A Hand-spun Tale from Somewhere Not Too Far Away

Drip. Drip. Drip. “Oh s**t, I forgot to turn off the water faucet properly again,” Goldilocks muttered under her breath, as she struggled to get into her tight brassiere quickly before stumbling back towards the bathroom to twist the faucet shut. Just then, papa bear walked into the room, greeted by Goldilocks’ half-naked body. The large male bear figure looked shocked. “Oh. My. Brother Bear! I am so sorry, I really didn’t see – “ “AHHHH! Get out!” Goldilocks shrieked even before Papa bear had the chance to complete his apology. He didn’t sound at all sincere to Goldilocks, anyway, especially since he continued to stand there, jaws slightly agape and eyes enlarged, fixated on Goldilocks’ bare bum. She grimaced upon realizing his clearly unapologetic gaze; those two beady eyes almost as though they were filled with wonder and admiration. For what seemed like forever to Goldilocks, more specifically about five full long seconds, the duo stood frozen in their awkward positions, Goldilocks in the glass-plated bathroom attempting to shield her bare body with nothing but her hands and Papa bear with his torso leaning into the room, one foot in and the other out, mid-way between coming into the room and reversing back out. “Perv! Why aren’t you getting out?! Get out for sheeps’ sake! SHOOT YOU!” Goldilocks, unsurprisingly, got extremely heated up, a mixture of absolute rage and digust, as she stormed up to Papa bear and roughly shoved him out of the room before slamming the door shut. BANG! Her embarrassment from being seen naked clearly had melted away, replaced by the fury and astonishment at Papa bear’s gut to pause and stare at her for that long. How could he know he was intruding into her privacy and yet dare to stand there gawking at her for five seconds?! Then again – amidst her fury, she knew a tinge of guilt lingered. When the anger finally subsided, her rational mind reminded her that this house did not belong to her; the territory belonged to that humble-looking bear after all. Goldilocks had been lost in woods for a few days before she had stumbled upon this beautiful hut. The warm atmosphere, deliciously supplied kitchen, snuggle-worthy beds and of course heater-installed shower felt like a miracle from the Gods above. Even though she knew the apartment belonged to a family of bears as she could guess from the photographs and decorations around, she couldn’t help but make herself feel at home, blaming the lack of a lock and its empty state for her trespassing. The past few sleepless nights and grass-fed days meant that Goldilocks could not help but rummage through the kitchen, emptying its contents for a satisfying feast and then plopping onto one of the warm comfy beds, the one that was “just right” of course, before falling into a deep, long sleep. When she had awoken, since there was still no one around, of course Goldilocks could not help but take a nice shower with the heater set to the perfect temperature to make the best out of this pot of gold she had stumbled upon. She wasn’t thinking of leaving so soon, no, of course not. In fact, during her shower just now, she was just thinking of offering some cleaning services to the owners in exchange for a room in this place to stay. In fact, she had a couple more ideas she had come up with during the shower which she had intended to propose as a back-up or add-on plan. But now, with the atmosphere so tense between the male head of the house and herself, Goldilocks saw her chances of being allowed to stay on slim down to a crisp. Snapping out of her conflicted state, Goldilocks quickly put all her clothes back on and then started pacing up and down the room. The uncanny silence on the other side of the door only freaked her out even more. Was that male bear not angry with her for trespassing? Is he apologetic for having seen what he was not supposed to see – her, half-naked? (At this point in time her brows creased as she relived the most revolting memory of his five-second gawk of adoration.) Or was the male bear now seething with rage after she pushed him most heartlessly out of his own master bedroom? Could he be planning his revenge on her now? “His eyes were almost popping out of their sockets then, oozing with lust and lechery,” she cried to herself. She realized she could no longer feel safe enough anymore to stay in this place, even if she were allowed to. The million possibilities and thoughts that flooded in her mind almost raced as fast as her heart was beating as she continually walked up and down the room. Completely confused and lost, rather anxious and still pretty damn mad, she was. Just then, she heard a sweet voice from the other side of the room, “Honey? Honey, come here and help me pack the groceries, would you? I would think the seven lil’ dwarves passed by our house again – Look! The kitchen is an absolute mess and the dishwasher is in a wreck! It’s funny because I don’t remember them seven tiny fellows being so impolite about everything. They usually cleaned up after themselves, always had such impeccable manners in front of us and made sure they didn’t take more than was enough for them. Papa bear, do you hear me? Come over here to the kitchen!” “That must be the female head of the house, the mother bear,” Goldilocks whispered. She headed over to the nearest bedside table and picked up one of their family photographs featuring three bears, staring at the picture to keep herself sane and focused. The soothing sound of the female bear’s voice and peaceful birds chirping by the window were a complete juxtaposition to the intense fear, crippling anxiety and guilt-mixed anger she felt inside. The neat, smooth wooden frame rubbing inside of her clutch against her sweaty palms felt like God’s reminder to her that she was, after all, the trespasser and stranger in this household at this moment and that anything else that had happened just a minute ago must be immediately forgotten, forgiven and thrown to the back of her mind if she wanted to survive in this wicked woods.