Devilish Detective ✅

I Feel Like A Modern Day Cinderella

Chapter Six: I Feel Like A Modern Day Cinderella

•••

Saturday reels in, and I am yet to hear from my new friend. If I can call him that.

Rolling out of my bed, I slip my feet into my flip-flops and I am about to step into my small bathroom to carry out my morning business when I hear loud pounding on my door.

Yawning, I walk to the door and mentally preparing myself for my aunt's usual verbal abuse, I open the door to find her looking angrier than an ogre being chased around with torches and pitched forks.

"Good morning, aunt Natasha," I greet her, a warm smile on my face as I wave, trying to alleviate her mood even though I know the chance of that happening is non-existent.

She thrusts a small white envelop forcefully into my hands and I collect it, brows scrunched in confusion at her attitude.

The envelop is already open and on the front, in neat cursive print is written 'Dearest Bells'. I frown in confusion at the letter, having never received a mail before. It has no return address, no name of the sender, absolutely nothing that'll give me an indication as to who sent it.

"So you're now going around having boyfriends, huh?" Aunt Natasha yells at me. "What's next? You're going to bring home a baby and have me raise it?"

"Well, for someone so adamantly against relationships and fornication, you sure failed to teach that to your son, considering his many, many conquests," I spit out, my brain losing its ability to filter words before throwing them out my mouth.

Realizing just what I have said, I slap my hands over my mouth in a futile bid to take back the words. Aunt Natasha's eyes are wide like saucers and with lightning speed, her hand strikes across my cheek, her other hand finding its way into my hair as she yanks it, dragging me down into the living room as though I am nothing but a useless ragdoll.

Shouting in pain, I try to free my hair from her painful grasp that causes my scalp to throb, but she is holding on tightly, too tightly that I fear she may pull my hair completely off my scalp.

We arrive in the living room where she feels the urge to toss me unto a couch, so she does just that and I bite back another yelp of pain, still clinging to my letter.

"I want this house sparkling by the time I'm back. Perhaps some cleaning will teach you to appreciate everything I've done for you. You'll clean every room in this house, wash every dirty clothing, make me dinner... everything! Am I clear?"

"As crystal," I manage an answer, lips trembling.

She scornfully stares at me for a moment before she picks up her gold coloured purse from the adjacent couch and walks out of the house, banging the door with more force than necessary.

"Welp! I feel like a modern day Cinderella!" I exclaim, rubbing my bruising scalp as I pick myself up from the couch. "Well, arrange this whole house. How hard can that be?"

I look at the envelop in my hand, my curiosity getting the better of me, so I remove the beige coloured card from inside it. It smells like someone look their time to spray perfume on it and I frown, wondering just who this secret admirer is.

'My world was dark and bleak was my life
Then you smiled, and I felt alive.
Oh, what won't I do to see your beautiful smile?
What won't I give to hear your musical laugh?
Reasons why you're adored, I could write paragraphs,
But I have longed for you, I have for a long while.'

Other than the fact that I started receiving gits after Ben's death and my mind refuses to chalk it up as a coincidence, the admirer seems to be harmless and pretty sweet. A rose on Friday, a poem on Saturday... I wonder what to expect tomorrow.