Tom Riddle | Short Stories

Happily Ever After

She sat out on the front porch watching the people in fancy cars drive by. Her blonde hair over her shoulders and she wore her best dress. The dress her mother swore should only be for church. But there she was, wanting to look her best for the people who would never even look her way. She drew pictures of the people on a spare pice of paper she'd found. Her eyes darting up for the next person to drive by.

Her eyes tracked on a man in a car with his wife and child. She imagined she were in that family, where they would go, what they would do. Probably going to some function, where you could wear the finest silks.

She drew herself in one of those pretty pink dresses like the ones from fairytales, she sighed and looked to the sky as though to pray for her happily ever after.

When she looked down again her gaze was met with curious green eyes. Peering down at her from a window in the Orphanage across the street. She recognized him from the other class at school, she was about to wave when a hand harshly brought her back into reality. Her reality. The drawing fell to the ground and almost floated to the road where it was crushed.

"Clothes don't wash themselves, girl." Said the head of the boarding house Miss Witicer,

"Sorry, Miss Witicer," she said as she was pulled inside, the round woman easily hauled the eight year old girl into the house,

"Why are you in your church clothes?" Asked her mother gazing down at her disapproval dripping from her tone, "I told you, they'll never look your way, Eve, not now not ever."

Her mother held a laundry basket,

"Go on, her to the laundry, girl." Said Miss Witicer, forcing Evangeline to the stairs where she walked down quickly to the dungeon like room where they did laundry. She could see a flower out of the window, it seemed to be the only thing to survive the Great Depression. Other than those people.

Those people with their nice cars and their nice clothes. Big smiles and big hats. It almost didn't touch them.

Evangeline looked at the flower again, it was a small rose, a rose she would guard with her life.

She watched it waved in the wind as she washed the clothing, careful not to get any water on her dress. Then a snake slithered past, it was beautiful. Refined and elegant.

It almost seemed human in the way it looked at her. Intelligent eyes, she was tempted to wave at it but that would be crazy. For crazy people. But the second she looked down it hissed and she snapped her attention to it once more. It had killed the rose.

Her heart sank. She loved that flower. Evangeline frowned at the snake,

It took the rose in its mouth and slithered away. She wanted to call after it, yell at it for taking away the only beautiful thing in her life. But it was a snake there was no way it could understand her.

She stared at where the rose used to be. She wanted it back. Evangeline shut her eyes tight and imagined it were still there, willing it back into existence.

She opened her eyes and there it was. Just as it had been. Her eyes widened, she must be seeing things there was simply no other explanation.

She returned to the clothing. The pretty lace of Lottie's clothing, she wished she could wear such things but alas, girls like her rarely got a happily ever after.

—

Charlotte was a loud girl with hair the colour of spun gold whereas Evangelines reminded her of dust, and Charlottes eyes glittered like water on a summers day. She clutched Evangeline's arm as they walked to school behind Miss Witicer,