The Dwarf that Loved Snow White
Unrequited love: (n.) love for one that is not returned
Some like them because they’re the sad truth that challenges many people, much more realistic than the happy endings of Disney movies. Others hate them for the same reason. Some will never have to worry about it because they’ve already found their true love. Others are faced with it right now, wishing that their love would see, somehow, that they were meant to be.
It’s depressing. Things seem hopeless. You just want to let it go, because it hurts, and most living organisms will try to escape from pain. And yet, that annoying, painful emotion won’t let you. Like drugs. It can be compared to an addiction. Love can be like that. Human nature? Maybe. Hormones? Maybe. Your own mind? Maybe.
Unrequited love can happen anywhere, to anyone. A student in high school. A worker in a shoemaking company. A young man or woman in a faraway country. A dwarf in the story of Snow White.
Yeah. So, what if, what if one of the seven dwarves loved the pure, sweet beauty that was Snow White? What if he had fallen in love with her at first sight, like Prince Charming had? What if he watched her from the shadows as she sang to the birds, hoping that someday, she would see him as more than one of her short friends, and maybe, just maybe, love him back?
When she bit into the apple, the poison seeping into her, he would have felt his world breaking apart. The sky split into two. The earth collapsing, the air leaving the atmosphere, everything fading into black. He would have looked at her with a melancholy grief that made the other dwarves wonder…did he? And when the prince rode by, and kissed her, saving her, he would have loathed the prince, and yet, he would have been relieved, even grateful, that she was at least alive. Able to breathe and live, and maybe look at him…
But then she and the prince fall in love. His world is ravaged again. The dwarf wouldn’t be able to look at her anymore, in fear of somehow revealing his feelings for Snow White and losing their friendship, his only connection to her. The prince would charm her; make her love him even more, while the dwarf watched on, his heart shattering into millions of fragments that could never be turned whole again. Never.
And then they get married. He’s forced to pretend, to put on a façade for her, so that she’ll be happy. If she’s happy, I’m happy. That’s how he’s making his mind think. But he knows that it’s a lie; he would love for nothing more than for her to love him.
She’s walking down the aisle, smiling radiantly, and is joined by the prince at the altar. The despicable prince, someone that the dwarf wishes to be.
When the officiant asks if anyone objects to the wedding, he does his best not to speak up. In his mind, he can visualize himself standing up and declaring his love for Snow White. But the crucial moment passes, and he must hold his peace.
The bride and groom kiss. The dwarf feels his heart bursting, and it takes all of his willpower to keep himself rooted to his seat, smile plastered onto his face. The agony of seeing the two, gazing at each other, is enough to drive him crazy.
As soon as the wedding is over, he'll run. He'll run somewhere far, far away. His mind rushes, but no thoughts are coherent. He can’t think straight. His emotions are in turmoil and the only thing he feels safe enough to do is continue to run, legs pumping, heart racing.
Snow White was his love. Is his love. His unrequited love.
But Snow White will never have to know.
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fin
