Born Beautiful

Melanie had decided to take John's advice. After all, besides Lexie, who presently wasn't in a position to give coherent guidance, and her family, nobody knew her better. So she went home. But, on this occasion, home wasn't the glitch mansion. It was her Aunt and Uncle's cottage in the countryside near the Welsh border where she had grown up. Unlike so many of her friends, Melanie really wasn't a city girl. She had moved there for work, but this was still where she felt most comfortable.

She was currently sat in the front room of her beloved relatives house with a cup of tea and a slice of carrot cake. They had been shocked when she had first revealed her nudist lifestyle to them a while back- only because it seemed so unlike Mel - but had never judged her for it and seemed completely at ease with it now. Aunt Helen had confided that she almost wished she had the guts to do the same, while Uncle Alwyn was one of the very few men who didn't look at Mel in any way like a sexual object even without her clothes. It was nice to be around them.

Of course, she knew she could disappear at any time, and she would have no way of explaining that if it happened, but it was a risk she felt she had to take. At least her phone had stopped buzzing with Rebecca's shit. It almost seemed as if the witch was preoccupied with something or someone else right now.

"So, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit, Mellybean?" Aunt Helen asked, reverting to the playful childhood nickname she had given her favourite niece, while Alwyn tinkered with something in the garage "You seem sad?"

"I've been going through a bit of a hard time recently" Mel admitted "I have this....boss. She really has it in for me. She gives me all these horrible jobs, just because she knows they will upset me. And on a recent one there were all these women who were being really mean to me. Calling me a skank and a slut. I'd done nothing to them!"

Aunt Helen sipped her tea "Well, you should know why this is. But you never liked anyone telling you"

"Not this again!" Mel rolled her eyes.

"It's because you were born beautiful. And because you treat your gift like a curse!"

"I honestly don't even know what that means" Melanie sighed.

"I love you dearly Mellybean, but you have always been a bit of a funny one" Helen continued "You were blessed with that rare gift every woman wants. You were born with natural beauty. You know as well as I do that from a young age all the boys were chasing after you. But for some reason you never liked it. I'm not calling you ungrateful, but the number of us who would have loved to be in your position and, well, it feels like you have always made the worst of a wonderful situation"

"I'm your niece, Auntie Helen. Of course you think I'm pretty " Mel retorted defensively.

"Not just pretty, beautiful" Helen corrected "And no, that isn't it. I have three amazing daughters who I love with all my heart. And to me they are all gorgeous. But no, they don't have the objective beauty you do. Tell me, Mellybean, what do you see when you look in the mirror?"

"I don't know. I just see me" Mel shrugged "Ordinary. Socially awkward. Shy."

"And that is entirely your problem" Helen sighed "Until you see what everyone else does people's reactions to you aren't going to make sense. And, like it or not, everyone else is seeing a beautiful young woman. A beautiful, naked young woman these days. Unless you can learn to accept that you will never understand why you are getting these negative reactions you are talking about. For example, those women you mentioned who were calling you names. They were doing it because they knew and could plainly see their husbands would much rather fuck you than them"

"Aunt Helen!" Mel gasped in shock, but her aunt persisted.

"It's the truth, Mellybean. That hurts them, and they blame you for the pain. I'm sure it's the same with your boss. She is trying to make you feel inferior to her because that is how she secretly feels to you. And the sad part is, with your sweet and unassuming nature you will always let those bitches win"

"So what do you suggest I do?" Melanie's curiosity had at least been piqued at this point.

"Stop being scared of them. Let them be scared of you" Aunt Helen winked "For once in your life, own your beauty. Smile and wink at those dowdy women's husbands right in front of them. Make sure your boss knows you are fully aware you've got the one thing that she has always wanted but can never have and that you are loving every minute of it. Just finally accept that you are hot and actually enjoy it!"

Melanie thought about this for a moment. She certainly had role models she could look to if she wanted to emulate that kind of behaviour. Barbie owned and celebrated her beauty like nobody else she had ever met. Laura had done a job not unlike hers and truly embraced it, knowing that she was the one in control, with how much her clients desired but could never actually have her. But could she, little Mellybean from out in the sticks, ever really be like that? It was so far out of her comfort zone.

"Thank you Auntie, you've given me a lot to think about" Melanie smiled, about as happy as she had been since she first encountered Rebecca.

"Pass me your cup and plate, I'll get you a refill and another slice of cake" Aunt Helem winked.

As her Aunt left the room Melanie sat back in her armchair feeling, in that moment, as content and at peace as she had in a long time. Then she disappeared again.