A Collection of Short Stories

The Legend of Cindy Shui

There was once a Chinese girl who's name was Cindy Shui. Cindy was a stubborn girl, and very smart but almost always broke the rules. She had many friends, unlike her poor brother. And she never, ever wore a seatbelt in the car, or in a bus, or in any vehicle at all. But she would surely regret that later.

Eleven days after her 11th birthday, Cindy was involved in a serious car crash. Her parents and her brother survived with a few injuries, but Cindy, had not worn her seatbelt and had unfortunately died.

Up in the sky, Cindy met a woman. She was holding a trumpet and had a white robe on. Cindy concluded that the woman was an angel. The woman then spoke to her.
"Welcome to the world of death, Cindy Shui. It is very sad to see that you have unfortunately met your end at such a young age."
"What happens now?" Cindy demanded.
"You go to Heaven," the woman replied calmly.
"Could I possibly live a bit longer? I was only 11, and my 11th birthday was only eleven days ago," Cindy asked a little bit too sweetly.
"Well," the woman hesitated, "There is one option that I suppose I can offer."
"What is it?" Cindy asks eagerly.
"You may become human for exactly one hundred years, but only after you spend many long years as various different things."
Cindy listened carefully.
"For one thousand years, you will be a statue, for the next five hundred years you will be a tree. After that, for another two hundred and fifty years you will be a building, and after that you will float in the sky as a cloud for one hundred and twenty five years. Next, you will turn into an army tank, and spend your time as that for sixty years. After your years as a tank, you will then become a plane, and fly around the world carrying passengers for thirty years. For the next fifteen years, you will be a dolphin. You will be a famous dophin for living for so long. After you die as a dolphin, you will become a dog for eight years. You will be a deeply loved pet from a wonderful family who treats you very well. After your years as a dog, you will then transform into bicycle for four years. Then, you will be a stop sign. You will be a stop sign for two years before becoming a makeup mirror for one year. Only after these many long years you will be able to live your life as a human for the hundred years you deserve." Cindy thought carefully.
"So, if I agree to this, will my time as a human be good?
"That is up to you to make your life enjoyable. We do not, cannot control your life," the angel tells her. Cindy should of been conflicted. She should have been at least a bit torn at her decision. But the angel had hardly finished her sentence, when Cindy declared,
"Bring it on!"
"Excuse me?" The angel gasped, a bit offended and a bit confused.
"Start the transformation, send me down to Earth, whatever. I want in." The angel was perplexed at the girl's rushed decision, and took a moment to compose herself.
"Are you sure, dear? Surely, you need more time to consider your decision?" Cindy rolled her eyes as the angel, wanting to cut to the chase as soon as possible.
"Yes, I'm very sure, old lady. Do whatever fancy magic schmazzle you have to do, I don't care, just be quick!"
"I-"
"Hurry up and do it!" Screamed Cindy, about to throw a full blown tantrum. Which, was rather ironic, considering she had often complained about small toddlers doing the same when she was still alive. The angel sighs, and tells Cindy to close her eyes.
"Three... two... one." And with that, Cindy Shui had disappeared.
"Spoiled brats these days," mutters the angel, before resuming to her post.

Meanwhile, young Cindy had been somehow, transported back down to earth. And foolishly, she had thought that there was absolutely no chance that the angel had the power to turn her into a statue, and that she would just be able to cheat death and remain as a human. But alas, Cindy had made yet another bad decision in her life, because she was definitely a statue.
"Why, turn me back! I cannot bare to be this naked statue of a human for a thousand years! Why, please, turn me back! I don't deserve this fate!" Cindy wailed, but she found that no sound came out. And when she tried to move, she, like all other statues, couldn't at all. Cindy couldn't do a thing.
Days passed. Weeks, then months. A year... four years.
Cindy hated this kind of life. Standing there, and even though she thought she looked hideous, tourists were always taking pictures of her. Cindy felt as if her privacy rights had been violated. But worst of all, she had  realised that she couldn't hear. Only see. That was the only thing she was still able to do.
Finally, one thousand years passed, leaving Cindy tired of life and old. But she still had almost another thousand years left to live.
Builders came to demolish her, to make space for an apartment, and so, she awoke as a tiny, sprouting tree.
Cindy found that this was a lot more tolerable. Well, except, when people stepped on her mistakenly. Or even on purpose. Her least favourite were the young boys and girls who played tag around her, balancing on her roots or even climbing her. The audacity! The only thing that Cindy found comfort in was the fact that she knew she wouldn't be painfully cut down until five hundred years had passed.
It was exactly five hundred years, one day and six hours since Cindy had become a tree that she was finally cut down. Not that she was counting, of course. And as promised, she became that of a tall building in the middle of the city. After years of quiet in the forest, Cindy found she quite enjoyed the busy city and the noise that always surrounded it. But it was only a year later that Cindy found herself longing for the peace and quiet of the forest. She couldn't ever get any sleep!
Two hundred and fifty years passed, and she was demolished. And Cindy found herself floating in the sky as a cloud. This, this was even worse for Cindy. There's nothing to see! And she watched as every other cloud eventually disappeared, until after a long, hundred and twenty five years, it was Cindy's turn.
The next sixty years were terrible. Cindy saw all the horrors of war and many people died, but miraculously, she was never destroyed. Nicknamed, 'the Mighty Tank', Cindy was very busy. Not by choice, of course. It was only sixty years later that Cindy faced her final battle, and was destroyed nobely in war.
And then, she was a plane. Flying around the world, seeing lots of different places; it was quite refreshing for Cindy, but she was still traumitised from her years as a tank, and couldn't fully grasp reality. For thirty years, her airline admired her. How had a plane stayed intact for such a long time? But her thirty years were soon up, and she crashed into a deserted island with over three hundred passengers on board.
Finally, the year that Cindy had been most looking forward to! She was now a dolphin, able to move, swim, communicate. It was the best years of her life so far, and she was extremely dissappointed when she was tangled up in fishnets and killed by savages, who had been straving and would eat anything. Cindy would never see her friend, Lucy again.
Then Cindy was a dog. These years were even more enjoyable than those of a dolphin! Cindy loved her owners, her brother, and being a dog. All too soon, it was over though. She was put down as she suffered a liver infection.
Now, Cindy would be a bicycle for four years. Having young children sit on her was not particulary enjoyable, but Cindy was growing restless. Oh, soon, she would be a human!
For two years, Cindy would now be a red stop sign. It was utterly boring, but she was excited that she would soon be something else. After two years, a gray car crashed into Cindy, ending her time as a stop sign.
Finally, the last transformation! Cindy was a makeup mirror, but this might have felt like the longest year. She hated looking at all the narcissistic women admire their ugly faces in front of the mirror! Finally, Cindy could be a human.
She was born with the same name, Cindy Shui, named after her great - great -great - great - great - great - great - great - great - great -great -great - great - great - great aunt, who coincidentally, was herself. Cindy remembered everything about her time as all the different things. But she was stupid and spoiled, living life on the edge knowing that she couldn't die until a hundred years. Her life was boring, and she never got to do many things, like finding love, going to places and all that. So when Cindy dies, she was incredibly remorseful. She begged the exact same angel to give her another chance, and for her own laughs, the angel agrees.

Legend has it that Cindy is stuck in a loop, always needing more. And the angel always lets her go through the same thing, over and over, because she finds it particulary enjoyable to watch the spoiled girl suffer for eternity.