by Alec Silva
Neither the stone was heard again.
It is an enigmatic tale that this beautiful girl heterochromatic eyes lived. Therefore, must forever remain.
About the symbology of Anamelia
Now that the story is completed, let us talk a little. I'd love to do it personally, pointing winks I gave in writing, but I cannot be with you all. I had the opportunity of chatting with some readers, who rated the story as “sinister, bizarre, surprising..." and encouraged me to make it a booklet. A reader was marveled by the tale; another one got so deeply disturbed by it, that she was unable to provide me a clear feedback.
Not that I have written a masterpiece — nor was that my intention either. Writing Anamelia was one of the challenges that I establish periodically, after all, fairy tales are not easy narratives to construct. Even more so when they are supported by symbolism and dramatic emotion. However, I think I achieved what I wanted to end with the revealing outcome.
The fantasy is there in creatures, magical worlds in which the protagonist believes to exist in heaps; the drama is in the journey with the tasks, one more complicated than the other is; and the horror, the unifying element is in every step of the one-way trip of the girl.
Anyway, this postscript is not just for babbling. There is a foundation of its existence: dissect some aspects and plot points, those “winks" I mentioned just above.
Anamelia is a symbolic game that amused me greatly. Developing the seven tasks and making them consistent with the outcome was one of the puzzles of the project; because, just from the beginning I would have to know how to finish the story. Moreover, it was delicious to write all of this on paper, with my horrible handwriting, scrawling notes about what could and should be used.
A fairy tale is typically about existences, on people facing problems and having consequently magical help and triumph. In a recent statement, I read that it is a journey carried out in four distinct phases, generating a self-discovery. First comes the crossing, Step in which the hero or heroine — as our case is — goes to a different or distant land, where elements and the presence of extraordinary events and strange creatures is common; then you have a meeting which is the time the evil stepmother appears, the oppressive mother, devouring father, the ogre who steals children, the tyrant, the greedy wizard ... or scary or deformed figure; in the third stage, there is achievement which is when the protagonist plunges into a decisive struggle against the oppressor, which often causes his death, resulting in the final stage, celebration when there is some festival — marriage, family reunion — celebrating the victory and concluding with the “happily ever after".
So let us build on these four steps to explore a little what was spread in the story.
In crossing, we see Anamelia running, yearning to find fabulous kingdoms, which she always read in fairy tales and wonderful stories. It's an escapism of her, something common in readers that most of the writers write to, but for that special girl, the escape is real — and with no return. It is at this stage of structuring she meets the stone, which plays the ambiguous role of advisor and handler, best man and dictator, a common set of emotional blackmail, mortal risks, and illusory promises. No, the stone is not the opponent of the protagonist, and does not fit into the role of the threat; It is just the foundation of everything, firm, and sturdy.
It's in the achievements of the seven tasks that the meeting itself takes place, and here we will take a while before moving on because there is not only the antagonist but also a symbolic wealth.
The first task, perhaps the one I liked the most to write, is the purest and visceral horror because it tells right away the general rule for the others: throughout the long night of comings and goings, Anamelia will find the faces of Death! The ghouls paternal and maternal symbols are absent figures in the girl's life after the accident; and there is a religious weight in the fate of the couple, who lives leaping from a cemetery to another, devouring holy men, seeking to purify their fleshly sins. They are, therefore, not evil creatures, although, yes, they are beings of darkness, where our eyes cannot see anything beyond the primitive fear. And the tears of the maiden who died with the beloved's death news are the same as the damned mother shed for their children before and after the unfortunate fate; nursing young is to feel a little of what it is to have a daughter to look after, and is to allow the girl to know once again a mother's love.
The second, apparently easier, do not have much to add, after all, it is the conviction that the protagonist imposes early on itself: once blinded by promises, just giving life to death — and repeat such behavior in another task, with even greater risks. It is also a brief rescue of the past, the benevolent things she did and the weight that they have on the following. If it were a children's drawing would be more or less “do good no matter who" and “good deeds with good will be paid”.
The third, which I also had so much fun doing loads the core of the second stage, the meeting, at which the antagonist is revealed: the queen of the ogres, the grotesque personification of pride and greed; would be a monstrous version of what the stone is. I confess that I was inspired by three or five real people, men, and women, for its construction; It is the most disgusting part of the tale, complete with violence and bodily fluids. If the reader felt disgust or revulsion, it was intended; if not, I failed at what was intended. It is so significant that it returns in another task to fulfill a role in the third phase.
The fourth, I must say, is the most poetic of all. So I chose the phoenix, symbol of rebirth, something Anamelia wanted much, despite having another name for it. Death by fire is the purification of past mistakes, such as baptism by water. And here another — serious! — mistake is committed by the girl: too eager for the promised rewards, she thinks she can anticipate the course of nature, which leads to dire consequences, the destruction of something good, the ruin of what was beautiful. In addition, so arises the blame.
The fifth task soon comes to redemption. And for that I carried the Christian symbolism; not to sow furious debate, but because it made more sense to be this religion that best combine with the moment. The crucified Christ statue and bleeding gold with the crown — similar to the one the queen of the ogres proudly bears — injuring his head and the place works to exalt the sublime moment. And it raises a question for reflection: being the philosopher’s stone the church's provider and of the helped people would our protagonist sin by taking away for personal use and — why not? — Petty, even having been delivered by the statue?
The sixth, which is where some previously loose stitches begin to be joined, was divided into two parts: to ask for the help of the leshii and murdering a witch. If the soul of the girl was in the process of redemption, we can say that here it was lost forever. First, because the first part is a strategic trap: getting help from a woodland creature, she must deliver her soul as payment upon dying; and getting hold of something in Death's garden is already a conviction — just as it was with mushrooms, which was not made clear in the second task. That is, regardless of who has more power over the other, the young woman becomes the property of one of them. And the second part meets the third stage: the conquest; through wiles, Anamelia manages to defeat the queen of the ogres, beating the witch who had the last item needed and triumph, for the seventh step of the journey should be the fourth phase.
Without the celebration, we come to the end of the series of tasks.
I will not unravel what happened to the protagonist because it would spoil the beauty of the ambiguous ending. And the revelations about the reasons for Anamelia's escape are that paranoia that always appear in movies and I think they are cool; I hope I have written them properly. If they are real or delusions of dying, it is up to each reader to reach a conclusion.
I would like to take the opportunity of this huge postscript to add that the reader who could not hand me a feedback confessed that she cheered for the girl's success; she really hopes the young dreamer has managed to accomplish what she struggled so much to do. I also hope
so, you know?
Someday, I believe, when Death comes to narrate a story before we leave, some of us can hear about Anamelia or — who knows? — ask her what happened to this singular character.
Thank you for your attention and until next tale. If Death wishes so.
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