Midnight

Eight

Chapter eight:

I ran behind the house and towards the stone gazebo that had been in the same place since before my mother died.
A sob fell from my mouth as I leaned against a stone pillar and let more tears fall down my checks. I stood there for a while, just letting out all the emotion I felt towards my stepmother. Anger, disappointment, sadness, despair.
I had always been told by my stepmother never to cry because it doesn't get anyone anywhere. But right now I didn't care what my stepmother used to tell me.

"Excuse me."
A voice from behind me startled me into letting out a tiny gasp of surprise as I turned around. I hurriedly wiped my tears before the person could see that I had been crying. The person was an old woman who was sitting in the corner of the gazebo, shrouded in darkness. It was no wonder I hadn't seen her when I first ran in.
"Could you help me, Miss? Do you think you could find me a crust of bread, or a bowl of milk?" The woman asked kindly, leaning up against her wooden walking stick. I brushed the thoughts of my stepmother and the ball out of my mind and nodded quickly.
"Yes, yes of course. I'm sure I can find you something."

I hurried down the steps of the gazebo and found a pitcher of clear water. I poured some of it into a bowl and returned to the beggar woman. I handed her the bowl with the most sincere smile I could muster and she took it from me gratefully.
"Why are you crying?" She asked gently. So she had seen me, I thought with embarrassment. But I shook her question off like it didn't matter.
"It was nothing." I whispered. "Nothing but a dream that I had." Because after all, what more was the ball then a dream?
The beggar woman looked at me like she didn't believe what I had told her. Then she raised the bowl before she put it to her lips.
"Nothing? What is a bowl of milk? Nothing. But kindness makes it everything."

I watched her drink the water and was amazed when I saw a stream of white milk run down her chin. I frowned and cocked my head at the sight.
But there had only been water in the bowl, not milk.
Before I could ask any questions, the woman set the bowl down and regarded me seriously.
"Now I don't mean to rush you, Ella, but you haven't got much time."
I was taken aback by the woman's knowledge of my name. I was sure I hadn't met her before, I had never even seen her before.
"What- how do you know me?" I whispered. The woman smiled mischievously.
"Really, I thought you would have figured it out by now. I'm your fairy godmother!" She flourished her arms out as she told me who she was, but I didn't believe it at all.
"No, you can't be." I said softly. "They don't exist. They're only made up for children."
"But your own mother believed in them, didn't she? And don't say no because I heard her."
"You heard her?" I asked, my confusion growing. But the woman didn't answer my question. She just stood up and waved her arms impatiently.

"Oh fiddle-faddle, fiddle-faddle. First things first, let me slip into something a little more comfortable." She hobbled gown the gazebo steps and I followed her slowly. Once in the yard, the woman threw her walking stick up and sent it spinning through the air. In midair the walking stick began to change. I gasped as it transformed into a thin, white wand with silver down the sides. It fell back to the woman and she caught it with one hand. As soon as the wand touched her skin, her old brown dress began to change to, along with her hair and her face. She became younger with brighter hair, and her rags turned into a huge white gown that shimmered like mine once did, before my stepsisters ruined it. The woman cracked her neck and looked at me proudly.
"There." She said with a smile. It was odd to look at her now, she looked like a completely different person and I occurred to me that she had been disguised. At the sight of her I began to smile as well.
"You really are my fairy godmother." I whispered in surprise.
"Of course I am. And you shall go to the ball!"

Excitement bloomed inside my chest at her words and my smile widened. My fairy godmother looked pleased with my happiness.
"Now, where was I? Oh yes, let's see...we need something that screams 'carriage'." The woman told me, looking around the yard. I bit my lip and turned to an overturned trough that lay in the weeds by the house.
"Oh, that trough!" I pointed to it and my fairy godmother looked, then shook her head.
"Doesn't really scream 'carriage', dear." She said. She began to walk around the yard and I followed her as she studied the sides of the house and the plants we grew.
"Alright, I'm liking a fruit or a vegetable. Do you grow watermelon?"
I shook my head no.
"Cantaloupe?"
I shook my head again.
"Beef tomato?"
"No, but we do grow pumpkins."
"Ah!" My fairy godmother's face lit up and she raised a finger. Then she tipped her head to the side as if she was unsure of something.
"Well, show me to them, we can't waste any time."