Expertly Crafted Creative Writing On “Cinderanna”

Once upon a time, long ago, in a kingdom far and away, there lived a beautiful young maiden by the name of Anna. This is her remarkable story:
Anna’s mother died when she was an infant. Her father, being nearly destitute at the time, married a wealthy widow, by the name of Hagatha. Hagatha had two daughters from a previous marriage. Their names were Dorcas and Hortense.
When Anna was ten years old, her father passed away from a sudden illness. Having no other relatives to care for her, Anna was forced to live with her step-mother and step-sisters. Anna was constantly reminded of her “good fortune” in being allowed to live with them. She was often treated more as a servant than as a family member.
Anna would clean the house, cook meals, scrub the pots and pans, and wash the women’s clothes. In addition, Anna was required to clean the fireplaces twice a day. When cleaning the hearths, the still burning embers would fall on her clothes and fly into her hair. Thus, the moniker “Cinderanna” from her step-family
Over the years, Cinderanna grew into a gentle, caring, and beautiful young woman. Hagatha, Dorcas, and Hortense, unable to live up to the charm and loveliness of Cinderanna, grew increasingly jealous of her, and so she was singled out.
Cinderanna often longed for her father and fantasized of him and a better life. But she was resigned to the fact that this place would be her destiny. She had no choice, at her young age, but to remain dutiful and grateful to those who were providing her with a roof over her head and food in her stomach. And so, Cinderanna’s life went on.
On the first day of summer, when Cinderanna was sixteen years of age, the “family” received an invitation to a royal celebration. It was to be held at the palace of the king, and would be in honor of his son’s eighteenth birthday. The honoree was Prince Charmsalot.
Of course, Hagatha and the two step-sisters had no intention of including Cinderanna in the festivities. She would have chores to attend to, after all, and obviously did not possess proper attire for such an occasion.
That night Cinderanna slept fitfully. She dreamed of attending the party in a beautiful evening dress, adorned in exquisite jewelry, and not a hair out of place. She imagined being transported to the palace in a most glorious way: a beautiful carriage pulled by majestic white horses, and the coach being driven by a very handsome young man. She found herself falling in love with this handsome chauffeur of her dream, and dreamt that the two of them would one day live in eternal happiness somewhere in Hawaii.
Later in the dream, Cinderanna’s mother came to her. Her mother said, “Anna, I will make this dream of yours come true. You will attend the party, but you must pledge this: you must discover the true identity of the driver of your carriage. And you must accomplish this task prior to the stroke of midnight, lest your life return to its drudgery, and you, to your humble existence.” Cinderanna replied, “Yes, yes, Mother, I will! I will! I promise I will!” In an instant Mother was gone and Cinderanna awoke from the dream.
The day of the celebration arrived, and Cinderanna’s mother, true to her promise, magically transformed Cinderanna. She attended the birthday bash dressed in a Versace gown, wearing the most wonderful Vera Wang jewelry, and Prada shoes. Her hair was done to perfection by Jose Eber. She was driven by a very handsome chauffeur in a beautiful Rolls-Royce (with very courteous and polite attendants).
Cinderanna had a wonderful time at the party, but was haunted by the “midnight” warning. What was her mother trying to impart to her? Cinderanna kept asking herself, “Why is the identity of carriage driver so important?”
During the event, Cinderanna observed a portrait of a young woman. It occurred to her that she very much resembled the image of the woman in the portrait. A handsome young man approached, and Cinderanna politely asked of him, “Please sir, who is the woman in this portrait?” He responded, “Why, Child, that is you your mother.and so yourself. Do you not recognize heryourself? And that of the driver of the carriage in the background?”
She then recalled images of her father, and her mother. She looked up at the clock and saw that it was 11:55. She realized that she was in fact “her mother,” and that the driver of the carriage, her “father.” It was no wonder, then, that she had fallen in love with the carriage driver. Her whole “existence” was but a “dream within a dream.” Of course her “mother” knew then, that Cinderanna had fulfilled her pledge.
Anna awoke from that “dream within a dream,” in a room filled with the sweet scent of tropical flowers, the sea, an ocean breeze, and a view to die for. And she was ecstatic. She was living “happily ever after” in Kailua, Hawaii. With her Prince Charmsalot, and without Hagatha, Dorcas, or Hortense.
The End