Mary continued to live with her unloving family and her never present father. She was now a teenager and she had already started high school. Her step sisters were behind her in grades as they were not as brilliant as her and that did not sit well with her stepmom. She tried by all means to block her from attending classes everyday. She would pretend as if she was ill and made Mary to do all the household chores. Mary would clean the house and cook for her and her daughters. When they came back from school she was made to clean after them. She would go and fetch water before she prepared for supper while they were doing their homework. Sometimes she would their homeworks as well.
Her father would come home late, had supper, bathed and went straight to bed. The next morning he would be off to work. Mary would work hard to catch up on her school work. Sometimes she missed class tests but that did not stop her to pass her grades. When it was her last year at high school, she she received the news that her father was not well. He became seriously ill and she had to take care of him. He became weaker and weaker until he was bed ridden. The doctors told him that he had pneumonia.
On a very fateful day while Mary was sitting on the kitchen table after she had finished feeding her father. She heard unusual groans from his room. She rushed to attend to him. He was lying helplessly gasping for breath. He breathed heavily until he became silent. That silence gave Mary a new title. She was officially an orphan. The last parent who was barely present in her life succumbed to pain and suffering. The doors of hope were closed on her that day. She cried a silent painful cry.
Her father was buried and her hopes were buried too. She had secretly hoped that her father would pay for her fees when she would continue her tertiary studies. She sat in the outside shelter that day until she dozed off. The dreams took her to the place she vaguely recognised. She was with her father and mother in the park. The park was green and beautiful flowers were surrounding a small blue Lake. The park was really beautiful and all of a sudden her mother and father were on the other side of the lake. She wanted to go to them but could not cross the lake. She shouted for them to wait for her but still was unable to cross. They waved at her and pointed to the direction of a handsome young man who was standing a few metres away from her. The young man came closer to her. This man was wearing a robe that was embroidered with beautiful glittering precious stones and had golden crown on his head. He lifted his powerful arms to help her cross the river. When she looked up she noticed that her mother and father had disappeared. She cried but the man took her back where they came from. He reached out to the pocket of his robe and his hand came back carrying something. It was a big beautiful diamond ring. He put it on her ring finger and took the crown from his hand and put it on hers. They danced in the breeze of the lake. A beautiful music at the background was serenading their moment of pleasure.
While she was deep in her dream, she heard a sharp voice calling her name. It was the voice of her stepmother. She panicked and wanted to run. But the prince held her had tight. He wanted them to dance more. She heard a sharp blow striking her arm. She woke up immediately to find her step mother shouting at her demanding their supper. She was cooking, she remembered and she stood up immediately to attend to the pot of stew that was already burning. She took it out of fire and went straight to the kitchen. She dished up for them thinking about her dream.
Her cruel step mom made her to eat the burnt scrapings from the pot of stew as a punishment for burning the stew. She did not eat that night and went to bed with a sore heart. She wished for that dream she dreamt earlier to come back again. She tried to close her eyes to fall asleep but her heart was heavy. Her mind was racing replaying all the events of that day. She was all by herself with no one to cry to.
Time went by and the poverty took the better of since the. breadwinner was no more. Mary was forced to go and look for a job in the firms. She got the job where she worked as a domestic worker. It was not easy for her but the only consolation was that she had a room to live in at the back of her employer's house. The room was not so big. It had only a space for a bed and a table. Her clothes were packed in a chest of drawers next to her bed. She worked very hard and had to buy groceries for her step mother and daughters. She was forced to support them since it was her step mother who had organised the job for her. She saved the little money that was left after she bought the groceries. She lived on the leftovers from the plates of her employers. Sometimes she would be lucky to get her own plate of food when her employet hosted dinner parties. She would eat herself into a frenzy. After that she would wash a pile of dishes and scrub the floors. She would go to bed very tired. The moment her head touched the pillow, she would be asleep already because of exhaustion. The following morning she would wake up at half past four to feed the pigs and prepared the children for school. After that she would make up all the beds before she cleaned the house and the yard. By lunchtime she had to make sure the lunch was ready. Then she would take an elderly lady who was the mother of her employer to a walk together with her dog. Before that she would make sure that she had done all the laundry. She was also expected to serve supper early so that the old woman should go to bed right after they had eaten. The little salary she got was not even enough to cover all her needs. She was frustrated because she wanted to finish her high school.
The following year Mary registered to finish her high school. She attended the evening classes. After work she had to rush to the classes. This meant that she was over working herself more than before. She did not even have time to look after herself. She was a beautiful young woman anyway. Her slim figured body made her looked stunning even if she wore simple clothes. She would plait her hair and still looked stunning.She carried on with work and studies until it was time to write her final exams. She studied during the night while she was exhausted. Finally, she finished her studies and it was time for December holidays. She went to spend Christmas with her family. She carried on being the skivvy to her stepsisters. They would party all the weekends and she was supposed to cook and clean for them. She was used to that and there was no time to complain. No one would be on her side anyway.Then January came and it was the time t
The summer holidays came and everyone was in the festive mood. She packed her bags to join her annoying family for Christmas. She knew that the would suck her to bleed money. She had no where else to go because she had no one. Her heart was aching and she left her employer's place to join the villains who were called her family.She tried to collect herself and join the spirit of festivity just like anyone else. She was looking beautiful though she had not much clothes to wear. She made preparations for them to have decent meals during Christmas. She used up all her savings to try to make her home a warm place to stay.The stepmom and her daughters would dine on the table laughing while she was serving them. They would not even talk to her except when they want money to enjoy themselves. She would sit in the shelter thinking about her future.One day while she was preparing breakfast for her stepmom and sisters, she hear
Mary was in front of the mirror preparing herself for the dinner she was invited to, at the palace. She opened the closet and chose a beautiful dress that her employer's daughter gave her as a Christmas present. It was still smelling fresh as it came from the box. She applied a little bit perfume and put it on. It was a tight dress covered with a long lace that reached ankles. Its colour was cream and gold. She wore the high heeled shoes that matched the golden colour of the dress and plaited her long hair and it nicely at the back. She dabbed her face with the make up Chelsea gave her and it perfectly matched her even toned skin, making her look like the princess doll. She turned around in front of the mirror and was satisfied with the way she looked. She sighed for a moment and looked around clutching her fists with nervousness. A car hooted outside and she rushed off to peek through the window. It came to halt in front of the gate and she came out.The
A week later the prince threw a special bunquet for their engagement. It was a fairy tale affair that was dignified by the presence of all royal families and friends. And the community was there to honour the prince and future princess as they would embark on a new journey as a matrimonial couple. Other royal couples from the surrounding towns brought them expensive gifts and showered them with their blessings.Everyone was in a jovial mood and the festivity went on as if it was the day the prince was put on the throne. The prince and his future wife were the centre of attention. They wore new outfits that were specifically designed for them by the royal fashion designer. Mary wore a sophisticated gown with an embroidery of expensive stones. Her hair and makeup were done by the professional beautician who was hired specially for her by the prince. She was starting to live the life of royalty now. After her new look was done, she looked like Cinderella after he
Mary's step mother was bitter than she used to be. 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. She always threw tentrums without any cause and that made Mary to feel like it was her fault that her step sister was dead. She felt like packing her bags and leave that hell of a house.One day her step mother asked her to deliver a parcel to her relative who was living in a near by town. She was ordered to handle the parcel with care and make sure it did not open. And her step mother promised to blow the daylights out of her, should she open or damage the parcel box. So, it was only her step mother who knew what was in that box. There was also a letter that accompanied it.She woke up early in the morning and set on foot. She did not even have a taxi fare. It was hot that day and the thick clouds appeared from the north indicating that there would be thunderstor
Mary did not come back home until it was late that day. The following day came and still she did not show up. Her step mother seemed not to be bothered by this as used to be when things did no 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 the orders by not coming home when she had sent her to their relative. Although it was not like Mary to rebel against her step mother's instructions, her step sister decided to lay the matter to rest for peace's sake until Mary returned home.A week later 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 st
The prince's search team made sure they left no stone unturned to find Mary. They entered house to house and even the abandoned buildings. But the more they searched the lesser the hopes of finding her Alive became. They asked even the young children who were playing in the streets for leads to no avail. The prince became anxious and he made all the efforts to beef up the team with more security, incase Mary was in danger. Even the soldiers and law enforcement officers were there to monitor the search campaign.Mary's step mother had already spread the speculations that Mary had eloped with another man. She did this to divert the attention of the prince so that he could lose interest in marrying her. Instead of being diverted, the prince was more determined to find his fiancee. There was something that told him there was more to Mary's disappearance than people were assuming. He had the terrible dream before Mary disappeared. He and Mary were in a boat they we
It was a Sunday evening and the prince was reclining in his comfy exquisite arm chair sipping a good wine while he was waiting for supper to be served. He was reading a newspaper hoping to see any news that will connect him to finding Mary. He was purturbed as he came to a realisation that Mary might be in a danger, given the time she was last seen. It was almost two weeks after she vanished. The fact that she was with another man as rumours were roaming, did not sink in his mind. He knew very well that Mary was a high moral young woman who would do anything not to compromise her reputation. The way she was ill treated by her step mother taught her to be a strong women and stay true to herself. She would not do anything that would put her name in shame now that she was engaged to be married to the man of her dreams. He was quite a catch and every woman was dreaming to be his happy ever after. How could Mary jeopardize that? It was not making any sense. She was not seeing any man bef