Cinderella's - Love Illusion

The Tales Retold Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+, visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.

This is my take on a remake of Cinderella, disillusioned and ready to kick ass. Hear her new battle cry, "Yippee ki-yay, mutha fuc#%r!", as she discovers, maybe love isn't ALL bad.

Cindy McClane's illusion of love had worn off, years ago.

She now knew, with 100% certainty, that it was only a myth. Love was nothing more than a worn out and withered unicorn that shit glitter and smelled of bubble gum farts.

She grew up believing that fairytales and, "happily ever after's." were attainable. And even more than that, were the groundbreaking, heart stopping magical dreams we all desire to keep love alive.

The fair prince and his faithful steed, fighting all odds, wild beast and foes of all nature, to come find, and rescue her.

But experience has taught her, reminded her, reenforced in her, that it was worse than myth...it was a lie.

If she needed to be rescued, she was going to have to do it, herself.

****

She left the security of her small town in Kansas, to take a new position at a prestigious company on the west coast.

After a hard break up, she decided that she needed to make a fresh start. So, after a few phone interviews, and a couple face to face lunches, she made the easy decision to move on.

She threw away the glass slippers, for a comfy pair of Converse. After saying her goodbyes, she collected the remnants of her shattered heart, and a few essentials, in a bag and headed out.

Looking into the rearview mirror, she sighed and flipped the bird to her past. Smiling as she realized the kids in the car next to her were watching and pointing, she sped up and disappeared into the horizon.

If only life were that simple.

She had driven for several hours, when she decided to stop at a roadside diner. It was like a bad movie, the diner's neon sign, partially broken, was flickering. The wind was gusting, blowing random tumble weeds across the seemingly abandoned road, and there was a row of 15 badass looking Harleys parked perfectly in a row, blocking the entrance.

Yeah, she thought, this is a good idea.

She backed into the only available spot left, just inches away from the biggest motorcycle she had ever seen. As she inched into the spot, the bike seemed to get bigger. She let out a small scream, as she hit the curb.

Shaking her head and smiling at her paranoia, she grabbed her bag and headed into the diner.

As she reached for the door, it flung open, knocking her off balance, and into a small bush. After spouting a few obscenities, she noticed a hand being shoved into her face.

"Oopsie, sorry little darling, I didn't see you there." The voice was gruff and swirly, like they had a few too many drinks, on a ship that survived a tsunami.

Irritated and without thinking, she pushed the hand aside and retorted, "I can get up by myself, just move." As she grunted to get out of the bush, she made eye contact with the voice. A large woman wearing a printed shirt with puppies, that read, (Everybody needs love, ask me how I can help) a rescue shirt for the local shelter.

She immediately felt embarrassed by her aggression and as she brushed herself off, she apologized.

There was a lull of uncomfortable silence, just before a jaw dropping, skin tingling, goosebump popping young man stepped out of the diner.

Everything went silent, like Adonis had stepped into the room, commanding an audience.

A slight melodic tune spun in her head.

All at once, the birds and squirrels circled him, craving his attention. She was sure she noticed a few bunnies and deer, peeking their noses out of the trees, to get a glimmer of him.

Cindy began to feel a little faint, and as she began to swoon, the boy caught her in his arms.

He gazed deeply into her broken, haunted eyes and said, "I think you are misplacing the hurt you have been exposed to in the past, by lashing out and wounding any person or object in your path. Your hurt has left an open door for you to be swept away with the notion, that everyone is out to hurt you. My dear, this just isn't true. You need to reevaluate your emotions and get them into check, before you hurt an innocent party."

As he set her back up on her feet, he said, "hi, I'm Bruce, why don't you come join us inside, for lunch. I'm sure we can all get on to having a better day."

All she could muster saying was "Yippee ki-yay," she stopped herself from finishing the end of that comment, realizing, she may have been pushing her luck.

As she stepped into the dingy little roadside bar, the sweetest of music was playing. She glanced to the stage to see, three of the loveliest little bluebirds, whistling a familiar tune. There were a couple of mice playing guitar and triangle.

She hadn't heard such beautiful music, since before her heart was broken. Could it be?

As she sat down at the table, on a chair shaped like a pumpkin- an exotic parrot landed on her shoulder and asked, "is there something I can get for you sweetheart? Our special is honey tea and a fabulous creme Brulé."

She smiled and said excitedly, "oh, yes! Yes, please!"

As she enjoyed her tea, she apologized again for her rude behavior.

She was able to explain that she was recovering from a broken heart. Her sister ran off with her boyfriend following her school dance, just after being announced king and queen.

And now, she was moving across country because her stepmother basically threw her out, encouraging her to leave town and start again in Los Angeles. She had made arrangements to get her a job at the Naketomi Plaza, where her mother had worked, before a hostile takeover in the late 80's.

Bruce smiled and said, "that's just how it goes sometimes, Cindy. Everything always finds a way to work itself out."

Everyone in the bar began to sing: Don't you worry about a thing!

Cindy realized, she didn't need to shut love out completely, she simply needed to love herself completely. And the rest would work itself out.

Here's to YOUR - "Happily ever after."