Chapter 4 - Cinderella (1/2)

Chapter 4: Cinderella

Kelson smiled and then left the room.

All alone, I looked around my new room and moved slowly, still in shock by this beautiful room. Then, I crouched on the ground to touch the green rug. I smiled. It was really fluffy and soft.

“Wow…”

I then touched the furniture. It was so glossy and smooth, which was the complete opposite of my dirty and rough hands. The thought of that made me slightly frown. But then, someone came in and I immediately took my hands off the furniture in shock.

It was a middle-aged woman. She had both a round figure and face, but that just made her look more softer and kind. She then smiled sweetly at me.

“Hello, I’m Annie. I’ll be tending to you from now on.” She said with a sweet voice.

“Hello, I’m Pink Eyes,” I sheepishly replied back.

Annie slightly frowned by my name, but then quickly reverted back to her soft smile. “The Duke will give you a prettier name. Shall we wash up first?”

She then took me to the bathroom after I nodded in response. The other maids carried the hot water while Annie started to take my clothes off. After undressing me, she gave a short sigh.

“You should eat a lot of delicious food,” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

I tried to cover myself with my hands, ashamed of my bony body. My knees which seemed like it was about to pop out looked so ugly. Even my hands and my face had become so worn out…

Annie helped me wash up. It felt really relaxing because it was my first time washing with hot water. After being washed two or three times, I applied perfume, which smelled very good, from head to toe. Then, I put on clothes which were light and soft. I was in awe again; I think this was the first time that I had ever worn such a pretty dress.

Annie dried my long hair several times with a thick brush. Because my hair was long enough, she spread it out on the bed before carefully brushing it.

“Miss, I’ll be cutting a bit of your hair. Your ends are too damaged.”

“Yes,” I replied while lightly nodding. Annie had the maid bring her scissors, and she then cut my hair down to my waist. I looked at the pool of faded gold hair on the ground, feeling lighter than ever before.

“Excuse me…”

Noticing that I was unsure of how I should address her, she smiled.

“Please call me Annie.”

I nodded. “Annie, what’s going to happen to me now?”

“Well… I don’t know yet. But the Duke will take care of it. All you have to do now is to play well and eat well.” Annie said as she softly fondled my cheeks. “And, you need to gain more weight,” she added firmly.

I had no choice but to nod my head.

***

I can’t believe I became Cinderella overnight.

Surrounded by my soft, silk bedding, I looked at the ceiling.

When I was young, my mother locked me in a box. As I trembled and shut my eyes tightly, I focused my mind on somewhere else. I would pull up the pieces of my past memory and try to visualize them. Bright streetlights, cool air conditioning, clear skies, tall skyscrapers, sparkling windows, and so many more. It became a habit to think of these things every night.

But more than anything, I tried to think of the things close to my past life’s heart. Her sweet parents, her lovely sister, and her cute little dog.

I was Seo-yeong, and at the same time, I was Pink Eyes. And now, I am Estelle.

“Estelle.”