Prince Charles

Charl Ruthenberg
2 min readApr 11, 2016

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I have read my name on a British novel written by John Doe a few times.
It begins with a crude remark which gives reference to an old friend from Dublin, then on the forth page it reads like a catechumen phrase: “to be or not to be, that’s private." But this is not a fine way to pronounce a prince, and again, what is private? Is it the whereabouts of a jewel or the truth about my father’s will which was written by a gardener or the untitled notes of an eunuch who was dethroned by a Queen?
If you study carefully you will notice a sentence that resembles a Shakespeare quote as expressed on the third paragraph of the writer’s epilogue: stating how unreliable my judgment can be with regards to a lady’s need.
He has made a mockery of my name and we-- my father and I, Mr. Wilchoff, the writer’s son, my niece, and my unrelated cousins from downtown Alabama do not fancy it.
The epilogue had been read as a preamble speech by the Queen’s guard before the novel was parceled to my study. It reads with such clarity and boldness-- "Prince Charles."
It sounded weird, yet familiar. It’s familiarity was that of the ending of a moral tale, a doggerel: like the struggle of a colored man on an Irish farm or an actor who never got an award for his stunts. I heard the sound in many different voices from the past like a dethroned queen in the Victorian age, and from the future like a critic whose intention is to corrupt my integrity...

She took a glance at me as my fingers fidgets, carefully stating how remarkable the speech and novel was and how it mattered to her womanhood.
I was startled at the way she pronounced each word, how she flaunted her blonde hairs backwards and blinked her brown eyes as my stupidity unveils.
"You have done a vain thing," I whispered. I smiled at every opportunity I entertained, winking my fallen brows and making a grin behind the wrinkles on my white face. She cheered, and said to me in absolute sincerity as if she had known no sin: "to be or not to be, isn’t private."

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Charl Ruthenberg
Charl Ruthenberg

Written by Charl Ruthenberg

Charl is an artist who tells stories of culture, identity and sexuality using 2D and 3D, code, doodles and abstract art to convey a message. They love French…