Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS WRITER.
If I had to be honest, if I couldn’t fake it, I’d say that life is pretty good right now. I think I’m finally out of the fog. The fucking bliss and heartache and shock and violence and wonder and aha moments that is having babies. Three of them in three years.
They are magnificent. We have made it through pretty unscathed. Actually, in better condition than most. Imperfect. Superbly imperfect to the point of perfection.
How did I not know that we’d get here? While at the same time being certain of it.
What a fucking ride. No matter what they tell you, you cope with what you get.
Here are some stories I made up that I tell my eldest when she nags me “tell me a story about a cat…” etc. She never gets sick of listening to the same shit. But I always have a message in mind. In my stories everyone is equal and little red riding hood and grandma are feminists who save themselves from the big bad wolf without the help of the huntsman. The princess is a queen and she doesn’t kiss the frog if she doesn’t want to. Fairytales are a fucking minefield of sexism.
1.
One day there was a black cat sitting in the shade napping.
He looked up and saw a yellow bird.
He crept and he creeped and just as he was about to pounce the bird flew up into a tree.
“What do you think you’re doing?” said the yellow bird.
“Nothing. I was just playing.” Replied the black cat.
“You were going to eat me.” Said the yellow bird.
“No I wasn’t.” Replied the black cat.
“Yes you were. Why would you want to do that? You’re not a hungry cat. You live with a girl and a boy. They give you food and water. Sometimes even a saucer of milk.” The yellow bird said.
“Well. You just look so delicious.” Said the black cat.
“Just because we’re different doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.” The yellow bird told the black cat.
And so the black cat and the yellow bird became friends. They did everything together and they were happy.
One day they were snoozing in the sun, when suddenly a dark shadow came over them.
The yellow bird looked up just in time and said to the black cat, “Quick up here!” and flew up into a tree.
The black cat followed him, clawing his way up the trunk.
The yellow bird and the black cat looked down and saw a big white dog with brown spots.
“What are you doing?” asked the black cat.
“Nothing. I was just playing.” Said the white dog with brown spots.
“No you weren’t. You were going to eat me.” Said the black cat.
“Well.” Said the white dog with brown spots. “You just look so delicious.”
“Why would you want to do that? You’re not a hungry dog. You live with a man and a woman. They give you food and water and even a tasty bone sometimes.” The black cat said. “Just because we’re different, doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”
And so the black cat and the yellow bird and the white dog with brown spots became friends and had many adventures together.
2.
One day there was a grey owl who lived high up in the trees.
Sometimes she flew down to the lower branches to get food and twigs for her nest.
When she was sitting on a low log once, she met a green caterpillar.
“That will make a hearty meal.” The grey owl thought to herself.
Just as her claw was about to reach for it, the green caterpillar looked up and said, “Stop! What are you doing? Are you going to eat me?”
“No.” Said the grey owl.
“Yes you were.” Said the green caterpillar. “Just because we’re different doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”
And so the grey owl and the green caterpillar became friends.
They saw each other each day when the grey owl came down from high up in the trees to the lower branches to fetch her food and twigs.
One day, the green caterpillar was nowhere to be found. The grey owl searched and searched, but could not find her friend.
She went to the same place each day and waited for her friend the green caterpillar, but could not find him. Instead she found a strange silver blanket in its place.
The grey owl never gave up and returned every single day, again and again. She flew down to the lower branches each day to wait for her friend the green caterpillar, but he never came back.
Sometime later, the strange silver blanket began to tear and out came two colourful wings of orange, red and blue. The grey owl looked in awe at the creature coming out.
“Hello”, said the creature. “I am a butterfly and I am your friend.”
“You look familiar.” Said the grey owl.
“Yes. I used to be the green caterpillar. Now I am a butterfly.” It said.
The owl and the butterfly remained good friends and had many happy adventures together.