The Sequel To Cinderella

By Iflah Batool

“It’s you!”

“It’s me.”

“Cinderella married her Prince Charming, and they lived happily ever after.”

“Wait, wait, wait, what?”

“Oh no! That’s not how it goes, is it?”

Lacy looked at her friend with disgust. “Quinn, this goes for the curriculum of the Budding Witches’ School. Misuse your good for nothing brain for once.”

“Uh…”

“Never-mind, I’m taking over.”

“Several years after their marriage, Cinderella sits on the throne. Alone. Ask me about the prince, won’t you?”

“Why alone? Where’s the prince?”

“In his grave. Dead. His queen poisoned him.”

“Nice!”

“Ask me the whole story, won’t you?”

“What? How? Why?”

“There was a time when Cinderella craved for love. Then there came a time when she found the love we all agreed she deserved. Then there came a better period of time when she finally realized love was over, and she was made for the throne. Wouldn’t that be why nature took her father away from her and left her to her stepmother and stepsisters? Nature tried to polish her, but our dumb damsel-in-distress was, well, in distress.”

“Spicy!” Quinn licked her pockmarked lips. “What next?”

“She fed her prince Wolfsbane, wolfsbane she grew in her own garden. Little by little, more and more. First he went crazy and Cinderella laughed. Laughed at him, but he fell in love. Then he got bedridden and she sympathized. He fell in love even more. Mind you, he knew she was poisoning him.”

“But didn’t she always poison him? Should it matter if it were by love or a plant? And wasn’t he always crazy? And should it matter if the craziness was due to love or a plant?”

Lacy rolled her eyes. “Could you not ruin the flow?” “Moving on. He eventually died. He had to. End of story.”

By Iflah Batool