Cinder Emma: A Southern Take on a Classic Fairytale
Summary: Everybody knows the story of Cinderella. What happens if you take the classic fairy tale and mix it with Southern words, people, and places, along with an adventure or two? Why, you get this story, of course!
Chapter One
A while ago, Earl Carson, the owner of the general store, got hitched to Isabelle Henderson, the Methodist preacher's daughter. Everybody said that they were the perfect couple, with Earl being so handsome and Isabelle being so pretty. Well, a few years after they tied the knot, along comes their little bundle of joy: A girl, seven pounds, three ounces. They named her Emma Kathleen, after her grandmothers. She was a fine little girl, with red curls like her daddy, and bright blue eyes just like her mamma.
Isabelle wasn't quite the same after giving birth. She was always a frail little thing, and havin' Emma didn't help none. After a while, her heart started to give. The Henderson's had a history of bad hearts, you know. Finally, she went up and died It was a relief to her, after going through all that pain. Emma was only three, so she didn't notice much, 'cept that her mamma wasn't there no more, but Earl was another story. He loved Isabelle more than anything, and when she died, part of him died as well. The only thing that kept him going was Emma.
I know they meant well, but Earl's folks started pressurin' him to get married again. You have to watch out for Emma, what happens to Emma if you go on, the works. He looked around, and the only one he saw was the widow Jesimae Dawson and her two daughters, Bernadette and Wren.
Jesimae, bless her soul, was mean as a snake. She looked out for her and Bernadette (that apple didn't fall to far from the tree). Wren was just a tag-along, kept only for public appearance. Ms. Dawson had her eyes set for Earl ever since Isabelle had gone on. He was easy on the eyes and easy on the pocketbook as well. She had plenty of money, but the owner of a general store made a considerable amount more than a widowed schoolteacher.
Anyway, to make a long story short, Earl and Jesimae got married. Soon after the marriage, Earl got very, very, sick. He was bedridden most of the time, and when he did come out, he hacked and wheezed something fierce. Emma was a smart girl, and realized what would happen after her father went on. Jesimae was awful to her as it was, but acted as though they were best of friends if the public eye was upon them.
At last, poor Earl went. At the funeral, there was sobs of all kinds coming from Jesimae and Bernadette. Wren hung her head in respect, for she wasn't puttin' on airs like her mother and sister. Silent tears fell from Emma. She was on her own now.
How right she was. Jesimae went on teaching after Earl passed on, and left the girls to the store. Bernadette was snotty as a peacock and twice as loud. She made Emma do all the work, for she knew that Wren didn't have the backbone to stick up to her. After Jesimae got home, Bernadette would whine about the heat, and how she did all the work at the store, and for what price? But no, she was a good soul and would forgive them just this once. Of course, Jesimae would fondle and console Bernadette, telling her that life was cruel like that. Then, Emma would be blamed for not doing her share, and then was forced to do Bernadette's chores. After all the necessary chores were done, only her and the katydids were up. Emma would grab an apple or another snack, then lay by the fireplace to read from the only book she owned besides the Bible: Gulliver's Travels. Emma would fall asleep dreaming of Bernadette being as small as the Lilliputians, and squishing her between her toes. After to short a time, she would wake up to the teasing of Bernadette and Jesimae. "Come on, little cinder slave!" "Do you ever bathe, Cinder Emma?" The days repeated themselves in endless cycles until she was eighteen. Then something happened. Something that can only be described as a miracle.
