Bitter Hearts: A Dark Cinderella Retelling

Eleven

The Beginning

     The twins were six and had made a new friend, Makani, she was quite a talkative child with a whole lot of mischief up her sleeve.

It was a sunny day, the birds were chirping and lizards were running and basking in the sunlight atop the mud fence surrounding the Manchu house. Duvessa had asked Mia to clean the compound and like all the chores she asked the girl to do, a punishment was meted out if the task wasn't done to her taste.

The twins and Makani were playing ten ten while Mia was struggling to sweep as the outside broom made of very large long sticks was too big for her tiny hands to handle.

Eventually, she got the job done and the dried leaves and goat droppings that were littered all over the place were gone. Mia felt pleased with herself at such a good job done, there was no way Duvessa could find something to complain about, she thought. How wrong she was!

Makani and the twins thought it would be funny to mess with Mia and mess up were she had just swept and so they scattered branches, leaves, flowers, grasses and even food particles. They laughed amongst themselves and waited to see Mia's reaction. What a sight that would be! They thought.

Duvessa done with her afternoon nap decided to sit a bit in the verandah. The sight she met was horrendous, the once cleaned compound was now a mess but Duvessa didn't know about it being cleaned. It looked to her that Mia had just out rightly insulted her authority. That little fool!

"Mia!," she screamed.

"Ma," Mia answered.

"What is the meaning of this nonsense?" She questioned the child, smoke almost coming out of her ears with how angry she was.

"I-I don't know," her eyes widening in fear and confusion as she noticed for the first time the mess that was staring right at her

"I swear I swept the place, I-I don't understand..." she continued but was cut short by the stinging slap her stepmother left on her face.

"Shey(exclamation) you understand that okwia(right), do I look like a fool?" Duvessa barked.

"I swept it" she continued mocking her.

"I'm sorry," Mia apologized hoping it would calm her down.

"Be sorry for yourself, as far as I am concerned you are not eating anything from my cooking pot for the next two days, let me see you insult me by disrespecting me again, nonsense," she ranted.

"Bastard child." Duvessa whispered to herself before going back inside.

Mia fell on her knees crying, Why did she hate her so much? Who messed the place up like this?

The twins who had been watching from afar started laughing between themselves while Makani who had also been watching felt guilty, she didn't think it would get this far?

"Hey, you guys, why are you laughing it's not that funny," she asked the twins

"Ouuu but it is," Zenobia responded

"Did you see her face?" Zenaida snickered

"And that action from mama," Zenobia concurred

"Hmmph, I still say it wasn't funny, didn't think she would get a beating after our little prank," Makani sighed, still feeling guilty.

"I'm going to look for her and apologise," she concluded.

"Why she doesn't deserve your apology, mama says she's a bastard child," Zenaida said pure confusion on the child's face.

"Yes mama said that her mother was a prostitute and that she deserves every bad thing, so why do you want to apologise?" Zenobia added, mirroring the same confused expression on her sister's face.

"Ohh okay if you say so." Makani said with a sigh.

"Good she doesn't deserve any pity," Zenobia said, her nose upturned.

"Yes," Zenaida concurred.

"Food is ready," Duvessa shouted.

"Forget about her, let's go and eat," Zenaida said to a still guilt ridden Makani.

•••••

Makani spent the rest of the afternoon distracted. She expected Mia to report them to Cedric, she dreaded the punishment he would give them. The punishment never came as Mia never reported instead she dutifully swept the compound again, Makani's conscience pricked her even more and she decided to ditch the twins advice and apologise to Mia.

Makani wandered around the compound in search of Mia and eventually found her in the pen where the sheep were kept, she was on her knees with a lamb in her hands. Her lips were moving and it seemed like she was talking to the lamb, Makani doubted she was but when she moved closer she heard her talking to the lamb like a real person. Her heart sank even more and the guilt she was feeling wrapped itself completely around her.

"Lamy, they don't like me, none of them do, I try and try but they don't just like me, my mother who isn't even my mother hates me so much, I wish I wasn't born to a prostitute mother, maybe then she'll like me..."

Makani couldn't take it anymore and ran to meet her.

"I'm sorry Mia, it was supposed to be a prank, I didn't know she would react like that, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," Makani apologised, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I-I...," Mia stammered, not knowing what to say, she didn't expect someone to walk in on her.

"Oh-h, I'm sorry, please forgive me, I won't do it again," Makani cried even harder.

"It's okay, I forgive you," Mia said wiping the tears from Makani's face and hugging her close.

"Shush now... I forgive you," she whispered to a still crying Makani.

"Friends?" Makani asked stretching her hand.

"Friends." Mia answered, shaking hands with her. And so the child made her first real friend.

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