I know it’s been a long time since I’ve written in you. I haven’t felt
like doing much of anything since I hurt Owen and separated him from his
father. I haven’t felt guilt like this in a very long time.
Once he left, things went back to not changing. No one advances mentally
or emotionally. Owen would have grown up. I don’t know how I would have
explained to him how no one else grew older while he continued to do so, but
maybe he could have become my one true confidant here. I saw myself in him.
Even though there is very little of it here, I could have even taught him some
magic.
As for what little magic there is here, I did have to use some. Owen
came back for his father with some guards shortly after he left but was unable
to see us. The curse did that on its own to prevent outsiders from coming in.
As for his father, Kurt, I had him placed in the mental ward in a cell next to
Belle. He’s been placed in a stasis curse for the time being to prevent him
from aging until I decide what to do with him. No one suspects a thing at the
hospital; he’s fed with fluids while he lies still in his bed. Those who are
required to help him merely think he’s comatose.
I’ve tried to make my own changes in order to make life a little more
bearable for me here. One thing that’s helped is something called television. I
finally turned it on one night and little people appeared and began to talk
inside. After I realized there were no real people in the box but only images,
a show called “Hibiscus Hollow” came on. There was a woman named Rosaline who
was very wealthy. Her dress was silver and her shoulders were massive. Her
black hair sat frozen around her head in many tight curls. Rosaline was being
chided by Rico, a man who was clearly her lover. He was chiding her for
shutting down an orphanage, but she defended herself by saying she did it as
revenge against Susan—who ran the orphanage—for stealing her husband. It was
the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen, and yet I understood Rosaline’s
motives.
I returned to the television
every Wednesday night with a plate of lasagna in hand to see what Rosaline
would do next. Without magic, she was able to ruin Susan’s life and have both
Rico and her husband want her before her husband’s brakes on his car were
mysteriously cut and he drove off a cliff. She has truly been an inspiration to
me and a reminder as to why I put the curse into effect in the first place.
I began to emulate Rosaline in appearance. All of my coats have shoulder
pads now. I even went to the salon and got a perm so my hair could be as
tightly curled as hers. The perm was a mistake, but at least it didn’t last
forever. My gratitude to Rosaline, however, will.
I’ve also been learning more and more about this world. I’ve gone to the
library many days after work to check out a book on history or geography. One
section I abhor is the literary section. There lies all of the stories of the
people of Storybrooke. When I’ve been there, the others who are in the library
seem to avoid that section, which I believe to be the work of the curse. But it
is still a possible threat and something I need to watch.
Kathryn and I met up for lunch yesterday. We usually meet so we can talk
and she’ll go on and on about David. Honestly, this man sounds almost as stupid
as he did back in the enchanted forest, and he’s in a coma here. He wasn’t
exactly charming to Kathryn, as she remembers it. But the longer he’s in that
bed at the hospital, the more fondly she speaks of him.
“Is something wrong?” She asked me after her monologue about David’s
fondness for animals. “You look uncomfortable.”
“No.” My thoughts weren’t transparent, but my attempts to stop my
sweater seams from cutting into my armpits were. “My washer and dryer must just
be broken. All of my clothes have shrunk.” Now it was Kathryn’s turn to look
uncomfortable. I demanded she tell me what was on her mind.
“You’ve put on weight.”
“I have not!”
“You have, Regina.” Kathryn leaned in. “I know you’ve been sad and
you’ve been staying home whenever you don’t have to be out. Any time I’ve been
over, all you eat is lasagna or your apple turnovers.”
She was right. My tree was so empty I was resorting to buying apples at
the market. Back home, I was more active with horseback riding and plotting
revenge. But here I’d been doing neither.
“What do you suggest?” I thought about using another one of my pieces of
magic to banish the weight, but then it might just come back and soon I’d be
without magic when I might really need it.
“Ruby holds an aerobics class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s really
fun, why don’t you come with me?”
“What is aerobics?” It sounded like flying lessons.
“It’s exercise! And there’s music and everyone wears bright clothing!
It’s so great. I have so much energy now.
Please, Regina. You’ll fit back in your clothes in no time. You’ll love
it!”
I agreed. Kathryn was thrilled because we could go shopping for workout
clothes, which we did after I was done at work. And tonight we exercise.
