IV My kingdom for silver slippers
One week. That means 7 days. That means 10080 minutes. That means 604800 seconds. So, to sum it up, that means a long time, a very long time.
It should mean that….
However it means nothing.
That's the thing about time. Supposedly it's the same for everyone... just supposedly.
Notions like the length of a day, a moment or the length of a life, are somehow...blended. Weird right? You would expect a beginning, a middle and an end from time, but you would expect too much. Time has this strange sense of humor, even though it almost never laughs. And when time laughs I'm pretty sure it laughs at us. It laughs at our bizarre expectations, it laughs at the fact that we keep looking from monsters under our beds and not on them and it laughs at how serious we are about numbers
Even if the humanity was never so good at math, life seems to use numbers on daily basis.
'I have to be there in an hour', 'I have to finish the paper in 2 minutes.', 'I sleep with a guy only after 5 dates'. 'I have just 6 month to live', 'You have to leave now'…..
As we count we forget that, like literature, math is also subjective. A minute is like an eternity and an eternity is like a second.
Yep, time sure has a strange sense of humor.
Probably that's what discover Einstein a long time ago and probably that's what Belle discover some seconds ago (after 604799 seconds to be more specific)
Walking through the halls of the house you grow up in should make your heart skip a beat, should stop the time. The smell of the sheets on your old bead should remind you about those just 2 hours of sleep when you got school the next day. The food should taste like a memory and you should laugh at that old teddy bear that seemed to be glued on you when you were 4.
In the childhood house shouldn't time be frozen?
In that way it should be enough, right? Well frozen or not the time is never enough.
The room that used to belong to the girl looked the same as in the evening of her departure. Maybe a little dusty. Sill, Belle didn't feel that was the room where she hidden the chocolate chip cookie which was gonna be shared with Lady the neighbor's dog and she definitely didn't feel that her papa used to read her fairy tales before bed in that room.
These things weren't so important to her so she hadn't given them much thought but her accommodation period was almost over and she didn't accommodate yet.
A lot didn't change so this period shouldn't be necessary but somehow it wasn't enough.
She saw new faces beside the old ones and that make her feel a little normal for some time.
Ruby dragged her almost every morning at Granny's for tea and interrogation. At least she got tea.
Her father wasn't really a fan of those things. Not to be misunderstood; he liked Ruby, everybody liked Ruby, this was one of her many talents, but she had the tendency to go a little too far, a lot to far if we're being honest, and her papa didn't really liked surprises anymore
She saw a man with nice features at the diner who always ordered two coffees to go and who always smiled and was making conversation with Ruby, Granny or some random customer while he was waiting for his order. She seemed to know him from somewhere and she regretted not to pay attention when Ruby told her his name.
She met Archie Hopper again, and his Dalmatian seemed to have a better memory than the doctor, who was vaguely introduced to her in the last day of her freshmen year of college.
She met old acquaintances of her father and some persons who used to know her, but she felt more comfortable when she bumped into a man in the street in the third day of her arrival, then when she talked with those people.
Even though these so-called acquaintances got lost somewhere in her mind, the young woman couldn't forget the stranger's face that fascinated her.
He was tall with common features, which ironically made him stand out and considering the hoodie that he was wearing, standing out was not a part of his plan. Looking into his brown eyes she saw him old, or her age at least, but Belle knew that it wasn't true. His face wasn't defined yet and his eyes were trying to hide the innocence that was obviously still there.
That stranger was probably a twisted relative of Peter Pan. The girl remembered the story of the boy who didn't want to grow up, and the stranger before her eyes was the story of the boy who couldn't grow up fast enough. Peter Pan was afraid to grow up and forget, but the man-child was afraid he would never forget.
Maybe that was the reason why Belle thought that he was more worth remembering than Mrs. Bingsly from across the street. The stranger was a new face who was going to be just that, a new face.
Gary on the other hand, wasn't so new. He almost hadn't changed at all. He looked more like an adult now that was sure. He was also tall, taller than her, but so was everybody so it wasn't a surprise, and he was attractive, very attractive. He was always handsome so that wasn't a surprise either. He was muscular and looked strong (probably was).
He had the most beautiful eyes and the most charming simile that was ever seen.
Like I said he looked strong and he could probably lift heavy things, but Belle was sure that neither one of those things was a book.
Not that Gary was stupid, but he didn't really try to be smart unless he had to.
The woman didn't really know at what point of her life she met Gary, but somehow she knew him. And he was paying a lot of attention to her.
She knew that the invitation to talk about childhood memories over a cup of coffee wasn't so innocent and she knew that the reason why would start with the story about how he stole her first kiss when she was 12 and he was 15 wasn't innocent either. Those memories and that memory specifically, didn't mean so much to Belle.
However, Belle accepted his invitation and when Gary ordered a latte for her without even asking; she thanked him and actually drank it. In addition to that she laughed at his jokes and she flirted back when that dashing smile of his appeared.
She didn't think that his simile was so special, but her father thought so and when her papa smiled, Belle smiled too.
And even though papa would have wanted her to continue to help him at the flower shop, Belle knew that this would never happen. Even if she loved flowers and the stories hidden behind them, the beauty liked the idea of control more; control over her life, control over her own destiny.
The funny thing is that in some occasions (in this occasion) the destiny wore tiny clothes and had a red lipstick in the apron's pocket.
"How come that I spent all my time talking about this boring town and you didn't say a word about Boston?" asked Ruby while Belle took her first sip of her tea.
It was too early in the morning for such a direct question, but Belle was speared by the necessity of an answer when the diner's door opened and the waitress look moved to the person who opened it.
The girl with chestnut curls looked at the clock; it was 7:15 AM. She was 100% sure that it was the man who ordered the two coffees. He was never late.
She turned her head to see him, but she was surprised that in his place was a woman and not some average woman. There stood the fairest of them all. She grew up, but her skin was still white as the snow, her lips were still red as the blood and even though it was short, her hair was still black as the ebony.
Snow White…the child inside her whispered.
"Mary!" she heard the waitress shouting as she stood up. "Where is David?"
So David was his name. No, Prince Charming… the child spoke again.
"Hi Ruby, I'm happy to see you too" said the woman. "David has a cold and it's only one coffee this time and a hot chocolate for Emma. She will be here soon, she stopped to talk to Ashley." she finished the sentence while looking in her purse to find her wallet most likely.
While Ruby went in the back, Belle looked closely at her Snow White. She heard Ruby's story about the mysterious Mary who somehow became like a sister to her, but she never for a second thought that he heroine of Ruby's stories was at the same time was the heroine of her fairy tales.
The woman was standing close to her but probably because she was hurry she hadn't noticed her yet. Belle didn't mind at all. She knew that the woman couldn't be old, just older than her, but somehow she managed to look even younger than she probably was. Maybe it was the haircut.
"Oh God, how rude can I be?" spoke the woman with black hair in a calm tone. "I always do that you know? You must be one of Ruby's friends and I ignore you completely. I should say hi, right? Hi!"
Belle needed a second to realize that those words were for her and that smile too.
"Hello!" she said almost laughing as she stood up to sake her hand. "I'm…"
"Wait a minute, don't tell me" the woman interrupted her. "I know you. You used to come here often…aaa…you are Mr. French's daughter…aaa…."
"Belle" said the girl with blue eyes feeling like a simple conversation turn into a charades game.
"Yes, that your name! I'm Mary Margaret Blanchard by the way"
"Psst…Nolan" said Ruby in a false whisper.
Mary Margaret gave her a 'not yet' look as she took Ruby's advice and stood down.
She knew that Emma was probably still caught in her conversation with Ashley so she still had time. Mary Margaret couldn't believe that little Belle who came at the diner, stopped being little Belle at some point. Looking in those blue eyes you could guess she was what they call an old soul, but you could also guess that she was still a child at heart. Of course she heard about her arrival in Storybrooke. Everyone did, she was this week breaking news.
"Mary, you know things. Don't you know a job for Belle?" said the destiny while she was arranging her hair. "She is good at English and stuff..."
Belle would've laughed, if the sudden question didn't somehow give her hope. Just a little bit.
The other woman didn't really expect a question like that, but she knew Ruby and that was a lot
"Hmm…assuming that you have some knowledge in the area and by that I mean a degree I would suggest you a teaching job but I know for sure that there's no opening right now…"
Hearing the woman's words Belle was a little disappointed, because knowing from Ruby that Mary Margaret was an elementary school teacher she also know that the woman with the pixie haircut was right.
"Although…" the former Snow White spoke as Belle raised her head" Our librarian retired some time ago and we don't really have many applicants for that…or even an applicant."
"Well…" started Belle who wasn't sure that this was real"…I took some classes regarding to that and I do love books"
Belle knew that her eyes were sparkling as she was speaking and she hardly resisted not to hug Mary Margaret in exact that second.
The women began to discuss about the formalities of going to the city hall, about the paper work and about the fact that it was an apartment above the library or something like that. But what really confused Belle was the part about asking for key to the real puppet master of the town.
"Mr. Gold" Ruby told seeing her confused look.
She was about to ask about this Mr. Gold, who somehow exist and didn't exist in her mind, but when her words were about to leave her moth she was interrupted by a fourth persons.
"Mary Margaret come on, hurry up, I don't want to be late to may first class!" said a frustrated girl with blond hair and a determined look on her face, who just walked into the diner."I have history with stupid Mr. Radley who hates my guts. I swear to God, people became teachers just to torture other people."
"And that's my darling daughter, mocking the job I voluntarily choose to do for living" said Mary Margaret ready to laugh.
"Right on time Em" said Ruby who was actually laughing. "Here is your hot chocolate with cinnamon and here is me giving you my compassion. I had Radley to when I was a junior like you. Don't worry he hates every student and he'll try to make the rest of the year a leaving Hell. But you have my compassion, don't forget that"
"How will I ever thank you for that?" said the blond girl sarcastically while she rolled her eyes.
At that moment, looking at her faces, Belle could bet that the girl didn't believe in Santa Claus when she was little. She was one of skeptics, one of the realists…
When the beauty left the diner she was happy, truly happy. She took a deep breath enjoying the fresh air in her lungs simply because she could. The young woman knew that she didn't go in adventures and she didn't slay a dragon, but she was happy because she had a chance. It was a little thing but it belonged to her.
Her little fingers gently opened the flower shop door and the same little fingers where the ones which, a couple minutes later, slammed the same door shut.
She walked fast and her shoes squeezed her. She was also a little angry…Maybe a lot.
Belle knew why she was angry but what she didn't know was that she was able to get angry.
Her father yelled at her so she yelled at him and Gary was there (of course he was) and he took her father's side (of course he did).
He didn't want her to get the job and then Belle reminded him that is the 21st century. He told her that she didn't really have social skills, and then Belle reminded him that people had the tendency to like her even though she was shy.
When he said he didn't allow her she just didn't care, she just got out of there as fast as she could and she slammed the door.
Those shoes didn't fit properly and they were hurting her at that moment.
Even if it wasn't because of the shoes she would still be hurt.
She could understand her father wanting her close to him, she could understand her father wanting her not to make any agreement with that Mr. Gold who she simply couldn't remember completely and she could understand a lot of those requests.
Yes, she could understand them if she would have thought for a moment that they were real, but she didn't.
She was glad that she didn't unpacked yet because that would make moving easier.
She knew she loved papa and papa loved her, she knew that she will smile and hug him, she knew that if Gary would ask her out she would say yes and she also knew that this fight was going to be swept under a rug, where all their fights were piled up.
Her fee hurt so much…She looked at her shoes and in that moment she realized…
She realized why time wasn't enough. The shoes were to blame, it was their fault.
She couldn't clap her heels together three times and say, 'There's no place like home.' with those shoes who weren't the silver ones.
She had a house that was a home once, but not anymore. Maybe a tornado took the home somewhere in the Land of Oz, but the tornado forgot her in Storybrooke.
Belle knew that she was no Dorothy Gale, but as she walked towards the city hall, she would have given anything for a pair of silver slippers.
Hey everyone! I'm so sorry because I'm so late but I write the chapters on my tablet and it broke and I had to rewrite the chapter after I got over the fact that it was lost forever ( maybe I didn't get over it yet :) ). I'm also sorry for making you wait for a chapter like that ( I really like how the chapter turned out but I know it is something like a filler chapter and if I made you wait that long it should have been for a major one, with plot twists and all that jazz).
I hope you like it and I really want to hear (read) your opinion about it. I know the action of the story didn't actually start yet but I want to think that I haven't bored you so far. Like I said I would like to show this completely different characters who are somehow brought together, but I want to show you how the persons in your life (like Mary Margaret, Ruby or even Gary so far) could make you see what you hadn't seen before, so for that, my characters need to have a past and a present before having a future and I don't what to rush the action.
Thank you again for reading my story and let me know what you think of it please. Enjoy!