“oh no, fairy Godmother! How did this happen?”Cinderella whined. Her attempt at masking her disappointment failed.

“I’m so sorry. So-so sorry. Cinders, I mean, Cindy dear, I want to know too.”She  tinkered with the third point of her 5-pointed star, from the left. “Ouch”The star’s poke didn’t seem to bother her. She started counting three from the right.

“Godmother, what are you doing?”

“Shhhhush. glitch in the matrix”she mumbled. Her outlandish costume bothered her. She didn’t want to stick out in her jeans and favorite pink t-shirt, in these ancient times.

“Huh?”This foreign language was very disorienting for Cinderella.

“Glitch, girl? Matrix…haven’t you seen the …? Never mind.”The Fairy was still struggling with the star.“This third point should have fixed the issue. I tried both counting from the left and the right. It just won’t work.”

“But, Godmother, if I may. Won’t it be the same…either way?”

“Oh yeah…Smart girl. What are you doing here in the past?”It was difficult to tell whether the Fairy was appreciating Cinderella or mocking her. Her smirk-cum-smile didn’t give much away.

“Huh?”

“Not that smart after all, eh?”Mocking, it was.

“But Godmother, how did the shoe fit StepSister Number 2?”

“Don’t these girls have a name!?”The Fairy was exasperated with both, Cinderella and her wand. It was the wooden stick that she was examining now.

“I don’t know. We were never introduced.”

“Ohhhh…”

“What Godmother? Did you fix it?”

“The 0s and 1s are exchanged.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you ever get anything girl?”

“When we were little, I heard the teacher tell StepSister Number 1 that 0 comes before 1. Does that help?”

The Fairy gave out a loud LOL. She continued to laugh as she tried to explain, “Oh well, Cinderella, let’s just say we are all made up of millions of 1s and 0s. And they were somehow interchanged in the shoe.”She noticed the tear welling from Cinderella’s right eye. She imagined the prince on the white  horse, riding away.

“The good news is, it is now conformed that you are the exact opposite of your stepsister.”

“You mean our feet are somehow exactly opposite each others’”

“Huh?”

“How did that happen, Godmother?”her stern voice defied the tears now threatening to flow freely.

“Okay, here we go. Cindy dear, you might want to sit down for this one.”

Cinderella obeyed and sat on the pumpkin.

“We are a little short-staffed on Fairy Godmothers these days. Recession, budget cuts…”

“I’m so sorry, it must be hard.”

“Yeah, I was just coming to that. I-work-two-shifts-9pm-to-9am-for-you-and-9am-to-9pm-for-your-sister. And-I-was-tired-and-I jumbled-things-up.”All in one breath, those words came. “And the make of the shoe inverted itself.”

“Inverted itself?”

“O-kay, o-kay, I’m sorry!”

“Can we fix it?”

“I don’t know the wand’s third point just won’t work.”The disappointment was obvious. “ I’ll try to nod off with my head in the opposite side, when I am on your shift.”

“Does that mean you are on HER shift, right now? Shouldn’t you be around her, then?”The jealousy was undeniable.

“Yeah, the mornings are for mean girls. Usually, they don’t cry much, they are busy being mean. Yesterday, your stepsister chipped a finger nail, started crying. And I had to be there. She bored me with her whining, I must have nodded off. That’s when this might have happened.”

“Ohh..”

“Which also means you will have to cry, for me to help you, at night.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”Wry she was.

“Alright then, I should be off…” The Fairy felt sorry for her goof-up but was relieved in equal measure to be gone from here.

* * *

Night fell.

Cinderella cried. The Fairy came.

Cinderella whined. The Fairy nodded off to sleep.

Cinderella quickly made her do it in the correct direction.

And panic not children, the story pretty much ended the way you’ve heard it all your lives. Happily. Ever. After.

————————————————————————————————

This story is in response to prompts, here and prompt #4 here.

They’d hoped and prayed
through the wet week
the kids
happy are they to see this
no rain; it’s a break from the rains

Peeping from between
hues of black and gray
the skies convey
enjoy the timeout
come out and play.

Yes, they know
how to cheer
and mingle oh dear
amongst the hordes
that’s turned out gay

Sudden showers descend
as they always do
i run for cover, but
can’t miss the pain
rain, rain u spoiled their game

Give me, o skies
a breather once again
this time for all ye kids
ill be with you
in the prayer chain

“Houston, we have a problem…”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening, what?”

“I said we have a problem!”

“You have a problem? You are away, roaming around in space, adventures and stuff. Thrilling life. I have a nagging wife to go to every day after work, who works my credit cards out faster than Jack Bauer takes care of all those terrorist threats. And I have a teenage daughter who has taken an interest in rock music and rockers. So tell you what Jones, I have problems! Too many of them!”

“Umm… I am concerned about you General Bartwidth, I really am. But we have an emergency situation here, that requires your immediate attention.”

“Wandering into the vast space of nothingness and still can’t find time to chat for five minutes, eh? So what is it?”

“Our systems are failing, sir. We are straying away from our orbit trajectory. We need technical assistance!”

“O0h. That sounds serious. Hey Roy, come over here, our folks far far away are facing some technical difficulties and need the tech support of earthlings.”

Roy gulped the last bit of the hot dog he had in his mouth and managed, “What seems to be the problem?”

“The screens are just showing some random binary code. We have lost all control over the primary system”

“Did you try turning off and on again?”

“We are in space, not sitting in some basement playing solitaire during a coffee break, so no Roy, I didn’t try turning it off and on again. These are the primary control systems I’m talking about. Would you please get us some real help, General? And one more thing. I don’t know for how long the communication lines would stay open… things are not looking good here General. If I don’t make it, tell Susan, I love her. And that I missed her everyday here.”

“I will, Jones”, Bartwidth replied, “You’re a good lad, son.”

“It was an honor working with you sir. This is one of the better ways to die.”

Roy shouted over his shoulders, “May be some other day, you cheesy space-cowboy. You’re systems should be working fine now.”

“What?”, Jones checked the systems and hugged his crew in joy, “Yes. YES! They are! Roy you’re a genius.”

The General enquired, “What was the issue Roy?”

“I don’t know. Will have to check the logs. It’ll take time. For now, I logged in remotely to their systems and turned it off and on again. Seems to work fine for now.”

“Very well then. Good work Roy. As for you. I’m glad you’ll be ok Jones. I should probably call your wife and tell you’re not dead.”

“What?”, Jones quizzed.

“Well, I’d texted her that you passed away and that you loved her. You said to do so yourself. It seemed pretty done deal back then.”

“So you texted her that I’m dead? What kind of a sick freak are you? Don’t you close the comm channels on me Bartwidth. Don’t..”

Part awake and part asleep,
‘ts the fatigue laying me low
I’m lonely, says the bed. Me too
Waiting for you, Tell me, Where are you?

A story, a game and a poem for son
fast asleep he is for now
Stories i have waiting, for you too
of the day’s vials, trials, tests and reports

Over dinner i tried, but TV took you away
You got free and i was on email
When i wanted to talk, you got a call
And then the sms that took me away

This will also pass and you will be here soon
Finding me asleep won’t be a cheer i know
But i promise, I’ll make it better tomorrow
when tomorrow comes, i pray its not tomorrow again.

Posts on this prompt:

Elixir by Gyanban

Father’s Fairy Tale by BandE

A Midsummer Eve by GraveOlogy

Summers by Gyanban

It was a long hot summer’s night,

Somewhere along the milestones cried a flickering light.

Fireflies beneath the stars,& the whistle of a distant train,

I fell in love with you walking down the memory lane.

The patient dewdrops appreciate the petals,

While the voyeuristic time seizes to settle.

Many moons have passed since it’s last wax and wane,

Holding hands and whispering the precious mundane,

As the steam blows from the kettle,

Passion nudges my mind and softly nestles,

As the breeze sways the waves so high,

A kiss is not a kiss without your sigh.

Once a beautiful portrait picture,

Life took a new canvas, a new aperture,

The colors were crude,

The mood never understood.

Screeching wails of the bleeding wheels,

Reckless blood disturbed the delicate heels.

The shocked pebbles and muted greens,

Witnessed the tragic scene.

Her dying eyes hoped in vain,

The slowing beats and numbing pain.

Her lips quivered, though lifeless she lay,

A hit-and-run the newspapers say.

It was a long hot summer’s night,

I saw my love in a new light,

In a new place on a new moon night,

We looked down and saw the earth shining bright.

Gyanban Thoughts – Every year the number road-rage accidents incease.Hit and run cases are the most insensitive ones.These few lines are dedicated to all those people who lost their loved ones in such accidents.And probably,and hopefully a thought inducing one,for some who were or might have been involved in such a situation.Let us all be a bit more careful, a bit more responsible,because you never know what the next bend beckons -life or death?

The woods were dark, deep and dense.The starlit sky hummed a tune so intense.They watched the firefly’s dance to the dew’s romance #love

Lips meet the lips unmet, aroma of the untouched rosette.#Virgin sequoias swayed with grace,fingers meander leaving a trace #ufascinateme

Close to the dancing lights,I stood watching in my voyeuristic plight.Her fragrance ignited my heart alight.She was to be mine tonight.#FML

Crimson dawn cloaks the starlit night,devoured flesh canvassed fright.

Crimson dawn cloaks the starlit night,devoured flesh canvassed fright.Memories flash,as moment’s lapse.Feelings trapped,my love gasped.

As the throat slit,her redness yelped in vain.The gash and gnash and the bloody vein.Arms danced in a mystic rhapsody,melancholy strain.

Her breast breathed so low,lips mellow.The dove flew from the scathing slew.Gentle drops of blood left a trace,replacing tears on my face.

The serum flows like a soothing melody,drop by drop enters my body.I lay on the table strapped;my heartbeats pound as the devil clapped.

Gyanban Thoughts – This is a story written keeping the twitter word limit in mind.These are 7 tweets of 140 characters or less each.I would like to mention here, that the effort to write a story in the form of poetry was a deliberate attempt, but restricting it to tweet limit was even more fun,and should I say more challenging.There is a clear and strong story line with an intro,body and conclusion.There is an element of screenplay as well. The element of narration from the main protagonist builds the storyline.

The story is narrated by a dying man on the execution table.His memories flas by as the lethal injection slowly enters his body.

A crime of passion or a passionate crime ?