A NEW CINDERELLA STORY

Partners by Blood

"You seem disappointed?" Stella sighed, tears in her eyes.

"It's just I never got to see my little munchkin grow up. You're a young lady, and you seem like the sweetest most mature person I've ever met, even me," I choke up.

"Okay, family reunion over," Rosy interrupts, "You two have got to get out of here, now. Just run toward the east, you'll find a town, well, organized civilization." Stella seemed to be caught so off guard that she could have fallen off the tree.

"W-w-what, you mean it," Stella seems to laugh, she looks to Darel and Amon, they nod several times smiling.

"You found your sister, and she just happens to be running, so join her. Nine years is far too long, especially when it starts when you are 5," Darel says as a matter of fact.

"You need to go now, that's a command," Amon laughs. Stella just smiles and hugs them both, they toss her a backpack.

"Now run, commander's not 'gonna very happy, so go," Rosy ushers us down the tree.

"Let's go then, I want to learn as much as I can," I say happily. She takes one last look back at her friends.

She whispers, "Okay."

"That's the spirit!" Darel almost shouts. He gives her a hug, "We certainly will miss you, but you deserve to go and make that sisterly bond with, Isabelle right," I nod, "You deserve it, you've been here for NINE years, so run, now." She turns to Rosy.

"Go, he's right, and this moment is just so random, I mean it's like a Disney movie," Rosy laughs, and we all join, Stella smiles and gives her another hug, "I love you and I'll miss you, now go to your sister, I'm your partner in spirit, not blood. She's waiting over there," Rosy looks up at me and smiles.

"Now come to your big sister, and let's run away together. We are going to figure out how much you can annoy me, and, more importantly, how much I can annoy you," I urge, and they all burst into a fit of laughs. Stella runs up to me.

"Just like a Disney movie, I get my happily ever after," She declares, I hear her add extremely softly, "But like a Grimm's fairytale it won't last for long." I turn to see her crying.

"Hey, it's okay. I promise I don't bite, or shed, but I may have a tendency of sleeping around midnight," I warn playfully, rubbing her on the back, she allows a few chuckles to escape her mouth. "So, first things first, what's your best friend like?" I ask

"Well Rosy is my best friend, so you know what she looks like, but inside?" She pauses to think, "She's brave, honest, kind, selfless, she'd stick up for me no matter what, she's a peacekeeper, she is very, very smart. She is almost the perfect person. I actually hope that I have a new one, though."

"Really? She sounds like an amazing friend, who could you find that would be better than her?" MY question seems silly based on her simple answer.

"You!"

"Me?" I feel so honored.

"You."

"Really, you're not kidding?" I ask.

"No, I am not. You seem so surprised. Hasn't anyone wanted to be your best friend?" She asks the most difficult questions, in the simplest words and phrase.

"No, no one has, I, we, don't have the best step-family," I answer, leaving her speechless for a few moments.

"Before I answer to that, why did you stretch out the word Step?" She asks, still "Confuzzled" by my answer to her earlier question.

"Habit," the simplest answer I could give. She seems to realize what that means about our step-family Then she addresses to my earlier statement,

"Well, you have a best friend now, and even better, we're partners in blood."