Doubling Down

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ciaran stood next to the podium where the digital art version of the shoe was displayed and stared at the image of the beautiful woman who claimed that she was Cinderella. Aside from film and theater representations, he didn’t know what Cinderella was supposed to look like. But for some strange reason, the woman's presence made him feel as if she was the Cinderella, if the character was indeed something other than a concept.

Ciaran kept his mind open to unexplained phenomena, but most of the time, he preferred to stick to what he knew best—science.

“Assuming I believe that you're Cinderella, and I want to give you this digital artwork, you couldn't even take it with you. It’s not a tangible thing.”

“I don't understand. It’s a shoe from a pair I was given.”

She held up the other shoe, and Ciaran could see that beneath the skirt of her beautiful princess-like dress, she was missing a shoe. The shoe on her foot did indeed look like the shoe on display.

“I’m sorry, but this is just a digital image. I know it looks like a match for the other you have, and it perfectly complements your dress, but you can’t physically take it with you. Here, let me show you.”

Ciaran switched off the digital display from the control panel on the podium, and the digital artwork vanished.

The room darkened several shades when the light from the display went out. But he could still see the devastated look on the woman’s face.

Ciaran stepped down from the stage. He approached Cinderella to give her some comfort.

“Look, I don’t know how this works, but—” As soon as he touched her arm, it felt like he had been electrocuted. The zap sent him back several feet. His knees almost buckled, but he managed to remain standing.

The guards stormed into the room.

“Are you okay, Mr. LeBlanc?”

The woman stood there, blinking at him. She looked as if she wanted to approach him, but her movement seemed restricted to a meter's circumference. The guards didn’t see the woman at all.

He gestured to stop the guards from walking into the center of the room, afraid they might accidentally collide with the woman’s image.

“I’m fine. I need to leave now. Can you get the car and park on the West side of the gallery, please?”

One of the guards left. Ciaran looked at the remaining one. “Could you get me my jacket from the cloakroom, please? I checked in as Anonymous Bidder Number 9.”

The guard hesitated but then left to do what Ciaran asked.

Ciaran returned to the woman. “How can I help you?”

She raised the shoe. “I lost a shoe when I ran away from the ball, and the prince has it. He’ll come to me soon. I’ll try the shoe on and show him this one that completes the pair. Then we will be united. We can be together happily ever after.”

Ciaran nodded. “I know that part of the story. But I still don’t know how I can help you.”

“This afternoon, my godmother told me that the shoe in the prince’s possession has been swapped for a different size. That means, when he comes to see me tomorrow, the shoe won’t fit me. Godmother said the correct shoe is here. She sent me here to get the shoe so she can replace the one in the prince's possession. But now the shoe has vanished. The prince and I can never be together.”

“Cinderella, what you saw was a digital image. You can’t physically bring it to your world and give it to your godmother. And you saw what happened to me when I tried to touch you. I don’t think you can interact with this environment without being hurt. That’s why your movement is restricted within the small space where you're standing right now.”

She frowned.

“Simply speaking, I don’t think you can take any object in this room with you. Here, see if you can hold this water bottle.”

He placed a bottle on the floor close to where she stood. When she reached down to pick up the bottle, her hand went right through it. Frightened, she stepped back and away from the bottle.

“Did your godmother give you any instructions on how to get the shoe she needs back to your world? How do you even know this is the right shoe?”

“She said I’ll know the shoe when I see it. But I can only take what I’m given.”

“All right, that’s very cryptic. I am absolutely certain that this is not your shoe. But I’m going to give it a go to see if I can help you.”

Ciaran took the box with the shoe from underneath the podium and put the shoe on the silver tray atop the podium. It was the first time he had held Juliette's artwork—an elegant life-size crystal shoe—in his hand. Ciaran had dealt enough with symbolism to know that this piece of art represented infinite love. But they had been happily married, so why did Juliette suddenly want to track down an old art project symbolizing love?

Cinderella’s voice pulled his mind back to the current reality.

“This is the shoe.” Tears rolled down her face.

“It’s not possible. This is my wife’s creation.”

“So you’re not going to give me the shoe?”

Juliette was dead. There was nothing he could do to bring her back. It didn’t matter if this fairy-tale character in front of him was real. She was a woman in distress, and she had a real problem that he could help solve. He was more than certain that wherever his wife might be, she would forgive him for not retrieving her work as promised.

“I will give you this shoe.” He picked up the shoe and placed it on the floor next to the bottle of water.

Cinderella tried to grasp the shoe. But just like with the bottle, her hand went right through it.