The needle was going up into the air and then rapidly down into the modest brown fabric, the expert hand of the shoemaker knew exactly where to go and in a couple of moments: there it was. The shape was modelled after a particular foot and there was not one similar to this one. The twin was already done and it was patiently waiting for the sibling to be finished, up in a shelf.
“There” sighed the shoemaker putting the brand-new shoe on the table. It didn’t take too long to do, it was smaller than any other he did, and he knew that Cinderella was going to be happy, finally a shoe that would fit her delicate feet!
The morning after a beautiful but sooty girl came in the shop to pick up her new shoes “Hope you’ll like them” said the shopkeeper, handling them to her eager hands, “They are perfect! This is for your troubles” replied Cinderella, exchanging the package with her hard-earned money. She couldn’t even wait to bring them home and put them on immediately switching them for the old ones.
It was hard to see, a bright light was stunning the little shoe, used to the dim candlelight of the shoemaker’s studio. Everything was new and tall, there were a lot of shoes just like her but not quite. The road was noisy and full of different smells: fish, fruit, dust, and the wind swept some dirt on her.
Finally, back home the dust settled and so the smells. She liked staying home, and more than everything she loved the smell of burnt wood and the heat from it, especially if it was raining outside, what was happening?
She heard Cinderella talking to someone, and then a bright light appeared, and the pumpkin just beside her was getting bigger and changed its colour to white, it became something else! It was a carriage? Everything was changing around her, the mice, the lizards, even the dress Cinderella was wearing; nothing made sense. Was she going to change as well? What about her twin?
It happened, her twin sister was surrounded by a bright light and it started crackling, getting taller and changing its appearance. She never saw this kind of fabric, or at least that’s what she thought it was, sparkling and transparent, and on for the first time she saw her reflection on her sister and the bright light began to wrap her, she was scared; she didn’t know what would happen to her so she kept her eyes closed.
“Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo” she heard say the woman and, very slowly, she peeped with just one eye and getting a deep breath for the courage she needed and then opened both eyes and saw that she was too, made of the star-fabric just like her twin. When Cinderella walked to get into the carriage it was a different feeling, easier to walk but harder to carry her. Luckily, she was being carried in the pumpkin, she couldn’t walk for long distance like when she went to market.
After a bit they arrived at a big house, she never saw anything like it, it had giant doors and windows and all around her people were wearing similar shoes like the new her; she saw the path and it was a long way, but she was ready to know what that strange place was, so bravely she started carrying her owner through the door.
Inside there wasn’t anything that didn’t shine, all was reflective and gold. Big dresses were swirling around, the sound was something she never heard, it felt like spiralling into puddles and never feeling tired, she heard the other shoes calling it music. She loved music! She even learned to dance, it was easier than she thought, but suddenly Cinderella started running, “Wait where are you going? I want to dance!”
She was enjoying too much dancing to just go away. She resisted and when she reached the steps of the stairs she made herself hard to move and she felt Cinderella’s foot just slipping away, now she was laying there on a step, that was terrible, she didn’t want to lose Cinderella, she just wanted to dance a bit more. A hand came close and picked her up, “Cinderella?” asked the shoe, but it was the prince she was dancing just moments ago.
Back at the prince’s room, he started talking to her, he was very blabbering, talking about how it was his fault the girl just run away, “Is it my breath?” asked while breathing on the poor shoe. He was very paranoid about the whole night and kept talking and pacing up and down in the room, making hypotheses about why she just left him there running away. The poor shoe couldn’t sleep for the whole night, but at one point very early in the morning the prince stopped talking and she immediately fell asleep, just to find herself in his hands and bringing her into another room of the big house, no “palace” the other shoes called it.
The prince stopped in front of someone and started shouting “Father! I have got a marvellous idea; we will make every damsel in the city try this shoe until I find the one I was dancing with, last night“. “Don’t be ridiculous” replied the father, “every woman in the city!? And what will happen if more than one can fit in the shoe? Will you marry all of them?”
“Nonsense, I will recognize her!” said the prince swiftly, “And what if she’s not from the city?” asked the father looking at him; “Then we will expand the search” and the prince left in a hurry before the king could reply.
The day of the trying was there and she saw more calluses than a doctor, more toenails than any other aesthetician, and more smells than truffle dog. She saw feet of every shape and size, and all of them wanted to be the girl the prince was searching. It was a madhouse, screams and shouts all for the crystal shoe. She saw also a lot of shoes just like her, or at least how she was before the dance, and they all shied away and stayed silent, usually, they all were very friendly with her at the market. The only ones who tried to awkwardly say something were the ones she saw at the palace.
She was very tired and she missed terribly Cinderella and their quiet nights in front of the fireplace, but suddenly an excited scream made her snap back to reality, someone was certain that it was her shoe, IMPOSSIBLE! That wasn’t Cinderella, but the foot was fitting, she needed to prove it wasn’t her. She thought of a plan and it could only work if the prince himself was watching. “Sire! We found your future bride; this lovely girl is your lost damsel” said the man who was handling her for the whole day. The prince stood up from where he was seated and that was the moment the shoe began her trick, she made herself as small as she could, she was sweating a lot, or it was the foot, she couldn’t tell but it was exactly the point; the pressure and the humidity made the shoe slippery and the foot popped out making the shoe fly away to the other side of the room. Everyone watched with a scared face, but she planned everything, she asked moments before a dog passing by to wait for her. So she landed softly on the dog’s fluffy belly. The prince shouted “Get the slipper!” he was very angry that he almost lost the shoe and with that the only way he could find the girl.
“We checked everyone, your majesty. Maybe we should put aside this idea and just have another ball?” suggested the man with the slipper in his hands. “No, I want to check that house outside the city, they probably didn’t hear about the shoe. If this doesn’t work, then we will try your ball.”
The morning after the shoe recognized some of the roads outside the carriage, she was going home! Finally, she saw her house, she couldn’t wait to hug Cinderella and her twin sister; but one inside she didn’t see her, probably she was in front the fireplace, their favourite place. They settled her on the ground and she was being tried by the smelliest foot she ever saw, that was Cinderella’s ugly stepsister’s foot! She was sure that she couldn’t possibly fit her, she was too tiny for her. She waited for Cinderella and just like that she saw her running to her, and she finally hugged her. She promised to never leave her again, she saw her twin sister also and they lived happily ever after.
And Then What? 