Out of a Fairytale by Marcela Citterio

If someone knew that the characters of the most marvelous stories still exist...
If someone would give the news that they persist, in different parts of the world, without ever getting old, camouflaged, trying not to be recognized...
If someone would tell the best kept secret...
We would all know that they are immortal and that they have been meeting once every 10 years, for centuries. And that in those meetings, they chat, they confess, they hide things, they reveal truths, they love each other, they quarrel...
Those who never missed, those who always attend, no matter what happens in their lives are:
The brothers Hansel and Gretel.
Alice and all her wonder.
The intrepid Sherlock Holmes.
The innocent Little Red Riding Hood.
The romantic Romeo and Juliet.
The liar Pinocchio.
The beautiful Snow White and her prince.
The sleepy Aurora.
Dracula and his fangs.
Because although no one even suspects it, they are...
ETERNALLY ALIVE
And not only that. Not only are they alive but, by a strange spell, product of that magic that only exists in tales and stories told through centuries and centuries, they are all 17 years old. Incredible, isn't it? From Hansel and Gretel, to Sherlock and Dracula, all of them are teenagers. Centuries ago the meetings were communicated through spells that reached each of them, with the exact place and time of the appointment, then they were communicated by expert birds to find them and leave them personalized notes:
Miss Little Red Riding Hood, we are expecting you this Friday at 5 p.m., beware of the Wolf when you walk through the forest....
Dear Hansel and Gretel, we are waiting for you for our meeting, don't miss it. And please avoid leaving any crumbs on the way...
Further on, they were communicated by unicorns sent with secret messages.
Horses, butterflies, smoke signals, in the most diverse ways, for centuries and centuries, these meetings were agreed upon.
Of course, the most wonderful thing happened when mobile telephony was invented. From that moment on, just by sending a message, everyone was aware of the exact date and time. Well, not everyone. Alice lived in her Wonderland, she is not used to technology, fortunately she has the rabbit to provide her with all the information.
Today, the closest ones, those who never missed the appointment, have a WhatsApp group. The group is called... THE CLUB OF THE 12
All of them are summoned this time in an abandoned palace. The meeting will be in winter, surrounded by snow, shivering from the cold. What they do not know is that this meeting will mark a before and after in their lives, this appointment will not be the same as the previous ones...