A modern fairytale. A different Cinderella but still all about the shoes

Once upon a time in the summer of quite a few years ago, a girl was born. Her early years were very happy as although her father was no longer at home she always felt loved by both her parents. When she was 7 her mother got married again and she had never been happier. She gained two sisters and an extra father figure and looked forward to lots of fun with her new found family.

However not everything was rosy. Ever since she could walk she had known she was not the same as other children, and as she grew older she became more concious of the ugly shoes she had to wear, and the ungainly pattern to her walk. While her step-sisers excelled at sports and were chosen to run for their town the girl struggled to keep up even with their walk.....Although battling against it, the problem with her foot was at the root of her insecurity and was never far from her mind. By her teenage years it only added to the gap she felt was growing between her and her step-sisters.

A new chapter started in her life with university. A new experience to take her mind of the turmoil she had left behind at home, as she family was falling apart and the cracks beginning to show. The sister who was her age mate and therefore, maybe by default, the one she was closest to, sudddenly cut contact with the family and began to battle with her own demons. This came as a great shock to the girl, and also a great betrayal. She couldn't get it out of her head the fact that by continuing to have contact with her other sister, this only proved that blood was thicker than water and the past 11 years of growing up together meant nothing. Her relationship with the other older sister began to crumble as she foud it diffucult to think that the 2 real sisters were still in touch.
Not everything was gloom and doom though- for relationships with friends soon began to replace those of sisters. University was an amazing experience and for the first time the girl felt she had escaped from the shadows. It was here too that she experienced the ups and downs of young love, romance, and well sometime just simply lust. 3 years later, with a degree under her belt she left older wiser and looking forward to the future.

Now nearly 5 years on she looks back with some confusion. Regretting the bad choices she has made since leaving university she cannot regret that the fact that in some of these bad choices she found her prince charming- although he seemed slightly more like a frog at first. Albeit still with a few warts, her prince charming has proven to be her knight in shining armour in the last few months as she struggles to accept that life is not perfect, and it's definitely not fair.

For after all these years her problem with her foot has come back to haunt her, as she sits in a wheelchair reflecting on the past few months spent recovering after her operation- unable to walk or be independant. The thing is- she is terribly disappointed. The miracle she was secretly hoping to happen has eluded her and she wonders if she had been better off before. Pain had driven her to have the operation, but also vanity. A chance to say 'look at my new shoes' instead of hide the boots she was wearing, and more importantly, her feet and legs, under endless pairs of trousers. However out of vanity was also born the crazy hope that the surgery would bring not only a relief from pain but also from the monotony of her boots. Selfish? maybe just a little - and this only served to add to her bad mood as she struggled with her guilt that hey- she wasn't as worse off as some people. but then, who were some people? Human nature is at its essence, selfish. Survival of the fittest, and she certainly wasn't that. Not only was she still in a wheelchair but also contemplating yet more surgery in a few months time. The operation had not been very successful amd she had 3 months to learn to walk again before she had to go through the whole process once more. The scariest thing, the thing that nobody mentioned, was what if it didn't work?

However she was trying to focus her mind on more positive things. Her prince charming had proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the one for her- there for her even when she pushed him away feeiling ugly and sorry for herself. One day they would be married and he had made it clear to her that he didn't give a fuck what shoes she would be wearing when they did. If only that applied to her too. At least the dress could be long and big enough to cover everything she wanted to keep hidden.

Things were improving on the family front too- the prodigal sister had almost returned- at least enough to put a smile on her parents faces once in a while. While still phsically apart from the family a tentative connection had been made. A new generation had also been born, and the girl's other sister was proving to be an amazing mother- perhaps by the time the girl came to have a baby of her own her relationship with her this sister might be closer. At the moment both sisters were still too much like strangers to the girl but in some ways this is good. Strangers don't have a history so therefore more chance of a future when they get to know each other.

At the moment though, the girl's thoughts turn to her foot. Today she is going out to buy another pair of boots- knowing that these will help her to walk again. For the moment, she must be content with that.