by Sarah Earlene Shere, ©2025
(Jun. 13, 2025) — Ella (no longer of cinders) sat upon the swing in the palace’s secret garden. Lazily, she pushed herself backward and forward, admiring the way her silk skirts moved and made a rustling sound. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice, “So, tell me, how do you feel, now that all your dreams are coming true?”
Ella looked up and beamed a smile at the beautiful, elder woman standing before her. “Oh, Fairy Godmother, it’s beyond anything I ever imagined! But it’s not the palace, the gowns or the new title that have made me so happy; it’s being held in Prince John’s eyes, when he cannot hold me in his arms, it’s being wrapped in his favor and getting lost in his smile. These are the things that make me feel safe and at home.”
The good fairy smiled and nodded, then noticed a quizzical expression on the girl. “Well, what is the matter, my child?”
Ella shook her head. “Oh, nothing’s wrong. I’ve only been wondering about my glass slippers. How is it that they were the only things to not disappear at midnight?”
“Ah, that is because they are made of a different material; they are made of the tears you have cried every time you prayed or wished on the first star you saw. They are also made of your mother’s and father’s tears they shed in prayer for you. You see, God saves, in a glass bottle, every tear that falls. Then, He turns them into something He has prepared for your good since the beginning of time, something that will last forever and never be broken.”
~
When Ella was, once again, alone, she was contemplating her conversation with her fairy godmother when she felt someone behind her catch the ropes of the swing and slowly draw her back. Soon, she was against Prince John’s broad chest. She leaned her head back on one of his squared shoulders and closed her eyes. As she felt herself stirred down to the depths of her being, her fairy godmother’s parting words echoed in her head, “Never forget: you are living your dream come true; you are living in answered prayers. Remember that, and you will always live happily ever after!”