"The 13th Fairy".

Just read Sleeping Beauty in German ("Dornröschen") and this little phrase stuck in my head. If you remember the story (and who doesn't?), you'll remember that the 13th fairy was the one who got left out of the party because the King only had twelve gold plates and, let's face it, probably didn't like her anyway, otherwise he could have just borrowed another plate from the neighbours or something, right? So yeah, then she shows up at the party anyway, pissed off, and curses our dear little heroine to die horribly at the age of 15 (or 16, or whenever) by skewering herself on a spindle (pretty creative, that). At which point that meddling 12th fairy steps up and mitigates the curse. I maintain the scheming wench just wanted to insert her own choice of Prince into the royal line, but that's a story for another time.

That 13th fairy. She's a symbol, right? Of things and people that get left out just because. That you think of last. Of the people who don't immediately fit into the round hole, and hence are left to dwell outside the lines. Left to make their own rules and live life as they see fit because if the rules have rejected them, they can reject the rules.

Maybe I'm taking this a bit far, but "The 13th Fairy" is a great phrase and I want a project to make it the title of. I'll park it in the back of my mind and ruminate a little more, I think. If you get any good ideas, let me know, ja?