Page 4 of Bears Not Included

“Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a derivative of the original story.”

It feels oddly liberating to finally talk to Faith about my mother's version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, even though she doesn’t know it’s from my mom. It had been our secret, and my mom made me promise not to tell another soul about it.

People wouldn’t believe me, she said, and the same thing that happened to her would happen to me. She worried most about that for me. She feared people would think I was also crazy like they thought she was.

They were all wrong, though, about my mom. She may have been eccentric, but she was extremely smart and super intelligent. She could recite everything she had read. And her sketches were amazing. She understood things that made me look up at her in wonder. But more than anything, she loved me fiercely, just the way I was. A girl.

“Okay, tell me everything.” Faith gets comfortable on my bed.

I start with the origin story. Their genesis.

Chapter Three

Livia

“Once upon a time, in a cottage by a stream, there lived three men. Bernard, Barrett, and Bruin. Tall, strong, and scary, they had the perfect combination to keep everyone away. The villagers at the foot of the mountain on top of which they lived, feared them sufficiently enough that they were called monsters of the night, ghouls, or deathly beasts whose paths should not be crossed.

“Some people said they were infinitely scarier. They slept through the winter and ate honey and berries in the summer. They could hear sounds that humans couldn't, and they were faster than man on earth. Other animals quivered in their presence, then fled in fright. Some animals bowed in respect to them before they slowly backed away.

“One thing was certain. They were best left alone, and soon they were entirely forgotten.

“But one day, far in the treacherous forest, a golden-haired beauty by the name of Goldenia was being chased by a barbaric army of men. Goldenia’s father had wanted her to marry the cruelest man of them all, and in fear, she had run away into the forest.

“Goldenia tripped over rotten branches, skinned her knees, and bruised her cheeks. She ran until she couldn’t feel her legs anymore, deeper and deeper into the darker parts of the forest. Nothing could be worse ahead of her than the devil she knew chasing after her.

“She had already decided on her death, but it would be on her terms and no one else's.

“Her determination spurred her on, and she ran and ran tirelessly. As the sun set in the sky and gave way to darkness, she lay hidden in the shadows of the night forest, waiting until she could no longer hear her name being shouted.

“Exhausted, slumber overcame her, and she fell asleep, curled inside the alcove of a tree’s rotting roots. She had no idea how much time had passed—only that she was dying of hunger and thirst, and her body had grown as cold as a corpse. She was convinced she had run the whole day and half the night.

“Slowly, she crept out of her hiding place, hurt and heartbroken that her father cared so little for her when faced with a bag of gold. She stumbled through the gnarly forest, ready to accept her fate as the fight in her dwindled.

“Suddenly, the treacherous, thorny earth gave way to a gentle rustle of leaves beneath her bloody feet. The scent of damp earth and rot gave way to the crispness of pine and wildflowers, of woodsmoke, and of homeliness as the sun started to rise in the sky.

“It was as if she had stepped over a magical portal into a charming part of the forest. She wasn’t from the village below, so she was unfamiliar with the parts around her.

“Her father had to sail a boat across the waters for them to meet her new husband, only to discover she had been tricked by them both. He had sold her, and her future husband intended to use her as a slave, not a bride he doted upon.

“Drawn by the swirls of smoke coming from a chimney in the roof, she hurried forward, wanting nothing more than to warm her frozen feet and rest her aching head and heart for a moment.

“She knocked repeatedly on the door, and when no answer was given, she turned the knob, and the door clicked open.

“Immediately she was swathed in a blanket of warmth from the large fireplace, the sweet aroma of porridge, and three comfortable beds. She called out as loudly as she could. She waited for what felt like an eternity for an answer before Goldenia promised she would take what she needed for now, and when the owners returned from wherever they were, she would find a way to repay them.

“She rested her wary limbs in front of the fireplace and warmed her feet. She tasted the porridge, and soon, satiation gave her a warm glow from the inside. Warm, fed, and tired, she sought out one of the beds on which to lay her head, only for a moment… just for one moment.

“While it felt as if she had been asleep for days on the warm, comfortable bed, only minutes had passed when she was awoken by the strange, almost comforting weight of the gaze of three strangers standing around the bed on which she had laid her head.

“Goldenia sprang up from the bed, repeatedly blinking, as she tried to tell herself she was not imagining the three huge and handsome men standing around her with puzzled expressions on their faces. They were very much real.

“At once, she thought she had run away from a cruel man into the arms of three cruel men. But surely a girl who had been good all her life didn’t deserve such a brutal twist.

“‘What is this?’ asked the men in unison. ‘We stroll our land while our breakfast cools and come back to this?’

“One of them then said, ‘She warmed my chair with her sweet bottom.’

“The second said, ‘She ate my porridge with a spoon that touched my lips.’

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