The Modern Day Story of Ugly Duckling And Mother Goose
Ugly Duckling was thrusted into this world, constantly reminded of her being a misfit — as if it were solely her fault for being born non-conforming to the familial and social standards of aesthetics, congeniality, and intelligence.
Consequently, Ugly Duckling learned early on to stay in her lane, shunning any chance of exposure in the limelight. There’s just so much Ugly Duckling can take — constant berating, taunting as well as corporeal punishment.
Soon Ugly Duckling discovered the power of English literature, particularly the likes of Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, and Arsène Lupin that would provide a safe haven to hide, to analyze, and to dream.
Ugly Duckling never cared for Cinderella, but she gave a good cry for Little Mermaid. Perhaps it’s because she knew early on that it’s best to love someone more than herself, since her love quota was always on the diminishing side. Maybe. Just maybe she might strike gold and someone would eventually take notice of Ugly Duckling’s existence right there in a dark corner.
But the acknowledgement of Ugly Duckling’s existence never came. She thought of giving up on life. Yet she’s a bit afraid. Plus she’s built like a diving duck, not a dabbler. She could hold her breath underwater for almost eternity without drowning. Nevertheless, she gave herself credit for trying.
As Ugly Duckling reached puberty, her deliberate neglect of hygiene and out-of-control spotting on her face finally ‘attracted’ attention. She should have known the aftermath: an unrelenting salvo of verbal ridicule.
Ugly Duckling finally had enough. No sooner had she decided to venture into the high traffic lane to get herself nicely flattened like a road kill than Mother Goose made her loud introduction into Ugly Duckling’s life.
Mother Goose, all rainbows, sunshine and unicorns, took Ugly Duckling under her wing. Little did Mother Goose understand that adopting a stray like Ugly Duckling took efforts. Ugly Duckling had her demons. Mother Goose’s kindness had to be veiled with motives, Ugly Duckling concluded.
Boy, was Ugly Duckling mistaken. Mother Goose showered, not sprinkled, mind you, her magical fairy dust and in one fell swoop, serendipitously assumed the role of surrogacy. Yet, Dear Mother Goose, Ugly Duckling still had dragons to slay at night. Once strayed, there’s little chance of being ‘un-strayed’.
Then the time came when Mother Goose had to set Ugly Duckling free. Through Mother Goose’s blessings, Ugly Duckling migrated to the Land of the Free and never looked back at her former life. Meanwhile, Ugly Duckling foolishly lost her promise of keeping in touch. Once again, Mother Goose surely should have known she risked having her heart broken by adopting a stray.
In the Land of the Free, Ugly Duckling remained aloof until an exotic male Mallard came along. Together for soon-to-be 29 years of matrimony, Ugly Duckling had never thought of being a parent. You see, she’s afraid of parenting. The birthing part was a piece of cake, she told herself. She could not endure brining another life to the Earth to end up suffering the same fate as she did, especially the Land of the Free is really not what it cracks up to be.
Ugly Duckling’s self-criticism, fear of rejection, and most of all, super-human perfectionism finally did her in. She decided to take a long-deserved break from engaging with the world. Selfishly, only in her alone time of recent days did Ugly Duckling start missing Mother Goose.
Ugly Duckling was proud of her sleuthing skills in tracking down Mother Goose. When Mother Goose did not respond immediately, Ugly Duckling’s low self-esteem and fear of rejection reared their respective ugly heads. She could not sleep.
In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday morning, Ugly Duckling, after yet another night of insomnia, was ecstatically surprised with the precious gift of message from Mother Goose. Ugly Duckling was sensitive enough to read between the lines that the Mother Goose she knew is still full of spunk. She reluctantly bid Mother Goose good night, as there’s a 15 hour of time difference.
Then about two hours later, Ugly Duckling got a short message from Mother Goose with “Love You” at the end. Ugly Duckling broke down and cried. She needed the emotional release like an overflow dam. Dear Mother Goose, Ugly Duckling’s birth parents NEVER once expressed their love. She’s been waiting for 52 long drawn-out years for this. Perhaps this stray Ugly Duckling can be made ‘un-strayed’ once for good.
I love you, Mother Goose.
