There was once a time where damsels always happened to be in distress and a wish upon a star could grant any request. During this time, I was a witch. I was powerful, yes, but yet I had nobody to confide in; I was quite lonely. Undesirable to suitors, for my status as a witch was unattractive and unwanted. There was an unmistakable pang yearning for a companion that filled my empty days and nights.
Once there was a man who stole from my garden. Peering through my window, I saw him as a strange figure hunched over some of my smaller plants. Swiftly plucking and hiding the leaves into an apron; he quickly picked up his head to search for trouble, an animal instinct. I strolled out into the darkness and casually bumped him asking,
“What do you think you’re doing here, stealing from my garden?”
He pleaded, “My wife saw your rampion from our window and began to crave the leaves. We are too poor to buy from the farmer’s market and she is pregnant. I would not have come unless her life was at risk.”
I then saw my opportunity. To end my lonesome days, I requested in trade for the rampion, the baby would be delivered as my own. In this moment of terror, he agreed. Not only would this benefit me, but the child would have a better life. The poor miller couldn’t manage to pay for a new baby; he could barely afford to feed the mouth’s he already had. I was giving the child a better life and it could apprentice under me. They could learn spells of all sorts, potions and poisons for any need. The possibilities were endless.

The baby girl was named Rapunzel in reference to the rampion her father stole. She grew into the most beautiful miss; my heart swelled with love whenever she smiled a cheeky grin. She possessed blue orbs of Neptune and radiant locks of golden hair that perfectly curtained her pale face. Her looks where enough of capture the heart of any young man and I was fearful that one day she would leave me. The fear consumed me to the point where I hid Rapunzel in a tower. Her tower was a sanctuary, built from only the finest of stone. The elongated fortress was slender and perceived as a piece of thread believed that any slight gust of wind would send it crashing to the sweet grass below. Secluded from viewers, she was protected.
I thought our relationship was wonderful. I never suspected that she despised every waking moment that I was in her presence. Her hair grew long and luscious growing so long that we often joked that it was long enough to pull somebody up through her tower. Each time I left the tower hinting at the joke, I would shout to her:
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair”
She would always grace me with a smile and toss a seat attached to a balcony with a crank to pull me up to a seating area. Her tower was filled with handpicked, luxury items for her comfort. Only the best was chosen for her, my darling, sweet, lovely Rapunzel.
Until one day, everything was perfect. I knew something was wrong the second I called, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel darling, let down your hair”. The silence echoed in my brain as rain began to fall from the sky caressing my cheek. I wandered to the backside of the tower, blindly fingering the vines in search of the secret entrance. Was this really happening? Rushing up the stairs, I slipped on my wet lengthy dress. Hitting the frigid stairs right above my eye was excruciating -- blood poured down my face into my eyes blurring my vision. Holding my face I half sprinted, half stumbled up the remaining flights of stairs. Upon reaching Rapunzel’s chambers, I frantically searched for her and found her chambers vacant. She was gone, she left me. Sorrow cracked through my bones as the thunder outside boomed. Unfathomable sadness blanketed my body and I wept cocooned.