Dear Diary by Paul Wright

book27

book27

Thursday 23 December

Midnight

Dear Diary

Been thinking all day about the Prince’s Ball. Grimelda and Safi have been a nightmare all day ordering me around, getting everything ready for THEM. No time for cleaning. I’ll pay for that! Not even had five minutes to myself and been close to tears all day. But didn’t cry because that would have just made things worse for me. Now just trying to keep these pages dry. I hate those two. It’s so unfair.

 

Friday 24 December

11pm

Dear Diary

It’s been worse than Hell. The Devil himself couldn’t be so cruel. They’ve made me do all yesterday’s cleaning today. I can’t run after them AND clean. But that’s what they expect. I should have kept my mouth shut. I just gave Grimelda an excuse to slap me and now my cheek’s red and swollen. I look horrible.

 

1am

Dear Diary

I can’t believe it! I’m going to the Ball. I can’t tell anyone. I need to write this down now.

IT WAS NOT A DREAM!

I heard the hall clock strike 12 and on the last stroke a bright light shone under my door. The first thing I thought was what are they up to now? What have I done? Then my door opened and there she was – my God Mother! I almost disgraced myself I was so scared. She’s been dead nearly 20 years and every day I see her portrait hanging at the bottom of the staircase. And now there she was, walking across the floor towards me. So beautiful. And when she said my name I knew it was OK. I just forgot about being scared.

Oh how I wish I could remember her words. I heard them. I know what she was saying but I can’t remember what she said. Does that make sense?

But I AM going to the Ball and she’ll come back to me tomorrow evening as soon as Grimelda and Safi’s carriage takes them away.

OMG! I can’t believe this is happening to ME!

 

Sunday 26 December

1am

Dear Dairy

My head is spinning. That was the most wonderful AND the weirdest night of my life!

I can hardly write. So much has happened and so much has changed.

I believe in magic!

I believe in love!

I believe the Prince is my future!

OK. My God Mother came back just like she said she would and she brought the most beautiful ever ball gown, a diamond tiara and a pair of amazing glass slippers. She took me outside and there was a snow white carriage that whisked me through the town and up to the Prince’s Palace. I have never seen anything so amazing! So many beautiful people but when I walked into the room everything went quiet. I was going to run away when the Prince himself came over to me and asked if he could dance with the most beautiful woman in the world. I said ‘I’m sure you can’ then I realised he meant ME! I felt soooo stupid. And we danced and danced and he kept giving me glasses of Champagne and we sat down and talked and then he said ‘do you want to see my throne’ and I said ‘YES’! I remember walking across the dance floor and the guests moving out of our way and we went up this amazing staircase, all white marble decorated with holly and ivy and mistletoe. But then I heard the palace clock strike 12 and I knew I had to go. My God Mother had told me the magic would end at midnight and I remember turning round in tears and running down the staircase and across the ball room. I think I bumped into a few people and by the time I was outside I was almost hopping. I’d lost one of my glass slippers. I don’t even know how I got home but now I’m here and feeling so giddy with it all.

I’ll end now, dear Diary, I need to sleep but I don’t know if I can.

 

Sunday 27 December

Dear Diary

This morning the Prince Tweeted he was coming into the town to find the woman who left a glass slipper in his Ballroom. Every woman between the ages of 18 and 30 would be visited and whoever’s foot the slipper fits would be declared the Princess-in-Waiting. I heard my sisters clucking in excitement and comparing foot sizes., I told them I would have to see the Prince because I’m 18. Do you know what they did, dear Diary? They laughed, then dragged me down to the cellar and locked me in. I cried and cried and when I heard the Prince’s carriage pull up outside I started to howl. But then the cellar door swung open and my God Mother was outside. ‘Run child, run’ she said and I dashed up the stairs and ran into the parlour. The Prince was there with all his men-in-waiting, holding my slipper. He stopped, he looked at me. I know I smiled. He looked me up. He looked me down. And then he burst out laughing, said something ‘you must be joking’ and left, with all his lackeys laughing too.

And when I looked in the mirror I could see why. My face was all swollen and blotchy and red and my eyes were bulging like a frog’s and my nose was running.

I don’t believe in magic.

I don’t believe in love.

And I hate the Prince.

And if I ever see my God Mother again I don’t know what I’ll do.

 

Monday 28 December

Dear Diary

This morning the Prince came back to the house and ordered Grimelda and Safi get me from the scullery. He had my glass slipper with him and when it fit he said how sorry he was and how beautiful I am and how much he loved me and I’m HIS PRINCESS and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. How COULD I refuse?

It was easy . . I just said NO!

 

 Paul Wright, December, 2016

Merry Christmas from Scuffer Airways by James Carson
Ice on Loch Lomond by Catriona Malan

This section: Christmas Poems , Stories and Winter Tales, Writing for the Festive Season

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Avatar of PatByrne Publisher of Pat's Guide to Glasgow West End; the community guide to the West End of Glasgow. Fiction and non-fiction writer.

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