The Illusion of Ugly

In the magical Fairytale Land, alone in the tallest tower, there lived a beautiful princess who transformed into a monster at night. She was cursed by an angry witch, maddened by her cruel parents. She has been lonely since.

When the dragon guarding her was asleep, the birds would sing a comforting melody. Dark were her nights and days. Although the sun and moon smiled at her, this never turned her sadness into happiness or hope. The princess swiped through her phone every day, living in the illusion that she was connected with other people. Yet somehow still felt melancholic seeing the people show their perfect lives on Metabook and Instantgram. “When will I truly be happy?” she wondered.

“Well, today…” a sudden shout of a man interrupted her. She wondered where the voice came from.

“...I finally killed the dragon!” he continued.

The giant man stood dignified, hiding in his metallic armor, leaving the eyes to be the only part of him seen. Fiona eyed him with curiosity, but before she could ask, she was swiftly lifted and carried behind his back.

Fiona was surprised by his abruptness. She had not seen his face yet, so she wanted a formal introduction.

“What’s your name?”

“Shrek.”

At first, she felt intimidated by his strong aura, but she started to befriend him. For the first time, she found comfort and safety beyond the dragon’s protection. Though he was enclosed in metal, she opened up about her life and even showed her bizarre appetite and habits. Later on, he grew to enjoy her company. However, they kept their secrets buried-- her transformation by night and his looks behind the armor.

The next day, they soared to the kingdom in a flying car. Fiona was eager to meet the faces she saw on Instantgram and live her newfound freedom, but she became anxious thinking about how people would be in reality.

She thought they would be greeted warmly. She was mistaken. There were loud rallying people before them, and Shrek was welcomed with eggs thrown at him. Fiona stayed inside and observed the masses. She began to doubt her impression of the perfect Fairytale Land.

“You have been trending on social media yesterday,” a flying blue bird told Fiona.

“Hello, Mr. Tuit! What happened here?”

Mr. Tuit was Fiona’s talkative friend, who lives by disseminating the trends and updates of Fairytale Land. He would sometimes visit her in the tower and chipper the latest gossip.

“Yesterday, news circulated that somebody successfully saved you, Your Highness. When they knew that it was Shrek, all of the people on Twittr changed their hashtags into #cancelShrek!”

“How so? He has been so kind to me,” Fiona protested.

“Well, Shrek created a reputation for himself. People hated him for being violent and unfriendly, and they wanted him gone.”

“That’s too harsh!” Fiona couldn’t help but worry for Shrek, so she decided to defend him. She stood proud and confident, as the people moved over to make her a welcoming pathway.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please.” All of the people looked at Fiona, but she searched the crowd for a man in metal armor.

“Oh, Shrek, thank you for bringing in my future wife,” the King said, as Shrek bowed his head. He tried to break people’s silence and acknowledge Fiona’s presence. Shrek tried to put his helmet back. Unfortunately, it was too late for him to hide his secrets. Fiona saw his real skin. She was astonished when she looked at him but now understood why he was criticized. His monstrous appearance was frightening.

“The person in front of us,…” she stared at him. “…was so kind to me. In fact, he was more human compared to you.”

“He may be obnoxious at times, but he has a good heart. You shunned him before even trying to get to know him," she continued.

"You have been bullying him, canceling Shrek on Twitter, and protesting here, when he has done nothing to aggravate you.”

The people started talking to each other, some agreeing with Fiona’s remark. Shrek’s eyes were glinting in tears.

“He is the first man who knew and understood my bizarre side instead of hiding me in a dragon tower," Fiona said while the sun was on its way to hide.

"His color may be different from yours, but he’s as human as we are and gets hurt. You shouldn’t judge people solely on appearance!” Fiona justified.

“I, too, am an unpleasant creature by night, but what matters most is to finally have someone who has my back and laughs at my weirdness. Because of him, I now know looks don’t matter but the kindness of heart. Because of him, I learned to accept my imperfections.”

And suddenly, there were bright specks of golden dust surrounding the princess. When the light shone on her face, people were astonished to witness a magical sight. The crowd was silent. She looked for a shiny object and saw herself turned into a human. Her curse was finally gone!

Shrek transformed, too! People saw that his feet went smaller, his body figure returned into a typical human size, and his outfit changed into a royal garment!

Mr. Tuit happily witnessed Fiona's bravery, a stark contrast from her doubtful self when she was in the tower.

“That’s my girl!” Mr. Tuit proudly said. He pooped on everyone who criticized them and those who still did not apologize.

Since then, the people in Fairytale Land learned to be wary of the illusion of perfection and how their phones created a disconnection towards others and their real selves. They became more careful and kind with their posts on social media. Other creatures who used to hide behind filters started to share their reality on social media. The people were empowered by their realness. The illusion of ugly began to diminish as everyone accepted and embraced their imperfections.

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Written by Catherine Ugsang

Visual and Layout by Lydeth Roque