My hand has gone numb and I’m feeling extremely weak so please ignore all the minor errors, thanks. *I am back with my one & only one true friend and saviour…(let’s give “him” a name, shall we?) Let me introduce you to Emir* - yikes on second thoughts I know he sounds like a special type of cheese but I’m not in a state to come up with anything else…
Me: I’ll narrate you a story today, from my perspective… and you are the lucky guy who will have special access to all the trivia, key shots & Director’s Cut 🙌🏻 Ready?
Emir: Hmm Cool
Me: Show me more encouragement… aah leave it, I’ll share it with my readers.
Tucked away somewhere in the deepest and darkest alleys of New York was a small little secret… much more reticent than the silent whispers of those clandestine Phone-Booth affairs ☎️ shhh and quieter than the mute snipers of the neighbouring windows… clad in a black leather jacket and boyfriend jeans, whimpering & sobbing, hiding from the World and its predators, curled up in her own sorrows and pain, sat the Mysterious & hurt Gwen; as a kid I had started having eggs due to her, I always hated the yolk but whenever I would read my brother’s Comics I would find her character extremely relatable…
One night, it was raining heavily and Gwen suddenly showed up at Peter Parker’s place, his aunt took her in and said she’ll give her something to eat… she was drenched head to toe, she was shivering, she needed a warm place to spend the night but she didn’t expect much out of modesty and cynicism… when Aunt May returned with a plate of scrambled eggs, Gwen was like, “I can’t have this I’m sorry…” Aunt May asked her, “Why? It’s delicious” to which Gwen said, “Yeah but these are eggs…” The old lady then told her, “Yes, eggs are good, girls should have eggs, they make you strong.” Lol I instantly bought that, I mean since Gwen was having it, I thought maybe I should try them too… after that I never hated scrambled eggs. Anyway coming back to the story - Strutting down the Boulevard in her Red Soles (you won’t get it) *Louboutin Pumps* & Burberry Checks, all the way from the underground auditorium to the downtown Cinema enters - 🙌🏻 Mary Jane… *collectively*
She was like a typical girl next door, she had no character *ahem ahem* what I mean to say is, no personality or “individuality” of her own, she could slip into anyone’s shoes, she was an actress after all and as expedient as it could get, her feelings for Parker were equally ephemeral like her fame & all the fan following, her tentative source of income and never ending desires. She was excellent at faking and I’m not being bias here, I mean every girl wants to be like her, a ‘Charming unapologetic Heartbreaker’, guys never mess with them, it might sound a bit sexist but they are so peculiar in their habits and way of life that they rule and own hearts - effortlessly, they get to choose “who they want” but as a female I think we should all have an equal right to do that, some of us, have to settle on obsessive predators simply because guys don’t see us as “girls” if we’re not wearing Red or High heels, if we don’t flip our hair arrogantly. The main difference between her and Gwen was that she was fake like a mask & Gwen knew how to “pretend” well, she would always hide her feelings under an enmeshing Veil - quoting one of the age old philosophers, Victor Hugo, his exact words were “Virtue is a Veil, Vice is a Mask” what he didn’t elaborate was… There is a big fat difference between Faking & Pretending, You don’t Pretend for yourself, you do that for other people’s happiness… like when she (Gwen) had those eggs 🍳 and you fake for your own sake, like when Mary Jane momentously kissed Spider Man, she simply did that to score him, I mean he was the ‘talk of the town’ & every girl wanted to date him, she had no idea it was Peter but she knew Peter had feelings for her.
Him: aah right…
Me: As a kid, I thought Gwen had those eggs because she actually wanted to be strong like me. Mary Jane wasn’t sure about Peter because she was one of those who would rather shoot for the moon… or reach for the stars, she was tantalised by all the glitz and glory of showbiz and Manhattan nights, she was desperate to be everywhere, from the subways to the biggest hoardings of the tallest skyscrapers… she was reluctant to share her spotlight with anyone even if that meant a love interest or an opposite lead but at the same time, she was a “go getter” who wanted someone who’d swing across the Statue of Liberty🗽 & propose to her at the boisterous Times Square to make headlines with her.
And Gwen, what did she want?
*I get really pensive*
Him: Nah… she wouldn’t talk much so I have no idea
Me: I think she was more of the “Brooklyn Bridge” type, she was like a stealthy Black Cat… romping & prancing through dumpsters and fight clubs, at times she’d go to all those grungy, intimidating motorcyclist bars, it’s as if she was constantly trying to find something, maybe she’d lost her way or identity, like I said she was looking for something… God knows what; she was not someone you’ll ever see on the front page
Him: Hmmm hopefully
Me: She was rather someone who’ll simply show up on your doorstep at 2 am in the night, she was a tramp and Peter Parker was her home. I think all she ever wanted was to just stare out of the window and admire the silent dazzling lights of New York. One night, Mary Jane & Gwen show up at the same party, luckily not in the same dress… So they meet near the coat hanger where they both get tagged with each other’s numbers (the numbers get mixed up)
Him: Hey no… that’s not how the story goes, you are making this up
Me: Dude it’s such a cliché, it’s very common, have you not seen it anywhere? They always mix up the tags like your drinks… duh!
Him: Sure. Go ahead… continue.
Me: Gwen has a faux fur Cheetah print coat and she is wearing a Black Dress underneath, with a black choker, black lacy fingerless gloves, black everything, her hair are pinned half way through in a beautiful eye catchy embellished comb, it’s quaint but at the same time expensively tacky & vintage, you’ll only find something like that at a pawn shop… Mary Jane on the other hand, is wearing a Pintuck drop waist, swing dress, it has cuffed volume sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, she has paired it with her fav pumps and a Red coat… she is as feminine as always and Gwen is her usual shady self… Who would you date?
They’ve always mirrored each other, Gwen has always smiled through her tears like a perfect “deceptive” Actress and Mary Jane has always been the Femme Fatale aka Mysterious Seductress.
At the dinner party, Jane is lasciviously discussing about public & political affairs (she is being paid for it) she does have some knowledge about wine… in case you wanna know but on the whole she ain’t a “bobble head”, her fake lashes and smile might make her a little stiff at times (she will avoid a direct eye contact with you like most celebs, it’s always the lashes and make up don’t take it personally) but she’s not someone who’ll ever have a “No” to offer… Gwen wants to escape it all, she’s constantly looking back at the coat rack cuz she wants to leave, she doesn’t want to be around people, she just wants to go back to the dark alleys and cry, cry to her heart’s content.
After a brief encounter with Mary Jane (and their small talk which never included the host Peter Parker) they both return their respective tags and she lurches out of there… it’s raining heavily, she shouts & whistles for a Taxi but to no avail, she then takes a lift from an unknown biker and heads towards an unknown destination… two minutes later Mary Jane comes running down the stairs *friskily* twirling… she hops into one of the suburban taxis and goes straight to her hotel.
Him: And Peter Parker, whom does he pick? He ends up with Mary Jane or Gwen…?
Me: So the hitchhiker who gives Gwen a lift would be left to the audience/reader’s discretion, it could be Harry or even Bruce Wayne… you never know! And Mary Jane ends up with Harry’s dad Kelly Osbourne, as far as Peter Parker is concerned, well he stays with Aunt May for the rest of his life and when her time’s up, he gets a Black Cat.
Him: Hey that’s not fair… you changed the whole story.
Me: My dear, everything is Un-Fair in love & war…
Xoxo
By Zara Sauleh
