Ashes of Cinder

19

Rags and tatters. That was all you would ever wear. Clenching your hands at the torn fabric laid strayed on the floor, you wished to pick yourself again, but it was hard. It was getting tiring. This endless cycle of torment and hope was tiring. This was the end, wasn't it? No ball, no gown, no dancing, no palace, and no freedom. You had asked and prayed to witness the unknown feeling for just a moment, but a moment couldn't even be spared for you.

Stepmother and her two daughters left a few minutes ago, but the sound of faint footsteps approaching the room signified someone was returning. Looking up with tear-strewn eyes, you did not bother to wipe them away. Usually they'd be hidden, because you wanted to be seen as strong... but today was different. They stayed there on your face, screaming into the world of the pain and hurt that caused them to fall.

It was Rosa and you shrunk back in fear at the sight of her. What more could she want from you? Did she not have enough fun earlier that she came back to continue to torture you? "What do you want?" you hissed at her, your voice raspy.

Shooting a quick look at the door, she approached you with her pointer finger against her lips. Nervously fiddling with her black ponytail, she crouched down in front of you and began to pick up the torn fabric for you. Scrunching your eyebrows together, you didn't know what to do or say. What... was she doing?

Without pausing in her cleanup, she answered the questions that floated in your head. "I'm helping you. Is it not obvious?" she said, the pink cloth growing into a pile in her palms. "Come outside into the garden afterwards, if you want an explanation."

The floor perfectly bare like earlier, she then pushed herself up from the floor. She strode over to the corner of the living room and dumped the contents into the trash. Brushing her skirts to straighten them, she eyed you one last time and walked out of the door. Alone once more, you could barely process what happened. You knew that you would not believe this if you didn't get an explanation, so you had no choice but to go outside.

Drying your face with your hands, you then slowly stood up. With one last glance to the trash can that now contained the rest of your damaged dress, you walked out of the room and entered the hallways. Beelining to the storage room, known as the place where you slept, you were fortunate to not encounter stepmother or Delphine. Thank god. You weren't sure how much more humiliation you could take.

It would be ideal to change out of this dress, but being the curious person you were, you needed the details as soon as possible. Opening the door to the backyard garden, you stepped out into the cool world. The gray clouds above making the already ugly garden even more sullen, the thought of talking to Rosa here was anxiety-inducing. Your arms wrapping around yourself, you shivered into yourself and saw a figure in the corner of your hues. On the right was Rosa, standing there with her arms crossed.

When you got closer to her, she patted at the ground beside her while sitting herself down as well. You were already in awe of this, because she would usually never do something like this. Sitting on the dirty ground and getting dust on her beautiful skirts was a big no for her and Delphine. It was bothering you, but you decided to keep your mouth shut and follow her lead, cautiously sitting down beside her. It was best not to question her on it.

"I want to apologize to you...." she blurted. You parted your lips and widened your eyes at this. Watching her, she was avoiding your stare and looking at the ground in shame. "I never did want to be mean to you, you know? When I first met you, I wanted to be your friend. But stepmother never took a liking to you; she thought you were too timid, annoying, and clumsy. She didn't want us to be around you and we listened to her.

"Then your father... passed away. She soon got the idea to make use of you, angry and furious that she married only to gain an extra mouth to feed. She made you do all the chores and egged us on to be mean to you. At first, I was against this idea and I confronted my mother about it, but she turned the angriest I've ever seen her. Eventually, I subsided and did as asked, but consequences came from it. She watched me closely and it left me no choice but to be meaner to you. You noticed it too, didn't you? I'm meaner to you than Delphine ever is."