planning, thinking if she should just run and escape from this place of agony. And one night, she finally made the decision to do so. She knew the sleeping schedule of her step-mum and Lea’s. As soon as the clock strikes 1, she’s going to make a run for it since that’s about the time when both of the witches are in deep asleep.

She knows this from that one night when she was 7 and was terrified for the storm and thunder awoke her in her sleep. So she went running from her room, all the way to her step-mum’s room passing Lea’s, almost feeling as if it was a mile. She ran to her bed, not even bothering to knock because of how frightened she was, grabbing the soft linen and immediately covered herself. She laid there for the past three hours waiting, waiting for her step-mum to say something, waiting for words to comfort her, just waiting for something. But all she heard was the crashing of the thunder that left the castle vastly shaking. Until finally, she hears a groan and realizes that her step-mum was finally awake. When her step-mum turned to her side where Joleen was hiding, she screamed so loud that it could be mistaken with the thunder. She then roared with anger,

“YOU INSUBORDINATE CHILD! YOUR FILTH IS NOW ALL OVER MY SHEETS! GET OUT OF THIS PLACE THIS INSTANCE!”

From then on, she learned three lessons. One, never risk your life to run, what feels like a mile, just to go to your step-mum’s room. Two, never lay awake for three hours waiting for your step-mum to say something. And three, she now knows how deep asleep she is in, no matter how loud the surrounding is.

While preparing the dinner for the two b****es, she was extra nice by giving them their favorite dish. After waiting for them to finish, she did her chores and went right to her room, patiently waiting. For about four hours, she laid on her bed, contemplating about her escape plan. When the clock strikes midnight, she went to prepare herself. She could almost feel the freedom hours away.

When she’s finally ready, she slowly walked out of her own dungeon and looked both sideways down the hall. She didn’t know why she did that, since she’s the only one staying there and her step-mum and sister was way on the other side. She walked down the left side of the hall where the closest back gate is at. She kept walking until the end of the hall and steadily turned left. She felt as if her footsteps were so loud that even the rats could be awoken from it. Every step of the way, she could feel the sweat drop from her forehead. She would look back time to time, just to make sure if anyone, specifically her evil little step-sister was following her.

When she finally got herself out of the castle, and her feet touching the wilted grass, hope was starting to relive itself. She started running faster and faster, trying not to make a sound with her heavy breathing. She dared not look to back but kept her eyes forward. She could almost see the gate that was overspread with branches of prickly thorns. When she finally could touch the gate seconds away, something made her want to look back. She turned around slowly, with her hand tightly gripped on to the gate.

She saw a little girl with this pink bow dangling from her head while she plays with her many dolls. Her smile brightening up the whole place probably made the shining sun quite jealous. Someone tall with the most gorgeous, brunette hair that gracefully flowed down to her back stepped out from the castle. She went up to the girl and played with her. It made the girl’s golden brown eyes much brighter than it was three seconds ago. Their bond was indescribably perfect. Next thing you know, a much taller man with his beard covering most of his face joined. He brought with him cups of lemonade juice to drink for the three of them. Their smile, their laughs, the joyfulness they had made nothing else mattered.

That little girl was Joleen. She will always have that memory kept in her heart. It was the only memory that she considered perfect, the last memory where she sees herself smiling.

She came back to reality and focused on the gate. She tried finding the latch of the gate by going through the thorny branches. She felt the thorns penetrating deeply in her skin that her blood starts to drip on to her foot. She finally felt the latch and twisted it carefully but very quietly. She pushed outwards and took off, running away as fast as she could. No matter how much her feet hurts from running barefoot, she still manages to keep going. No matter how much pain she was in, she kept her life going to this day, making freedom the most miraculous gift anyone could ever receive.

Her only last treasure she seeks now is revenge.