*I decided it might be a good idea to give reality a more central role in my perception of things, so I thought it might be fitting to give a tribute to reality by letting it overpower what differs from it most; classic Disney stories. You should all be familiar enough with the Cinderella story that it would make a fair target. Now I lack the free time, and admittedly the interest, to saturate the entire fairytale with reality; we’re going to start with the ball.*
Cinderella was on her way to the palace to meet Prince Charming, and her anticipation was apparent. She ran her fingers, whose calluses were now concealed by silk gloves, across the fine interior of the carriage that had been given to her. She repeated the warnings of her fairy godmother to herself, “Home by midnight…a pumpkin again…a pumpkin…”. She repeated her mantra faithfully for an impressive period of time, but when she arrived at the ball, the revelry and spectacle that was seeping out from the palace began to dominate her thoughts. Cinderella was about to make her debut. When she stepped out of her carriage the eyes of every distinguished and noble guest fell on her with curiosity. Prince Charming himself stood in awe of her from the top of the stairs that led into his castle, and he waited for her to approach.
Cinderella looked to Prince Charming and began quickly up the stairs to greet him; however, her pace began to slow as the comments of the guests reached her ears. She heard the most flattering remarks, “Who is that marvelous girl?” and from deeper in the crowd she heard “I must meet that extraordinary woman!”. As Cinderella walked up the stairs (much slower than she had been at first) she became aware that all of the attention and praise was overwhelming her, and she began to enjoy it.
Cinderella stopped walking altogether and simply stood in place exchanging transient glances with the young men and women, indulging in pleasantries with ladies and gentlemen of some renown. Prince Charming stood at the top of the stairs, well aware of the fact that his place as her lover had been usurped by Cinderella’s celebrity status. He did want to descend the regal stairs of his palace to meet her, but too much stopped him. Although most of his inhibition came from pride, a part of him felt that stealing her from the crowd (with which a mutual adoration was shared) would simply be selfish. So the night went on, and wine was poured, and Cinderella continued to shine like gold.
*Honestly, I think I’ve gone on long enough about the splendor of the evening, and the corruption of Cinderella. Now reality can really tear into this classic.*
In the midst of all the commotion Cinderella had lost track of time, until of course the clock struck midnight. “…A pumpkin again”, Cinderella heard those words in her head as loud and sharp as tree blown down by the wind. She began to run down the stairs which she had never managed to fully ascend. The guests faces turned sour at her rude and abrupt departure, it was so unexpected!
Cinderella managed to retreat to her carriage and hurried away from the opulence of Prince Charming’s ball before anyone could witness the undoing of her fairy godmother’s blessings. As the carriage raced towards her home, she saw her gown turn back to rags as the gloves faded off her hands, revealing the hard calluses she had forgotten were her own. The carriage began to fill with the smell of raw pumpkin, it grew wet and cold and began to close in around her, and it became very very dark. She was so frightened by the abrupt transformation of all this splendor into squalor that she lost consciousness just as the walls closed in around her.
She woke up the next morning within walking distance of her home, her hair was thick with dirt and pulp from the pumpkin that closed in around her; the remnants of it were scattered near by. She stood up slowly, feeling stiff from sleeping on the hard road and began walking home. Cinderella knew she had to hurry, she did not know what time of day it was, but she knew she had work to do at home.
*So there you have it: Cinderella.*
