His Cinderella

The plot

Mary’s stepmother was more wicked than she used to be. The smallest things would drive her to the edge, and she felt like strangling her stepchild to death and getting over the pain she was feeling right then. The fact that her child was dead did not sit well with her, and she was trying by all means to make things difficult for Mary who, on the other hand, was still in shock. She could have been dead for God's sake and no one gave a damn about it. It was quite clear that things did not go as were planned by her stepmother, and she had to suffer the consequences. The enraged monster always threw tantrums without any cause and that made Mary feel like it was her fault that her stepsister was dead. She felt like packing her bags and leaving that hell of a house once and for all. But she had nowhere to go at that particular moment. She was only living to tiptoe around the house so as not to offend the step monster.

One day, her stepmother asked her to deliver a parcel to her relative who was living in a nearby town. She ordered her to handle the parcel with care and make sure it did not break or open. And her stepmother promised to blow the daylights out of her, should she open or damage the parcel box. So, it was only her stepmother who knew what was in that box. There was also a letter that accompanied it. The contents of the letter were only known to her(the stepmother). So, Marry took off during the early hours of the morning. She had to walk because she was not given money to take a taxi or bus.

It was hot that day and thick clouds appeared from the north, indicating that there would be chances of thunderstorms in the afternoon. She walked a long distance in the scorching heat of the sun, and she was thirsty as hell. She kept wondering if it rained, what she would do. She walked even faster even though her body was tired. It seemed like the more she walked, the more the distance. She started to sing to distract her mind from exhaustion. This plan worked, she finally found herself in front of the house she was sent to. When she arrived at the house of a relative, there were two creepy men who were drinking beer on the veranda. She greeted them and asked if there were people inside the house. They ignored her and carried on with drinking their beer. That gave Mary more reason to be afraid of them. At some point, she thought that they were deaf or dumb. But when she was inside the house, she heard them mumbling, but she could not hear what they were on about. A cold sweat went through her spine and she did not know whether to get out of the house or to remain inside.

Inside the house there was no one. This made her more anxious, since she could not ask anything from those men who decided to be mute or deaf. She was standing in the lounge trying to figure out what to do, when she heard someone blowing a deep breath right behind her. She froze and did not know how to react. She stood there motionless, waiting for the next thing to happen. The person came closer and closer until she felt the need to scream, but her voice could not come out. What happened next was only known to the men who were in the veranda when she arrived there.

Mary did not come back home until it was late that day. The following day came and still she did not show up. Her stepmother seemed not to be bothered by this as it used to be when things did not go as she wished, instead she carried on with household chores as if nothing had happened. Even her daughter was surprised by her mother's calmness, since she knew her for her strong will when it came to things done her own way. For her, it was her way or no way. Her daughter finally asked about Mary, and she was told that Mary had defied orders by not coming home when she had sent her to their relatives. Although it was not like Mary to rebel against her stepmother's instructions, her step-sister decided to lay the matter to rest for peace's sake until Mary returned home.

A week later, their relative sent them a message that Mary did not arrive at her house the day she was sent to deliver a parcel. People started to be concerned, but her step - mother seemed to be more calm about the whole situation. She even insinuated that Mary had left on her own accord, now that she was engaged to the prince. She even carried on accusing Mary of being ashamed of her family, since she was going to be the princess. " Let her be, if she wants to exclude us from her life", she said. But people who knew her attitude towards Mary were not happy at all. Mary was now engaged to a prince and that made people grow fond of her, even though there were few who were jealous of her, like her stepmother's friends. She was going to be the mother of the nation, and that made people be a part of her life. Her disappearance was everyone's concern but them.

And everyone in the village was worried as time went by, and she had vanished without a trace. The news traveled until it reached the ears of the prince, who became furious and was adamant to send a search team all over the area where Mary was last seen. The soldiers went from house to house asking everyone they met about anything that could lead to Mary's disappearance, but no one seemed to have a clue. The search went on for days.