From the Inside Out

Decided to put up some of the writing I've done over the years as well. We shall start with this one written last year for my students. 

From the Inside Out

Cindy was hard working and intelligent, kind, and brave. She was everything we encourage our children to be, her only fault was that she was ugly. She was so ugly that people always avoided her and cringed when they saw her coming. Cindy was brave, but she was also lonely.

She was seldom invited to parties, and had never in her life been invited over for a sleepover or an afternoon out.

One day, her father, who loved her regardless of how she looked, told her about a party that they had been invited too. ‘It will be a glorious party’ he said, ‘full of glittering lights, sumptuous foods, and beautiful music. People will be dressed in gorgeous clothes. They will all be showing off, because the King and his family will be there.’

Well, obviously Cindy was very excited by the idea of the party. It sounded like fun, and she would love to see everyone dressed up in their finery, but parties are seldom fun if you look more like a monkey then a person. At least not if you are a 17 year old intelligent girl that is the one looking like a monkey and having no say in the matter.

Now, her father suggested that they look up a fairy god mother for the occasion and see if she could be made beautiful for the night. Cindy thought about this idea. It would be quite fun to go in and make everyone jealous of her wonderful looks. But… Cindy was smart enough to know that changing who she was would not make her happy.

Being a rather wise girl, Cindy came up with an alternative plan. She wrote letters to each member of the royal family, each from an anonymous person, and waited to see what would happen.

Two days later it was announced that the Ball was now a Masquerade Ball, and only people in costumes (with masks) would be admitted to the party. What joy! Cindy could now go, be entirely herself, and be at the same advantage as everyone else. No one would know who anyone else was. She would not have to pretend to be anyone else, but would get to show the whole village who she really was without them being scared off by her face.

Well, her mother, naturally, assumed that Cindy had had something to do with it and asked how she had managed.

‘Oh it was quite easy!’ said Cindy. ‘When no one will talk to you, you get quite good at watching people and noticing things about them. For instance, the eldest prince is VERY shy. He hates all the attention. I simply suggested a way for him to avoid it!

The youngest prince is quite tired of the palace staff always being two steps behind him. He longs for a bit of freedom. How better then to be ‘invisible?’

The Queen enjoys good conversation but finds that none of the village women will be themselves when she is around. They either go silent, or start babbling on about the most obnoxious pretenses. If no one were to recognize her, she could converse freely!

The King likes to feel unpredictable, important, and as if all good ideas are his. By wording the letter so that he could claim credit for the idea, he was able to satisfy all of his family members AND make an unexpected announcement to his subjects.

The princess, well, she is pretty easy going and enjoys any reason to get dressed up.

This is what she wrote:

Prince Jason:

Wouldn’t’ it be fun to get to mingle with all of the guests without them knowing that it is you? No swarms of fawning teenagers screaming and chasing you around, no servants hovering like flies? Imagine how much different this ball experience could be if you could be among the guests without being noticed? I wonder if your father has any ideas?

Sincerely,

A fellow avoider of crowds

Prince David:

Ever tire of people watching your every move? Do you lose patience with all the scolding? This ball could be different! Your brother also would enjoy some anonymity. Ideas?

Sincerely,

A fellow detester of scolding

Queen Clarisse:

Good conversation is hard to come by when everyone singles you out in a crowd. How would it be to be part of the crowd for one night? Where no one could tell you apart? Imagine the conversations, the gossip, and the insight you could get into the daily life of your subjects! Interesting that it is your beautiful face that gives you away…

Sincerely,

A fellow connoisseur of conversation

King Christopher:

I have been trying to come up with an idea for a frightfully long time and fear that only you can help. If I wanted to go to a party and not have anyone recognize me what kind of party should I throw? I know that you are wise enough to come up with an idea of how to keep my face from giving me away. I wonder if your daughter could sympathize with me on this topic?

Sincerely,

A desperate subject

Princess Irena:

Wouldn’t a masquerade be fun? Imagine the adventures you could have if for one night no one recognized you! I wonder if anyone else in your family agrees?

Sincerely,

A prospective friend

‘My goodness child!’ said her mother ‘paying attention does seem to be your strong point! But however did you get them delivered? Not just anyone gets to write letters to the royal family!’

‘Well, that was a bit of a challenge at first,’ said Cindy ‘What when I went to the bakery I happened to see the royal mail carrier, he, of course, looked away. While he and the Baker were trying very hard not to see me I simply dropped the letters into his bag, bought the bread for our dinner and came back home!’

‘You clever girl!’ cried her mother.

‘She is smart enough and kind enough to make up for what she lacks in beauty,’ said her father, ‘and she beautiful from the inside out.’

‘If only someone else could see that’ Cindy sighed. She headed to bed hopeful that night; Hopeful that the ball could be a life changing moment. She hoped that she could teach people to accept her for who she was.

The night of the ball appeared and everything was as Cindy’s father had predicted. Everyone was dressed in their finest clothes, lights were twinkling like the starry night sky, and the music crawled inside your head and made you want to sway and tap your feet as soon as you heard it. The food was delicious and plentiful, and every single person was in some kind of costume and wearing a mask.

The thrones at the end of the hall were empty, and this was causing quite a stir among the guests. No one could stop asking and wondering where the royal family were, and whether or not this was possibly more then fashionably late.

Cindy could barely suppress a very large laugh at how well her plan had worked. Not only was everyone in costume, but no one could tell each other apart! People who were so used to looking at a persons face or clothing could no longer recognize each other. Cindy waded into the crowds confidently, letting her kind and intelligent sense of humor light her way. Her years of observation allowed her to recognize almost everyone she saw, by the pitch of their voice, the gestures of their hands, the tread of their feet, or the company they kept. She mingled with the girls from school, with the baker and his wife, with everyone in the room. She was thoroughly enjoying herself, and everyone seemed to enjoy her conversation. Whenever anyone asked whether or not they had met, she simply laughed, said of course they had, and moved on.

About two hours in she suddenly felt a hand on each elbow and felt herself being guided out of the ballroom. The hand on the left belonged to a woman in a lovely blue bird costume with a tinkling laugh and bouncy golden curls, and the hand on the left belonged to a man wearing a dark cape and a full face mask. He would have been frightening were it not for his kind eyes.

As they edged our of the crowd, arm in arm, the voice on the left whispered ‘you have to be the one!’

‘The what?’ asked a rather surprised Cindy?

‘The letter writer.’ said the voice on the right.

‘We have been watching you.’ said the woman.

‘Most of the crowd is uncomfortable and quiet, unnerved by the change.’ Said the man.

‘Not you!’ said the woman, ‘You are having the time of your life. You seem to be the one that stood the most to gain.’

Both of them were smiling at her now and she knew exactly who they were.

‘Prince Jason! Princess Irena! How lovely to meet you! I hope you don’t mind my little game. It looked like we all could use a night off from our given roles. You are not angry are you?’

Of course they were not angry at all. After thanking her profusely, and personally inviting her back to the palace whenever she would wish, the three re-entered the crowded ball room and continued to enjoy the evening.

By midnight the crowd was in an uproar about the missing royal family and the game was up. 5 heads appeared from the crowd and climbed towards the empty thrones. A collective gasp when up as these people dared to sit in the royal thrones! An even bigger gasp went up when these 5 removed their masks and revealed their identity.

The Queen stood and spoke.

‘I believe we have all learned an important lesson today. We are all more alike then you might guess at first glance. Whether rich or poor, fashionable or not, smart on unintelligent, when we take away the preconceptions we find that the most unlikely person can turn out to be a great friend. I hope this is not a lesson quickly forgotten.’

Then the rest of the family stood and raised their glasses.

‘To Cindy!’ the said in unison. ‘Who allowed us all to get to know each other without restriction.

Cindy had never looked lovelier. She still looked strangely like a monkey, but she was happy with exactly who she was, and that happiness glowed out of her making her beautiful from the inside out.