By the hearth, there once lived a Cinderella, who toiled tirelessly and bore all burdens without complaint.
Day after day, the Cinderella by the ashes performed countless chores, yet saw no glimmer of hope for her future.
It was not until midnight, when the gears of destiny began to turn, that her Fairy Godmother helped her into a pumpkin carriage, and she left behind a pair of dazzling glass slippers in the royal palace.
However, the Cinderella who met a Fairy Godmother and became a princess was only Cinderella herself.
In this wretched world, countless other Cinderellas still remained.
Iori Shigure had once wished upon the town’s deities for her Iori Grandma’s recovery.
Yet, this golden Cinderella had not yet encountered her own deity, and the young Miko (TL Note: A Shinto shrine maiden) still lacked the power to fulfill her own wishes.
This golden Cinderella remained one of the countless others who had not found their own happiness.
Even when she gazed up at the starry sky, few stars remained that could truly light her way.
Shion was well aware that Iori Grandma’s illness was intricately linked to malevolent spirits; indeed, the spiritual miasma surrounding Iori Grandma was quite peculiar, merely lingering without coalescing into a physical form to cause harm.
Nevertheless, prolonged exposure to such malevolent aura would inevitably weaken a person’s body.
However, this was not something her current abilities could resolve; Spirit Cutter (TL Note: A spiritual blade) could not sever nascent malevolent spirits, much like even the sharpest blade cannot cut through flowing water.
Shion glanced back towards the hospital.
She could still sense the malevolent aura within, persistent and quite potent.
Had Shigure and her grandmother not still been there, Shion wouldn’t have come near the place, for even from a park bench outside, she could faintly perceive the chilling, bone-deep dread emanating from the spirits.
Yet, she also knew she remained powerless.
The knotted ropes woven by a Miko (TL Note: A Shinto shrine maiden) could only slightly suppress the spirits’ gathering, and their effect faded all too quickly.
Shion gently ruffled Shigure’s hair, saying, “I truly wish Iori Grandma’s illness would get better soon.
However, if you’re tired, Iori-san, it’s perfectly fine to say so directly, or even just chat with me on Instagram.
You’re simply exhausted, Iori-san.”
“Shion-san, I…” Shigure leaned her head against Shion’s shoulder, her gaze fixed on the twinkling stars in the sky, her words trailing off for a moment.
“Every night, my dreams are an escape… I dream of Grandma being well again, coming home to cook delicious meals for me, waving me off to school with a smile every morning.
I can barely remember the taste of Grandma’s cooking anymore… And my parents… I… I’m almost forgetting what their faces look like…”
“I want to go back to school, to nap at my desk bathed in the warm sunlight, to occasionally poke Shion-san’s back in front of me during class, to eat lunch with Shion-san every day…”
“When, oh when, can that finally happen? I don’t think these are overly extravagant wishes…”
The cool, clear moonlight reflected off her falling tears, which silently dropped onto the grass, blending into the brown earth.
“Do you remember when we first met, Iori-san, and you drew those fortunes?” Shion pulled a few small sparklers from her canvas bag, their unlit gunpowder scent faintly perceptible.
“Yes, I remember.
That time… I drew several ‘Great Misfortune’ fortunes, and Shion-san specifically got me a ‘Great Blessing’ one…” Shigure’s voice remained soft and small.
“That’s right,” Shion said with a smile.
“I even told you that if the deities couldn’t grant your wishes, then the Miko (TL Note: A Shinto shrine maiden) of Hoshimori Shrine would come to fulfill them for you.”
She struck a match, igniting the sparkler in her hand.
In that instant, a small flicker of light bloomed on the otherwise pitch-black clearing.
This faint glow wasn’t blinding, yet it was enough for the two girls to clearly see each other’s faces, enough to illuminate a small area around them.
“Since you couldn’t make it to the after-festival (TL Note: A post-festival celebration, often with a bonfire and dancing), I wanted you to experience a little of what it was like.”
“Do you know, the huge bonfire looked so massive from the school, it lit up the entire campus as if it were daytime.”
Shion placed the small, lit sparkler into Shigure’s hand.
The sparks from the blooming firework rapidly cooled in the air; when some drifted onto Shigure’s calf, they left behind only a faint warmth.
“But this is a hospital, after all, and big fireworks would disturb the patients, so we can only use this as a small substitute.” Shion said, gently ruffling Shigure’s hair.
Shigure stared intently at the sparkler in her hand, as if it were the very first tiny spell cast by the Fairy Godmother before Cinderella.
Come to think of it, these sparklers could also be called fairy wands, couldn’t they?
“Thank you, it’s so beautiful, I really like it…” Shigure murmured softly.
Shion lit a sparkler for herself as well.
The two sparklers bloomed with fireworks as dazzling as white peonies, small but truly exquisite.
Shion brought her sparkler close to Shigure’s, as if two white peonies were shining in concert.
In the glow of the fireworks, Shigure saw Shion’s gentle, smiling face.
Shion’s already fair complexion, illuminated by the white sparks, seemed like moonlight itself.
The sparklers would only burn for a minute or two, yet they were enough to illuminate so much.
“Iori-san, everyone also danced together at the after-festival (TL Note: A post-festival celebration, often with a bonfire and dancing).
Would you like to try?” After the sparklers in both their hands had burned out, Shion proposed.
“Dancing? I’d be very happy to dance with you, Shion-san.
It’s just… I’m not very good at it.” Hearing Shion’s invitation, Shigure lowered her head, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.
“That’s alright.
Everyone starts somewhere, don’t they?” Shion smiled, taking Shigure’s hand.
She tapped her phone, and moments later, a melodious tune began to play from it.
The classic piece, Canon in D Major.
Two musical voices, one following the other by several beats, journeyed together along a predetermined melodic path.
Though merely a slight delay, it created a wonderfully harmonious movement.
It was as if Cinderella, having witnessed magic, was slowly walking towards her hope; even with some distance yet to cover, her steps remained unwavering.
The music played softly, for they were still near the hospital.
Yet, even that faint melody was enough for the two girls to dance.
Shigure’s steps were a little clumsy, an endearing kind of clumsiness.
However, when the Prince danced with Cinderella, who wore the glass slippers, he paid no mind to whether her dancing was skillful or not.