A Modern Fairy tale #Wattys2015

The Ball (Finally)

I quickly walked over to the rack in which my-i mean the dress was hanging and touched it delicately.It shown brightly , the only thing significant in the entire room. I was awestruck by it's attractiveness and perfect-ness. It was a gorgeous dress, indeed, with  grey stones designed on it in a particular way ,that glimmered and shined when they caught the light, till the waist and it settled just on my hips. The soft cloth felt good against my skin. Waist- down it was fringed in delicate pinks and baby blues  and it fluttered with even  little movements. The dress fit my shoulders perfectly and highlighted my curves. It was so beautiful, i held my breath, thinking if i let it go i would discover that it was just a dream. it was perfect in its simplicity.

The woman stopped talking once she noticed my absence  on the other side of the room. She made her way and stood next to me, quietly and slowly and let out a sigh. Not of annoyance or relief but of happiness. She smiled causing   wrinkles to be formed  on her face that made her look old but elegant. A delicate woman.

"The dress would look lovely on you my dear" she said snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked at her, then the dress.

"Really? you think so?" i asked. Unsure if i could pull it off.

"i know so" she smiled reassuringly at me and gestured me towards the try room. I put the dress down on the rack and peeled my cloths off, then picked up the dress and put it on. Zipping the back successfully.I sighed while i was studying myself in the mirror. It clung to me in all the right parts and the jewels made my eyes sparkle. I looked delicate but elegant. It really was the most beautiful dress indeed.  i absolutely loved this dress now and a smile formed at the sides of my lips. But it would be expensive i knew. The smile wiped off of my face.

"Aren't you gonna show me your dress,dear?" she asked softly.

"um..yeah i'm coming!" i quickly replied and opened the door of the try room. The old lady gasped in shock and admiration and smiled the widest smile i had ever seen . She clapped and said,

"Oh my my! look at you! No one is going to keep their eyes off you tonight if you wear this!" She said enthusiastically. 

"I haven't really thought about buying this" i said looking down and feeling a bit shy. 

" oh why my dear? Don't you like this dress? i can get-

"no no it's not that" i quickly cut her off. "its just that it would be too expensive and i wouldn't be able to afford it" i continued in a hushed tone.

"nonsense!" she cried out. "I'm giving this dress to you for free take it as a gift from me."

"no-

i tried to cut her off but she signaled me to be quiet and went on.

" My mother made  this dress on my prom day many years ago. Sadly i couldnt go, because i was afraid i would get bullied. Everybody  ask me where i got this dress from or maybe if they could purchase it in a higher price but it was too special for me to give it to someone who would  not take care of it as much as i did so i waited for the day till someone who liked and  would take care of it. I got older and older and thought about opening this shop" she gestured "but who would come to this old broken shop huh?" she chuckled quietly. "until i saw you and i knew you would like the dress, moreover, it would look great on you.I can see in your eyes that you go through what ive been  through, and i wont let that happen to you. You. Will.Go.To.The.Prom" she said forcefully.

"oh wow." i literally had nothing to say. She was giving me this dress for free, what more could i ask for?

"i really appreciate you giving me this dress for free but i cant accept it.. i just cant" i said halfheartedly " are you sure you don't want me to give you money for it?"