Cinder Girl

Cinder Girl

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl named Cindy who was locked in a dark and barren attic. Her father, stepsisters and stepmother lived below, in comfort and style. It was not unusual for them to be away all night in revelry.

Occasionally, Cindy would find a way to unlock her door. She would tiptoe downstairs and stuff herself full of candy and sweets. After gobbling down all the wine she would try to set fire to her family.

For this reason the members of the household took the precaution of having a pail of fine sand in each room. Also, a bag of pepper by the bed to throw if they woke to the spectre of drunken Cindy armed with murderous intent and a spitting cat. Situation were not usually that dire, the sleeping persons having ample time to notice Cindy’s loud drunken slurs of “I gonna kills you all” followed by the arrhythmic striking of the family’s emergency flint.

Father would have well enough in hand and covertly replace the fire-starters with stale toast. He would then have the cat meow most piteously to simulate wails of her family burning to death. Cindy would fall directly to sleep, a queer half smile on her smeared face.

Eventually, Father grew quite tired of poking the cat every fortnight or so, (indeed the cat scratched him most heinously around the eyes and throat), and he told the family he was going into town to pick up new canning jar for his pipe.

After Father went missing, it was up to the siblings and the stepmother to take care of dear Cindy. In short time Tasia began stealing pipe cleaners and clotted cream from neighboring houses, while Cella became the town whore. This worried their mother and she decided it was high time for her daughters to be married off. When Cindy became aware of the scheme, she promptly sprung into action by tying messages to the tails of squirrels. Most of the squirrels died horrible deaths as the messages were attached to smoldering firecrackers. However, enough of the incinerates did not ignite for some to eventually make it into the village square.

When the townspeople learned there was a beautiful maiden trapped by her wicked family, they grabbed pitchfork and hoe and set off to make quarrel. The stepmother, having been forewarned of their visit, rushed upstairs to don and decorate the petite blond, embellishing her hair and clothing with whimsical blue flowers. Deftly avoiding Cindy’s snapping teeth, she smeared one finger of soot on her porcelain curve of her cheek. For final effect she released a lock golden hair to flow gently down her shoulder and sent her hurriedly and not so gently down the attic stairs.

When the mob arrived all was shocked to find the visiting Prince among one of it’s members. The Prince gave a long, eloquent speech about loneliness, crumpets and parties, (#richpeoplesproblems), gave a head nod of recognition to Cella, and swept Cindy away to his faraway castle to be his loving mistress.

For years after, the town was all atwitter with the spectacle of a Prince finding his lady love in their humble village.

And if one looked closely from space, you could still see the bared patch of land and forest where the great castle once stood.

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