In one moment, her life, the one that had just begun, had ended. The beautiful innocence of her childhood was gone, replaced by the cold body of the one she had loved.
Her life, which had been previously colored golden by wonderful wishes and imagination, was now a dull shade of grey, cold truth, and black, evil heartbreak.
She stayed there for a few moments, not wanting to believe it, not wanting to let go of the few golden strands of hope. But even then she knew the situation was hopeless, and she could not stay clinging to a fantasy.
She buried him beside the tower, a heavy, sad task. But not once did a tear fall, for her world was grey and colorless. There was no dream, no love. That was in the golden past, the past she now knew to be false. For the world was dark and cruel, and if it found any drop of sunlight, it destroyed it.
But even as the darkness threatened to fall forever, covering her world, there was a glimmer of hope in the distance. For she had a real family, a perfect moment to go back to.
She walked unnoticed to the castle, a ray of hope in her heart. Everything would be perfect again. But as she looked in the tall window, she saw that the moment had ended. The flower of hope in her heart was crushed by reality.
They were beautiful brown-haired children, so much like her that one would not be able to tell them apart. But they could not be her family, the perfect moment was gone, had ended the moment she had been snatched from her crib. For their world, their perfect golden innocence, would come crashing down the moment she stepped in the door. She had been forgotten, replaced, just like an old paintbrush. She could not know as she walked quietly away the sad looks they shared with each other, the cold but warm indigo longing that hung over them all.
Her journey was complete as she walked back to the tower. Her heart had turned to stone, the world grey and black. She was emotionless, a cold, unfeeling being.
But then she saw a faded red, one that belonged back in the golden past. It was hazelnut soup, it was I love you most, it was what all the golden dreams depended on. But it was dust, it was gone, and the whole world suddenly turned blue.
All the tears that had not fallen when the world was grey now fell. It was sadness, it was longing, it was pain. And as Rapunzel closed her eyes, a ray of gold appeared.
She could not keep her eyes shut, for she wondered at how the world could have any gold left. But the flower shone in its full glory as she wondered. It was hope, it was life!
It was red, dark, rich red, not faded anymore.
She had been nothing, dust, until she was something again. She did not know how or why. But she saw the husk of her flower, brown and wilted, standing in front of her.
She did not know how her flower, with the appearance of something wilted, cut off from its roots, had saved her. But there must be something golden still in it. For, she realized, the hair had not been the flower, but rather the petals. If you pulled off the petals, they would die, but the flower itself still lived. Somewhere, the golden light still shone, and though the petals were gone now, the golden light had found another way to be let out.
She was back in the tower, but it was not the same. No matter how hard she tried, there it never happened did not become a reality. Her world was still blue and grey and sad. She could not see anything through the golden lens of her innocence, for that had been shattered.
There was no more I love you or hazelnut soup, for now there was a barrier between them. She knew too much and it could not be the same. But even if she wanted to she could not go back to the perfect moment, for it had ended long ago. She had been forgotten.
After years of grey and blue and wishing she could go back to the golden time, there was finally a solution. It was shiny blue and silver and sharp and stick-like. As she held it in her hand she knew there was only one thing she wanted. She opened her cold lips and said, "I wish I could forget."
The world was golden, had it ever not been so? She did not know what she was holding in her hand. But Mother took it for her, and hid it away for no one to find again.
Something was quite amiss, though. She knew it when she turned her head. Something was off about when she walked. A quiet sound was missing.
She felt her hair and now she knew. Yellow panic leapt into her heart. Where had it gone? She did not know – could not remember!
But Mother reassured her, it was okay, it was better that she not remember. Rapunzel did not understand – how could she be special now, if her gift was gone? But Mother gently explained, the hair was never the flower, it was the petals, you are my flower, the golden glow is inside you.
Life was golden, how it had always been. Though she would always wonder when her life would begin. She could not know that it already had – it had, in one instant, begun and ended.
Mother was old and grey, and the world was blue. How could she think of leaving so soon? Rapunzel still needed her, she could not die! All Rapunzel could do was cry.
And in that moment, they both understood the golden glow that was still in the wilted flower. As the golden light shone in the room – Mother was red, and all was like new. The world was golden, for many more years.
The beautiful petals of the flower were gone. Though the golden light was still inside, Rapunzel could not see it with her own eyes. The flower was faded, wrinkled and grey. Without its petals, it must eventually wither away.
The world had been golden for a long time. But the night always must come. Mother wanted to keep living, but nothing could be done. Finally, the hour of sunset had come.
On that day the sun set for the last time. When it came up again, the world was grey. In a hidden tower, there lies a wilted flower, forgotten by all, remembered by none. There is a dress of faded red, it is covered in dust. The princess is dead, the kingdom lives on. The child has been forgotten, remembered by no one.