The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Rapunzel’s End
by Alex Grehy

Did you imagine a young girl

would live long? How could she

thrive in a tower alone? Her swirling

emotions flooded her mind, then cold 

and the frailty of a fast-growing body 

deprived of all love and care, left

her grateful when death took her soul.

.

Yet still they came calling,

“Darling, let down your hair!” 

.

Did you imagine her hair would

be lovely? Do you think she had 

water to spare for the washing?

Do you think she conditioned and 

combed? Her despair leached her

spirit and left strands lacklustre, though

without scissors, I’ll grant it was long.

.

But a witch steeped in spite and basted in 

greed is not suited to think these things through.

.

Did you know that my webs are silky

and strong? I wove my threads into her

tangled mane, picking out mats, bugs 

and grime with my deft, bristled limbs. 

Her locks now are golden but my webs made them

grippy and easy to climb. I secured her skull,

in a web, like an egg, then let down her hair.

.

The witch was a feast and none mourned her loss,

so the prince came up fearless, lustful…delicious.

.

Rapunzel, my treasure, as I witnessed your struggles,

I made a gossamer bower, where you lay with your 

anguish and spoke of your dreams. I’m sorry my

listening could not set you free, yet your voice still thrums

in the webs, sighs in the wind, your fame is immortal. 

No-one asks of the fate of your suitors, that secret we 

spiders captured and stifled, so your legend sings on.

.

See how they come calling, “Let down your hair!” 

My cunning children will gladly oblige.

.

.

Fiction © Copyright Alex Grehy
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from author Alex Grehy:

Last Species Standing

Alex Grehy (she/her) enjoys writing quirky, thought-provoking horror and is a regular contributor to The Sirens Call and Ladies of Horror Flash Project. Her fiction and essays on being a lady of horror have featured in a range of publications, including Spread: Tales of Deadly Flora. Alex’s first poetry collection, Last Species Standing, which explores mankind’s relationship with nature and technology, is available on Amazon.

Available on Amazon!