Welcome to those of you joining me from Frontierland Station and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the Final stop on our Magical Blogorail.”
This is a story of a classic fairytale with a modern twist ~
She slid on her finest pair of running shoes, the new 2014 New Balance Cinderella sneakers. Though she bought them nearly six months ago they were in mint condition, no princess would ever be caught with disheveled shoes! She was on her way to Central Park for her longest run yet – 8 miles. She had a whole 7 months to work up to 13.1 miles for the Glass Slipper Challenge; it wasn’t going to be easy but she was more than determined.
It was a rather brisk morning, the chill in the air and the bright orange hues across the tree tops suggested fall was settling in. It wouldn’t be long before a blanket of white would cover the city; she shook the chilly thought out of her head and set off to achieve her new goal.
She loved to run, it was the only time she felt free, free from the constraints of her tiny apartment. It was as if she could conquer the world when she was running. She picked up her pace, feeling extra ambitious this particular morning. Something felt different, good different; she lifted her head higher as the chilly air pinched her cheeks. Her thoughts wandered through her past relationships. She thought to herself, when would she find her “Prince Charming”?
The next thing she knew she was on the ground. Some how she had tripped, What just happened?, she thought. “My shoe! Where is my shoe?!” she said frantically.
“Excuse me, does this belong to you?” She looked up where she saw her Cinderella sneaker held gently within a pair of masculine hands. As she slowly raised her eyes her jaw dropped open. She had never seen this beautiful creature in the park before.
“Are you ok?” he asked. “Let me help you up. My name is Alto, well Al- you can call me Al,” he said as he helped her to her feet. “Lean on my shoulder,” he slipped her royal sneaker back onto her foot.
She had yet to speak a word. She thought, where is my voice? She took a deep breath, “ Thank you. My name is Ella, you can call me…… Ella,” she said with a smirk hoping he had a sense of humor.
They began walking together; she forgot all about her 8 mile run. As time seemed to stand still she glanced down at her armband that was still velcro’d securely around her upper arm.
“OH NO! I have to run, I’m late! I’m so sorry. It was so nice to meet you, thank you for your help!” she called back as she sprinted down the park’s walkway.
For a moment Alto stood still in disbelief, he couldn’t believe she was gone. He continued along the walkway that they had just indulged in deep conversation, his thoughts completely focused on her. There is something different about Ella, he thought. He just couldn’t get her out of his mind. As he shuffled his feet along the walkway he came across a blue satin ribbon.
“That’s the ribbon from Ella’s sneaker,” he said out loud to himself. He began to feel an excitement in which he didn’t quite understand and without another clear thought he began to run. He assumed he was running to find Ella, but how was that possible when she had left him over fifteen minutes ago? He didn’t care, he continued to run without reason. As he rounded the corner, there coming toward him in the same fashion was Ella. Relief washed across him as if he had just found a long lost heirloom. She ran straight to him smiling so brightly that it made him feel as if her smile was meant solely for him.
“I found your ribbon after you ran off,” he said as he once again knelt down to assist her with her royal sneaker.
“Al?” she said as if she had something very important to ask him.
He gazed up at her longing for her to speak her next words just so he could hear her voice again.
“I am on my way to a ball room dance class, would you care to join me?”
He slowly rose from his kneeling position, though his heart felt as if it were beating faster and harder than a horse galloping through a field. “I would be honored to accompany you to your dance class Ella.” How he loved the way her name sounded as it rolled off his tongue. He put his crooked arm out and she intertwined her arm with his. Off they went arm and arm with boundless possibilities surrounding them. Both knew there was something different about the other, a good different.
As their dance lesson came to an end, neither was ready to say goodbye. They found themselves sitting in a diner a block down the street. Both Alto and Ella talked how this was their favorite place to eat and each one claimed to frequent the restaurant, yet neither had ever seen the other there. The evening progressed from dinner to dessert and still neither was ready for it to end.
As they walked out into the starry night, this time hand in hand, a horse and carriage stopped in front of them. Alto turned his head toward Ella and once again she smiled at him with that incredibly bright smile that he now knew was made just for him.
“Your carriage awaits my lady”, he said as he gestured his hand toward the open aired entry. She stepped into her future with Alto right behind her. As the horse and carriage journeyed down the street, off in the distance the faint sound of church bells could be heard ringing.
Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Red this month. We will be back on September 4th with an all new theme. Keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with our Disney info, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs, as well as all our previous loops.
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:
1st Stop ~ A Disney Mom’s Thoughts – The Princess and the Frog
2nd Stop ~ Magical Mouse School House – Lady and the Tramp
3rd Stop ~ The Disney Point – Up
4th Stop ~ Frontierland Station – The Little Mermaid
Final Stop ~ Two Moms and A Mouse – Cinderella