Gabe trudged down the dirt road, his old joints weary from his long journey. He looked ahead to the horizon and was relieved to see his home. "No. Not home. Strange to think I've lived here for twenty-five years and it's still not home," Gabe sighed to himself, "I suppose my home will always be with her, my one true love." Gabe gave a little shake and said, aloud, "Gah! You old geezer! No use crying, you've gone from her, never to return. You have a family now." True, his marriage to Catherine was one of convenience, not love, but He would never abandon her. And those three tikes! How could he abandon the ones he's raised from birth? They may not be his, but they might as well be. "Course," Gabe chuckled, "They're not tikes anymore. John is 10 and Adam is a man now, at 15. Liza's a lady at 20 years of age. Still can barely accept how old they are." Gabe continued to walk, now with haste, and reminisced about years gone past. Suddenly, he stopped.
"How did I get here? If I told myself 30 years ago, I would have been married to anyone other than her…" he asked himself. Once again he shook himself, "It does no good. She was never yours, Gabe. Snap out of it!"
But he couldn't help but think of her: Her light voice, her gold hair, her piercing sapphire eyes, and her smile. That smile. So much happiness in that smile despite the sorrow she seen. Everything about her was lovely. Even her name was still beautiful to Gabe after all these years.
"Cinderella", he whispered mournfully. Her name still sounded like fairies singing and like roses rustling in the wind. Gabe saw a stump, paused and reflected on what went wrong.