Poison Oakley
A Modern-Day Fairytale
How much is your beauty worth?
Did he break your heart? Boys are all pigs, aren’t they? But chin up, child. Take a bite of this magic apple and with one kiss from you, those boys will show you what they’re really made of, be it villain or prince. It’s my free gift to you. But should you return the gift, the cost will be your beauty. A small price to pay, wouldn’t you say? Besides, you wouldn’t ever return such a special, wondrous gift, would you?
Did he break your heart? Boys are all pigs, aren’t they? But chin up, child. Take a bite of this magic apple and with one kiss from you, those boys will show you what they’re really made of, be it villain or prince. It’s my free gift to you. But should you return the gift, the cost will be your beauty. A small price to pay, wouldn’t you say? Besides, you wouldn’t ever return such a special, wondrous gift, would you?
When her dream date with rich and handsome Kyle Jessup turns into an attempted rape, sixteen-year old Olivia Oakley wants justice! But how can she stop someone whose family owns the entire town?
Enter Mrs. Twyll; a strange old woman with a penchant for apples and shape-shifting. She offers Olivia the free gift of a magic kiss. Be he villain or prince, one kiss will reveal a man’s true soul. There’s only one catch: should she ever decide to return the gift, it will cost Olivia her beauty.
With her newfound power, Olivia goes crazy kissing all the boys who ever wronged her. Kyle transforms into a pig. Victor Molina, a rat. Wenatchee, Washington is in turmoil with the rash of mysterious disappearances, landing Olivia and her geeky best friend, Darwin in trouble with the law. Faced with the consequences of her selfish actions, Olivia must open her eyes and her heart to those who have loved and cared for her all along. She must also ask herself how much her beauty is worth.
Enter Mrs. Twyll; a strange old woman with a penchant for apples and shape-shifting. She offers Olivia the free gift of a magic kiss. Be he villain or prince, one kiss will reveal a man’s true soul. There’s only one catch: should she ever decide to return the gift, it will cost Olivia her beauty.
With her newfound power, Olivia goes crazy kissing all the boys who ever wronged her. Kyle transforms into a pig. Victor Molina, a rat. Wenatchee, Washington is in turmoil with the rash of mysterious disappearances, landing Olivia and her geeky best friend, Darwin in trouble with the law. Faced with the consequences of her selfish actions, Olivia must open her eyes and her heart to those who have loved and cared for her all along. She must also ask herself how much her beauty is worth.
Excerpt
“It is real,” Mrs. Twyll says as if she heard my thoughts. “Don’t you doubt it fer a second. Like I told you, the magic is already inside of you.”
The breath in my lungs bunches up, seizing my chest and making me lightheaded. “But why would you show me something like that? What good does it do me to know that now? I still have to go to school on Monday and face…him.”
She waggles a finger at me. Her laugh comes out deep and husky. “You’ve seen there is power in beauty. I had to show you the truth before you could understand the magic I want to give you.”
“Give me?” I ask. “You mean there’s more?”
Mrs. Twyll nods deeply, making the folds of skin under her chin flap back and forth. “How would you like a sure-fire way to weed out the pigs and find yourself a true Prince Charming?”
“Prince Charming? You mean like in fairytales? Those things aren’t real. How can anything real be so simple?”
Again Mrs. Twyll displays the fruit. “With one bite’a this apple.”
Biting an apple? This is a joke. With all the weird, unexplainable things I’ve seen tonight, I still have the common sense enough to know that biting into apples never ends well for the fairytale princesses. “Uh, I don’t think so,” I say backing away. “It’s been fun and all, but I’m not an idiot.”
She reaches out to me. “Wait, where ya’ going?”
“Look, it’s late. I have to get home. You seem like a nice old lady, but I’m not falling for the whole poison apple routine.”
“My apple ain’t poison!” Mrs. Twyll shouts. “Wait, I’ll prove it to ya’.” For effect, she bites off a huge chunk of the apple in her hand. “See?” she says spitting juice. “I ain’t poisoned’r nothin’.”
Even at six feet away, I’m still sprayed with applesauce, giving me Gladys flashbacks. “You are a crazy old broad.” I say. “Okay, you’ve got ten seconds. What’s the deal?”
Quickly, Mrs. Twyll chokes down her mouthful. “Take a bite’a this apple and one kiss from you will reveal a man’s true heart.”
“What do you mean, ‘true heart’?”
“If a guy is a low-down weasel, you’ll see it. If he only loves you fer yer money, you’ll know.”
“Ha!” I laugh. “You have to have money for that to happen.”
Mrs. Twyll shrugs. “Whatever he is on the inside, you’ll see it plain as day on the outside with one kiss from you.”
“See it how? Like a picture or a movie?”
“Naw, it’s better than that,” she says with a devious twinkle to her eyes. “They become whatever they epitomize. If he truly is a low-down weasel, poof! He becomes a weasel. If the boy truly is a pig like you said, you’ll be lookin’ at a swine.”
I indulge myself, imagining all the boys who have hurt me turning into the filthy creatures they really are. I have to admit it’s a wonderful fantasy, but that’s all it is. Everything I’ve seen tonight has to have some kind of rational explanation. No doubt I’ll wake up in the morning with a raging headache and one heck of a dream to tell my mom about.
“You said I’d find my Prince Charming,” I continue. “I don’t want to turn Mr. Right into something wrong just because I kissed him.”
“That’s the beauty of the magic kiss.” Mrs. Twyll bounces on her toes, practically giddy as she explains. “If he plans you no harm and his intentions are genuine, if he truly loves you for the person you are, your kiss won’t change him at all. That’s how you’ll know. And the kiss is never wrong.”
I think of Kyle’s behavior at the Sock Hop and that possessive kiss on the dance floor. A magic kiss would have saved me a lot of heartbreak if I’d had it then. It could be a lifesaver in future situations too. If something like that were real. If. Seeing Mrs. Twyll practically drooling with anticipation makes me trust it even less. Still, the mere possibility interests me. There has to be more to it than just one kiss. “What’s in it for you?” I ask eyeing her with suspicion. “What’s the catch?”
Mrs. Twyll fidgets, shifting on her feet.
“Don’t give me that,” I demand. “There’s always a catch. What’s the catch?”
“Well, there is one tiny thing,” she says, pinching her thumb and forefinger to indicate how miniscule the catch is. “I do get a little somethin’ in return.”
“Uh-huh. Are we talking something small like payment for services or something major like sacrificing my first born child?”
She hisses through her yellow teeth at my ridiculousness. “Heavens, no, silly child! Nothin’ like that. Good gracious!”
“What then?”
The chuckle which seemed to come so easily to Mrs. Twyll now takes on a nervous twitter. “Well, there is one itty-bitty condition. I’ll give ya’ this magic, no questions asked. It will be yours to keep forever and you can use it as often as ya’ want. But if you ever want to give it back to me for any reason…”
She trails off and I roll my hands at her. “Yeah, what’s the rest? If I give it back, I have to give you what?”
Her lip quivers over her snaggletooth. “You have to give me…yer beauty.”
“My what?” I shout. “How the heck am I supposed to give you my beauty?”
“It don’t matter none,” she says dismissingly. “You won’t be bringin’ it back anyway. A girl as intelligent and pretty as you are knows a good thing when you’ve got it. I can imagine you would save the magic fer emergencies. You’re not the kind of person to be irresponsible with such a gift. You won’t be givin’ it up fer nothin’.”
I am intelligent and responsible, sometimes to a fault. If such magic were real, wouldn’t that be a delightful secret weapon to have in my arsenal? What am I thinking? None of this is real. It’s totally illogical to think…Oh, but wouldn’t it be awesome if it was? The fizzy thrill returns to my tummy as I look at the strange old woman with a basket of stolen apples. “Okay,” I say with a daring feeling. “It’s a deal. Gimme a bite.”
“Atta girl,” Mrs. Twyll says with the widest of smiles. “You won’t regret it.”
I take the apple, turning to the unbitten side and I dig my teeth in, handing the leftovers back to Mrs. Twyll. As I chomp, the apple doesn’t taste any different; still sweet, still juicy, but kind of mushy. I prefer my apples crisp.
I swallow my bite as quickly as I can, thinking of the long walk home I still have to look forward to. The old woman looks like she’s anticipating something. Suddenly I worry that I’ll be the one transforming into something undesirable. There’s nothing saying Mrs. Twyll had to be honest with me. “I don’t feel any magic or anything. Should something be happening?”
“No, no. You won’t feel any different at all,” she replies quickly. “Only the boys you kiss.”
Well, that was a bit anticlimactic. I was hoping for something more visual, a glowing light or a fairy Godmother-type transformation. With my buzz thoroughly killed, I feel stupid standing in the middle of nowhere with a crazy old lady. “Um, okay. It’s been…memorable to say the least. I guess I should be heading home then. Got a long way to walk.”
“Oh, I understand,” Mrs. Twyll nods with a breathless chitter to her voice. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Olivia. I’m glad I could be some help to such a promising young lady.”
I try to smile, but I can’t seem to shake this eerie feeling. When I turn to walk away, I stop with one last question. “Uh, I’m sure you’re right, that I’ll use this…magic wisely, but let’s just say—however unlikely the possibility—that I decide I want to give the magic back. How will I find you again?”
“I’ll be here,” Mrs. Twyll says, taking a few steps back into the fog. “I’ll always be around, Olivia Oakley. Just call my name.”
I stand mesmerized as the old woman holds her arms out wide, looking to the sky. She makes a disturbing sound like a warbled scream. Before my eyes, her patterned dress flushes as black as ink from top to bottom. In a blink, Mrs. Twyll’s body shrinks up, transforming her into a cawing black crow.
The crow’s flapping wings pull the fog around it into swirling spirals. The crow squawks as it shoots up into the night, its shadowy silhouette saying framed for a moment within the giant harvest moon. At the folding of its wings, the crow dives down, disappearing behind a sea of Jessup apple trees.
My knees tremble with what I’ve witnessed. Giving my head a rousing shake, I set my feet walking in the direction of home. “Yep,” I finally say out loud. “Definitely, definitely a dream!”
“It is real,” Mrs. Twyll says as if she heard my thoughts. “Don’t you doubt it fer a second. Like I told you, the magic is already inside of you.”
The breath in my lungs bunches up, seizing my chest and making me lightheaded. “But why would you show me something like that? What good does it do me to know that now? I still have to go to school on Monday and face…him.”
She waggles a finger at me. Her laugh comes out deep and husky. “You’ve seen there is power in beauty. I had to show you the truth before you could understand the magic I want to give you.”
“Give me?” I ask. “You mean there’s more?”
Mrs. Twyll nods deeply, making the folds of skin under her chin flap back and forth. “How would you like a sure-fire way to weed out the pigs and find yourself a true Prince Charming?”
“Prince Charming? You mean like in fairytales? Those things aren’t real. How can anything real be so simple?”
Again Mrs. Twyll displays the fruit. “With one bite’a this apple.”
Biting an apple? This is a joke. With all the weird, unexplainable things I’ve seen tonight, I still have the common sense enough to know that biting into apples never ends well for the fairytale princesses. “Uh, I don’t think so,” I say backing away. “It’s been fun and all, but I’m not an idiot.”
She reaches out to me. “Wait, where ya’ going?”
“Look, it’s late. I have to get home. You seem like a nice old lady, but I’m not falling for the whole poison apple routine.”
“My apple ain’t poison!” Mrs. Twyll shouts. “Wait, I’ll prove it to ya’.” For effect, she bites off a huge chunk of the apple in her hand. “See?” she says spitting juice. “I ain’t poisoned’r nothin’.”
Even at six feet away, I’m still sprayed with applesauce, giving me Gladys flashbacks. “You are a crazy old broad.” I say. “Okay, you’ve got ten seconds. What’s the deal?”
Quickly, Mrs. Twyll chokes down her mouthful. “Take a bite’a this apple and one kiss from you will reveal a man’s true heart.”
“What do you mean, ‘true heart’?”
“If a guy is a low-down weasel, you’ll see it. If he only loves you fer yer money, you’ll know.”
“Ha!” I laugh. “You have to have money for that to happen.”
Mrs. Twyll shrugs. “Whatever he is on the inside, you’ll see it plain as day on the outside with one kiss from you.”
“See it how? Like a picture or a movie?”
“Naw, it’s better than that,” she says with a devious twinkle to her eyes. “They become whatever they epitomize. If he truly is a low-down weasel, poof! He becomes a weasel. If the boy truly is a pig like you said, you’ll be lookin’ at a swine.”
I indulge myself, imagining all the boys who have hurt me turning into the filthy creatures they really are. I have to admit it’s a wonderful fantasy, but that’s all it is. Everything I’ve seen tonight has to have some kind of rational explanation. No doubt I’ll wake up in the morning with a raging headache and one heck of a dream to tell my mom about.
“You said I’d find my Prince Charming,” I continue. “I don’t want to turn Mr. Right into something wrong just because I kissed him.”
“That’s the beauty of the magic kiss.” Mrs. Twyll bounces on her toes, practically giddy as she explains. “If he plans you no harm and his intentions are genuine, if he truly loves you for the person you are, your kiss won’t change him at all. That’s how you’ll know. And the kiss is never wrong.”
I think of Kyle’s behavior at the Sock Hop and that possessive kiss on the dance floor. A magic kiss would have saved me a lot of heartbreak if I’d had it then. It could be a lifesaver in future situations too. If something like that were real. If. Seeing Mrs. Twyll practically drooling with anticipation makes me trust it even less. Still, the mere possibility interests me. There has to be more to it than just one kiss. “What’s in it for you?” I ask eyeing her with suspicion. “What’s the catch?”
Mrs. Twyll fidgets, shifting on her feet.
“Don’t give me that,” I demand. “There’s always a catch. What’s the catch?”
“Well, there is one tiny thing,” she says, pinching her thumb and forefinger to indicate how miniscule the catch is. “I do get a little somethin’ in return.”
“Uh-huh. Are we talking something small like payment for services or something major like sacrificing my first born child?”
She hisses through her yellow teeth at my ridiculousness. “Heavens, no, silly child! Nothin’ like that. Good gracious!”
“What then?”
The chuckle which seemed to come so easily to Mrs. Twyll now takes on a nervous twitter. “Well, there is one itty-bitty condition. I’ll give ya’ this magic, no questions asked. It will be yours to keep forever and you can use it as often as ya’ want. But if you ever want to give it back to me for any reason…”
She trails off and I roll my hands at her. “Yeah, what’s the rest? If I give it back, I have to give you what?”
Her lip quivers over her snaggletooth. “You have to give me…yer beauty.”
“My what?” I shout. “How the heck am I supposed to give you my beauty?”
“It don’t matter none,” she says dismissingly. “You won’t be bringin’ it back anyway. A girl as intelligent and pretty as you are knows a good thing when you’ve got it. I can imagine you would save the magic fer emergencies. You’re not the kind of person to be irresponsible with such a gift. You won’t be givin’ it up fer nothin’.”
I am intelligent and responsible, sometimes to a fault. If such magic were real, wouldn’t that be a delightful secret weapon to have in my arsenal? What am I thinking? None of this is real. It’s totally illogical to think…Oh, but wouldn’t it be awesome if it was? The fizzy thrill returns to my tummy as I look at the strange old woman with a basket of stolen apples. “Okay,” I say with a daring feeling. “It’s a deal. Gimme a bite.”
“Atta girl,” Mrs. Twyll says with the widest of smiles. “You won’t regret it.”
I take the apple, turning to the unbitten side and I dig my teeth in, handing the leftovers back to Mrs. Twyll. As I chomp, the apple doesn’t taste any different; still sweet, still juicy, but kind of mushy. I prefer my apples crisp.
I swallow my bite as quickly as I can, thinking of the long walk home I still have to look forward to. The old woman looks like she’s anticipating something. Suddenly I worry that I’ll be the one transforming into something undesirable. There’s nothing saying Mrs. Twyll had to be honest with me. “I don’t feel any magic or anything. Should something be happening?”
“No, no. You won’t feel any different at all,” she replies quickly. “Only the boys you kiss.”
Well, that was a bit anticlimactic. I was hoping for something more visual, a glowing light or a fairy Godmother-type transformation. With my buzz thoroughly killed, I feel stupid standing in the middle of nowhere with a crazy old lady. “Um, okay. It’s been…memorable to say the least. I guess I should be heading home then. Got a long way to walk.”
“Oh, I understand,” Mrs. Twyll nods with a breathless chitter to her voice. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Olivia. I’m glad I could be some help to such a promising young lady.”
I try to smile, but I can’t seem to shake this eerie feeling. When I turn to walk away, I stop with one last question. “Uh, I’m sure you’re right, that I’ll use this…magic wisely, but let’s just say—however unlikely the possibility—that I decide I want to give the magic back. How will I find you again?”
“I’ll be here,” Mrs. Twyll says, taking a few steps back into the fog. “I’ll always be around, Olivia Oakley. Just call my name.”
I stand mesmerized as the old woman holds her arms out wide, looking to the sky. She makes a disturbing sound like a warbled scream. Before my eyes, her patterned dress flushes as black as ink from top to bottom. In a blink, Mrs. Twyll’s body shrinks up, transforming her into a cawing black crow.
The crow’s flapping wings pull the fog around it into swirling spirals. The crow squawks as it shoots up into the night, its shadowy silhouette saying framed for a moment within the giant harvest moon. At the folding of its wings, the crow dives down, disappearing behind a sea of Jessup apple trees.
My knees tremble with what I’ve witnessed. Giving my head a rousing shake, I set my feet walking in the direction of home. “Yep,” I finally say out loud. “Definitely, definitely a dream!”
Content copyright (c) Jennifer B. Fields 2010-2017