C of Cinderella

by Kris Buendía

  “He will never be my brother.”

  And that's why, they forced me to live with him in America. I could not live with my parents, I did not forgive my father for cheating on my mother, nor her for forgiving him.

  But then there was Thomas. He was always smiling, a great guy, intelligent, good person and popular. Everything I never was because I forced myself to grow before I could finish high school.

  I wanted to be free.

  I wanted to fulfil my dreams as an artist.

  Paint, write and play the piano. I did not care, I was good at everything. But I was also a Duke and I should help the people.

  YEARS AGO

  “I will have a party today, Gideon.” Thomas entered my office without knocking, again. “It is al right for you?”

  I gave him questioning look.

  “It is okay for you to be my bastard brother? You also have to live with me.”

  I was always cruel to him and he always sought my admiration and approval in everything.

  “There is a girl.” He ignored my words and I would swear that in his mind he looked at the image of the girl he was talking about. “I hope she comes.”

  “Will you make a party for a girl?” He nodded. “You are a fag. You should just talk to her and let me work in peace instead of organising a fucking American-style party.”

  Then I saw sadness in his eyes.

  “I think she does not know that I exist or something. I think she suffers, she suffers a lot.”

  I swallow hard.

  “I also suffer having this conversation with you, Thomas.”

  His fist hit my desk. Angry, he looked at me and I know he wanted to hit me.

  “Why are you a son of a bitch? My mother died, I did not ask to be born, I did not know that my father had a family, that's why I never wanted to take his last name, I did not want to be involved with you, but you still do not accept me.”

  I stoop up. What he said made no sense at the time, but it had it over time and I always regretted the words that came out of my mouth at that moment.

  It is my darkness.

  It is what torments me.

  “Make your fucking party.” I walked away from him and stopped for a second. “And I wish you drown in alcohol.”

  IN THE PRESENT

  I wipe the tears from my eyes and someone opens the door of my office without knocking.

  “Gideon, can I talk to you?”

  “Pippa, what is happening?”

  I never talk to her, in fact, most of the time she seems to be her sister’s puppet. I never saw cruelty in her as I could see in Paris, but you can also be cruel if you did nothing to Ella.

  She is as guilty as her sister.

  “It is something that I should have told someone.” She looks nervous and her hands shake. I always knew she was getting herself some shit, or so Paris said. “As you know, Paris has always wanted to control everything.

  Even my addiction, my silence, everything.”

  “What are you talking about? Does this has to do with Ella?”

  “Cinder Ella? Yes, it has a lot to do with her. I know you know what kind of girl she is.

  Extraordinary, Don't you think?”

  She is more than that.

  “Talk, Pippa.”

  She begins to cry, but her voice does not break at any time. She talks about her childhood, about the shit that Paris forced her to do and how much they made Ella suffer. It makes my blood boil, I want to strangle her, but Paris’s first.

  “Your brother Thomas's accident was not that… an accident.

  My heart is breaking more and more.

  Pippa

  I turn back time while I tel Gideon the whole truth.

  What real y happened years ago.

  “That was how I wanted to find you.” Paris said, looking drunk.

  “Paris…”

  “Shut up, bitch.” She muttered.

  “Paris, I am not going to let you talk like that to Cinder.” Thomas spoke defending Cinder.

  I was close to him, Paris a little far away and Cinder clinging to Thomas's hand. She squeezed so hard he realised. His demand was answered when seeing her reaction.

  Paris was the devil in her own flesh. And when she drank was not her at al .

  I knew it. I was the first victim of my own sister.

  My blood.

  “I caught you cheating on this bitch.”

  “You did not catch me at al and Cinder is,” he paused briefly. “Cinder is now my girlfriend and you better address her now with respect. You do not know what I am capable of.”

  Paris was red. She was hysterical and about to scream, but what she did next, surprised me. She started laughing. A devilish laugh.

  The damn girl was crazy.

  “She is crazy, come on.” Thomas took Cinder’s hand. “I wil take you home.”

  Thomas took a step forward, just one step and everything went in slow motion. I looked at Paris and what I saw in her eyes that night, I had not seen before.

  Hate.

  The more powerful and dark hate a person can have and that is reflect through their eyes.

  With al her strengths and stil looking at me, she pushed me and I pushed p Thomas.

  Thomas realised Cinder’s hand.

  His hand swayed in the air and his body crushed into the rail. I heard a crunch and what happened next I can not forget.

  Thomas fal ing to the void.

  I pushed to Thomas by accident.

  Thomas was dead.

  Thomas died.

  Dead, dead, dead.

  Screams were heard, regrets. I passed out for a second, but then I regained consciousness. They kept yel ing at each other.

  “You are going to tel the police that Thomas was drunk, that he wanted to rape you and that he tripped.”

  “I am not going to do that.” Cinder’s voice was heard like a whisper.

  She hit her hard.

  “If you say I pushed him, I wil deny it. It is you who has his saliva in your mouth, you are wearing his jacket and there is blood in Pippa's jacket that it is also yours. So you want to go to jail?”

  We both deny.

  “Why don't I just say it was you?” She said with tears in her eyes.

  El a took a step back.

  “Because as I did with him, I can do it with your father… or with your mother.”

  Gideon's eyes were wide open, his hands are clenched like a fist. If he hits me, I hope he do it hard, so hard until I die. Because that is what I want, now I can final y rest in peace.

  I said the truth.

  GIDEON

  That is why she left me. Seeing Thomas's photo made her remembered what Paris forced her to do. Now everything make sense.

  She did not know he was my brother.

  I did not know she was the girl Thomas talked about.

  I open the last drawer of my desk. There is a small box that I have kept for years.

  Thomas’s box of secrets. It is the only thing I kept and I never had the courage to open it.

  I brought it here with me. I do not know why, but I could not leave it at my mother's house, she lost the son she raised and I lost the brother I once cal ed a bastard.

  Pippa is still here and I do not care if she sees me broken. I take the box and place it on the desk. It is a smal wooden box with his initials TG. When he died I buried him myself and had them put the last name Graysson on his tombstone.

  He was finally a Graysson and I was proud of him.

  The first that I see when opening the box are newspapers clippings. I am in all of them.

  Man of the year.

  Gideon Graysson the future of businesses.

  Gideon Graysson Duke of Welsh.

  My tears do not stop, he collected all my achievements, the whole box is about me. I get to the end of the papers and find a picture of her.

  Ella.

  He loved her, maybe even more than me and I have let her go.

  I close my eyes and s
ee the image of my little brother talking to me.

  “One of the two must have her.” I s wear I hear his voice in my mind. “One of the two must make her happy.”

  No, I will not let her go.

  “Where is Paris now?”

  “Where is Gideon?”

  Paris is with Ella on the terrace of Graysson publicity.

  “She is suffering because of me. But the real culprit is you.”

  She strides forward her and takes her neck.

  The soul leaves my body when I see her in obvious danger.

  “Paris, no!”

  I get where they are fighting and take Paris by the arm.

  “Ella, no!” I scream when I see the intention of my sweet girl.

  She wants to save me.

  She pushes me away and I am amazed at

  her strength, but Pippa is the one who comes out in our defence this time, pushing Paris and falling both into the void.

  She is lying on the floor and a large pool of blood under her head.

  No, no, no. My sweet little girl.

  20

  GIDEON ONE MONTH LATER

  She looks real y beautiful. It seems that she slept, but it is not so. No one looks like this when they sleeps and less if they do it for long days.

  El a did not want to wake up because of the heavy hit in her head she received a month ago.

  A month ago it was Pippa's funeral, Paris is a vegetable in a psychiatric bed and her mother Esther has abandoned her.

  They say she remarried a mil ionaire. She had the nerve to send her wedding invitation.

  One daughter died and the other is almost dead, imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital.

  That is where she went. Why does life have to be unfair?

  Two innocent people died. One more innocent than the other, but in the end her redemption changed our lives.

  At last, justice was done.

  “How is she today?” Mona enters with pink flowers, she hates pink. “She looks beautiful as always, have you given her a bath?”

  “Yes, I think today will be a special day.” I tel to my best friend. “I think I saw her smile as I washed her hair. Did you know that it is my favourite part of her?”

  Mona always cries, she does it every day. She says she is happy to see her safe, but I know the truth.

  She is afraid.

  So am I. She fears she won't wake up. Her parents just left, they come every day. Even Grandpa Gus, I brought him myself. It was him who told she was going to wake up. And I believe him.

  “Gideon.”

  “I am not going to disconnect her, Mona.” I see my sweet girl’s face, every day she is more beautiful. “Over my dead body. It is only been a month, just a damn month. There are people who are in a coma for years and wake up.”

  “I was not going to say that. I have not lost faith and I know you do not either.”

  The door opens and her friends Jimi and Gracie are here. El a wil go crazy when she sees Gracie’s little bel y. She and Jimi are waiting for a baby, but they keep arguing like two teenagers. I guess that is how they make it work.

  My sweet girl used to run away, but now she does not.

  “Pink flowers?” Gracie walks over to the little table next to the bed and plants on some blue ones. “She hates pink flowers.”

  Finally.

  “How are you doing?” I ask Jimi.

  “Nothing good.” He puts his hand on my shoulder. “But I have faith.”

  “I meant pregnancy.”

  Jimi makes me laugh, but he quite sensitive when referring to Cinder, he is like the brother that she did not have and their connection is admirable.

  The connection al of the three have.

  My sweet girl must wake up.

  I sleep here every day and today when I woke up I just wanted to do one thing. Go shopping for her.

  From a month, I go shopping every day and buy a pair of different shoes every day.

  Today I want a especial colour and I know she will love it when she wakes up.

  I take out the box and place it on the floor, where I have one knee, next to her bed. She deserved to be worth the hours in which I waited for this special request, I did not hesitate to become a majority partner of the Converse logo. It was the only way I could customise the perfect pair. All of Ella’s really.

  Make every sketch of hers come true.

  I remove the sheet of one of her feet, white as porcelain. I kiss them before wearing the white shoe with lace on ti.

  It is perfect. Now she will have her true royalty shoe, with style.

  Her style.

  My heart breaks and I feel the air leave my lungs. I break into tears and lie on her chest.

  “Do you want to be my wife?” I ask in a broken voice. “ Wake up and marry me, my sweet CinderElla.”

  I close my eyes and if she does not wake up, then I do not want to do it either. But then I feel her hand in my hair, she touches it as she always does, and I smile.

  I do not need for her to explain it, I am a happy man.

  “Yes, I do.”

  EPILOGUE

  IN ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE WORLD OF

  CINDERELLA

  After that, Paris was locked up in jail for the murder of Thomas Graysson. Cinder cleaned Graysson Publicity reception. Her life was not different and she refused to quit her job.

  Her pride was bigger than her height.

  Gideon looked at her in the distance, he was determined to do one thing. The last time she yel ed at him she told him he was a coward. And a Duke with arrogance.

  “Your Majesty can go hel .” She shouted, slapping him and closing the door of their house on his face.

  He told her he would look for her anyway.

  The next day, the next and the next, no matter if rejected or not.

  Gideon was serious.

  When Cinder saw that he was approaching to her in front of everyone, stopped cleaning the floor. She was on her knees, with the dirty overall and lost in her thoughts.

  “Gideon.” She hissed at the same time she stood up.

  Gideon took off her headphones, she did not protest.

  “I told you I was not done with you, my sweet girl.”

  “I…”

  “Sh.” He put a finger on her lips for to shut her up. “We do not have to have anything in common for you to be mine, remember? I told you that I was not going to get through a night with you and here I am, in front you. I do not care about my suit, nor my Welsh title.”

  Gideon took a smal box out of his jacket bag. It contained the most beautiful ring that Cinder had ever seen.

  Now who was on his knees was Gideon and in front of everyone that day he said:

  “Will you marry me?”

  In a touching tone, Cinder nodded.

  “Say something.” He ordered. “I want to hear you out loud.”

  “Yes!” She throw herself at him and they both fell to the ground. “Yes, I want to be your wife.”

  Cinder learned that she should not look back. She remembered those words she heard somewhere.

  "Never look back. If Cinderella had come back for the shoe, she would not has become a princess"

  In real life, it was that her best friend decided to give her a free night and become her wishing fairy. The best night of her life, where she was not looking for a prince, but she found a Duke of Welsh and he fell in love with her from the first time he looked at her. Well, it was not exactly that way, it had been better…

  GIDEON

  IN THE REAL WORLD OF MR AND MRS

  G.

  The Duke and Duchess of Welsh, we were and we did what we enjoyed doing the most. Visit the children in the London orphanage. What makes me fall in love the most is watching my wife play with the other children, and it takes my breath away to see her with a special pair.

  Our two little ones.

  My Ella did not hesitate to start a family with me, although I was terrified. And her proposal was on the table, she knew that I would
not resist.

  We were going to adopt a boy and a girl.

  We spent the first year of marriage travel ing, we were now serving the people together. Dark suits no longer existed, but coloured slippers did; unless it was an appointment, which happened several times a week, but my duchess likes to see me as the old Mr G.

  “Daddy, daddy!” Little Thomas comes running towards me with a drawing in his hand.

  “Mum has helped me, just a little.”

  I carry my little one in my arms and approached to my wife, who is with our little Abie.

  “You always like you paint, why?”

  “Sometimes it is a bit boring to draw sneakers and heels.” It does not sound like a complaint.

  I am a happy man. It is obvious by the look and the smile as everyone says.

  Yes, I smile, now I love what I once called

  "Inhuman". Even with her.

  And she hates it.

  “Is that a complaint, Mrs. Graysson?”

  “Pf course not, Mr. Graysson.” Jokes. “I own an important line of shoes.”

  And that is.

  Ella designs slippers for al low-income children. She also has a line for adults and even a third that makes her win mil ions, but it is not the most important for her. It was to achieve her dream.

  I on the other hand, I am still a duke and businessman in America and England, but above all, a passionate man about art.

  And alcohol is not a problem. I have the most addictive thing in the world. My own family and my wife.

  I learned to accept that I should defend a legacy. Thomas’s legacy and now my children’s.

  “Children like to come here, do you think it is difficult with the third?”

  I deny.

  “You are a great mother.”

  I place my little boy on the floor to hug his mother and also kiss her prominent belly. Have learned that we would be parents after several attempts, was a reason to celebrate it with everyone.

  She listens to little Thomas fight with one of the orphanage children about what colours he should use in his drawing.

  “Wait a minute, Mr. Graysson.” She kisses my lips again. “The little artist needs me.”

  I stay with little Abie and other girls from the orphanage. I looked at what Ella drew with them.

  A princess with sneakers.

  That makes me smile.

  It reminds me of my little Cinderella or, in my own words, my sweet girl.

  “Do you believe in fairy tales, daddy?”