Cindy the 2nd generation of Cinderella (Short Story Slam at Poetry Jam)

Image Credit: The Chance of sunshine

Prompt: Poetry Jam (Solitary)

Bluebell Books: Short Story Slam Week 17

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Too numb to fight against insults from her two step sisters and too fed up with her stepmother’s nonsense bullies, Cindy finds that taking a solitary walk in the woods alone at midnight helps. After so many years of hardships, nature, fresh air, and isolation are her best friends. She simply loves listening to the unspoken words from the woods at night, and dark shadows are friendlier and better company than screaming human beings in her life.

So, it has been two solid years that she has been escaping from her home, running bare feet into the darkness and disappearing in a woods near her house…She simply walks on and on, with her mind filled with wild dreams: she has been dreaming about getting free from her imperfect life, and going to a place where she is respected, her talent is discovered, and her beauty is appreciated and admired. Having a life on her own or with a loved one, with her freedom and basic human rights granted is the repeating theme of her dream. Anyway, she knows that she is not the most beautiful girl in the world, and as a matter of fact, she wears plain clothes and looks just ordinary, as ordinary as she can be.

She does not realize that a little bird has been secretly following her all these times, while she does her solitary retreats in woods.

That bird was once hurt by her stepsisters while he was flying by, and almost dead, it was Cindy who saved him by hiding him under her bed in her small room, feeding him fresh water, crumbs of breads, and sending him free after he was fully healed. She has been holding the wounded bird in her arms while she goes to sleep for three full weeks before their departure.

Cindy would never know that the compassion she has investigated on the poor bird  has decided her fate forever..

That little bird is no ordinary bird, he is the Lord of Mercy, The Prince of The Nature, and The God of Planet Earth….the bird has a normal name, called Bestir, he knows magic and understands Cindy and her sadness very well. He would always protect Cindy while she does her midnight nature walk, for example, once, there is a Fox who has spotted Cindy and plotted to lore her into his den, rape her, as soon as Bestir discovers Fox’s trick, he casts a magical spell and has blinded Fox from approaching and stalking on Cindy…Cindy has fun free walking, while Bestir enjoys watching her from certain distance and acting like a hero.

Then Cindy turns 18 years old, and she is mature and her body has grown elegant and plump, she looks perfect in age, appearance, and strength.

So this autumn day, Bestir decides to invite Cindy to a magical kingdom he has built for both of them near a beach next to the woods, not far from Cindy’s house, while Cindy again walks into the woods alone, breathing fresh air, Bestir speaks of his magic and within a few minutes, she sees the magical house standing right in front of her.

Quite curious about it, Cindy enters the house, there, she finds a large living room, perfectly designed and filled with fancy sofa, coffee table, and wall arts…as she moves into the bedroom, she sees this big hot bathtub with clean towels neatly hang on the edge, and a huge king size bed with silky quilt and golden pillows…News are on a TV screen that is built on a wall opposite the door from where she comes in, a twin size sofa is next to the hot bathtub, a door is open leading to a bathroom, where everything is perfectly clean and shiny, a coffee maker stands on the counter of the room…soap boxes are golden and sparkling..

Retreating from the bedroom, Cindy automatically turns into another door, which leads her into the kitchen, where gas stove, cabinets, refrigerator, dining table, dishwasher…wow, everything sits proudly and looks welcoming…  

Who knows what else has been built in this place?

Cindy loves everything she sees…as she is about to exit the place, a big fuzzy cat suddenly runs out from nowhere and knocks her from her knees, her legs feel weak and she simply falls on the floor, becoming unconscious.

When she opens her eyes again, she finds herself lying in the bedroom she once has visited, and she is wearing a fancy gown, and the carpet of the room has the pattern of orange pumpkins, and there is a tree with sparkling lights on it, hanging on the tree, is a pair of glass shoes, and they fits her perfectly.

Cindy feels overwhelming, she needs a cup of tea to relax, before she knows it, she is automatically holding a cup of hot tea, and she sits down on the carpet, staring at the tree, trying to figure out what has happened to her.

While she is thinking, the little blue bird she once has saved his life has appeared, he is perfectly handsome and charming, she lands on the tree branches and stares at Cindy passionately without a word.  

Cindy is somewhat confused, she gives her tea a sip, and then raises her head to make eye contact with the bird, she feels like she is looking at her best friend. Without words, they simply look at each other, passionately, in perfect silence.

Memories of their time together while Bestir was wounded crash both of them, Cindy wants to hold the bird to sleep again, but, this is a place not or never belong to her, and the bird is healthy and nimble, she has NO perfect reason to do that at such a strange yet homely place.

Sadness flashes through Cindy and she frowns, and this has caught the bird’s eyes, he knows what she is thinking…

Bestir knows magic, after he casts a spell on Cindy, she feels very different now. Story of a princess kissing a frog comes to Cindy’s mind, and right on time, Cindy closes her eyes and makes her wish: she wishes to kiss the bird and turns him into her prince.

As Cindy opens her eyes, she finds that the bird has landed on her tea cup, he stands on the edge and smells of fresh French bread, Cindy is drawn by the smell and she kisses the bird on his lips, magic has happened, a pair of warm hands stretch from behind, covering Cindy’s eyes, when she stands up and turns around, she sees a most handsome guy, and before she opens her mouth, he pulls her close and places his lips on hers.

Cindy is carried away instantly and becomes breathless…They simply melt together and …

You know the rest of the story.

One year later, on Christmas day, Cindy gives birth to a beautiful child, they call him Cinbes, and they have lived happily ever after, a perfect family and fairytale is complete.