“Snegurochka”

As Lee is bartending at the club on the chilly last night of winter, he glances in the mirror over the liquor cabinet and sees behind him a beautiful girl with jet black hair and bright red lipstick which pops in contrast to her white off-the-shoulder sweater. She seems to be part of a whole group of girls, eight in all, but luckily she is not the one wearing the “bride-to-be” sash. She’s taller than the rest, a bit quieter, and absolutely the most beautiful. She’s consoling the one with the grumpy face, probably upset that she’s not the one getting married.

Lee serves drinks, but keeps his eye on the girl in white. She makes her way around to everyone in the entourage, laughs with the one who has a toothy smile, rolls her eyes at the blonde with the dopey look in her eyes, dances with the one he recognizes as a nurse from his doctor’s office. She introduces the shy one to a guy, offers a tissue to the one with allergies, and steals keys from the bride who has had so much to drink, she is falling asleep at the bar.

Late into the celebration, a man in camo approaches the girl. Lee looks on from the other end of the bar. The girl in white appears to say no to the man. He turns angry and grabs her arm. Lee rushes over and decks the guy. “Yo, Morty! Come escort this sleazeball out.”

The girl in white turns to her savior. “Thank you so much. I’ve been trying to avoid him all night, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“It’s nothing. Let me get you a drink, calm your nerves.”

The girl smiles. “Sure. Appletini, please.”

“Nah, you don’t want that. I’ll whip you up my specialty.” Lee prepares the concoction. “So what’s your name?” he asks as he pours and stirs.

“Neve.”

“That’s pretty. I’m Lee.” He tops the drink with a colorful array of fruit and places it on the bar.

“That looks delicious.” Neve slurps up a hefty dose. Almost immediately she begins to sway, then collapses on the floor. She won’t wake.

The next morning, Lee passes the sleeping entourage in the hospital waiting room. “I’m here to see Neve, the girl who passed out at the bar last night. I have her bag and I wanted to return it to her personally.”

The nurse eyed him. “Come with me. I’m not sure if she’s awake yet.”

As they enter, Neve is just waking. “Lee? Is that you?”

               

The nurse leaves and Lee approaches the bed. “I brought your purse. It was left at the bar last night.”

“Oh thank you so much.” She yawns. “Would you do me a favor and turn the light on please?”

“Nah, you don’t want that artificial light. It’s a beautiful sunny day.” Lee reaches up to the curtain and can’t understand why Neve is protesting. He pulls the drapes back and lets the sunshine stream in.

“Noooo!!!” Neve screams.

Lee can’t believe what he sees. What appears to be steam rises from her skin. Her hands, thrown up in protective posture, do nothing to help. Neve melts right before his very eyes.

Convinced he is crazy or worse, a murderer, Lee runs from the building. He doesn’t stop running until he reaches the pier. He jumps into the icy cold lake and drowns. They recover his body as the warm afternoon rays of early spring melt away the last snowy drifts of winter.

Inspired by a photo prompt with my online writing group. My first thought was that the drinks looked like they could kill someone. Hoping to stick to my fairy tale and opera mashup theme, the first thing that came to mind was Snow White's poison apple. This story is a mashup of Snow White and the opera "The Snow Maiden," also known as the Russian tale "Snegurochka." Thanks to Brook Lark for this photo via unsplash.com.

Did you figure out all the symbolism? Spoilers to follow: You all know Snow White, I'm sure (did you pick out that the seven other girls in the story were the dwarves?) but you probably don't know that in Snow Maiden the girl melts in the sun at the end (I guess because she's metaphorically made of snow?) and the guy drowns himself. Did you catch that the name "Neve" means snow? Did you catch that the bartender looked in the mirror and saw the fairest girl of the entourage?

Have you read my other mashup? Read it here.