Thurso's very own Cinderella Story. A guest entry from Gail Brown

A few months ago, as I was walking along our local promenade on my daily dog walk, I noticed a lonely pink stiletto tied to the railings. As someone who loves to make up stories, its presence filled with me possibilities. Where had it come from? Who was it waiting for? How did it lose its sparkle? And was Prince Charming on the way?

I snapped a photo on my phone, and back home, scribbled out a short story on ‘Thurso’s Cinderella.’ Like many of the stories I write, it received a flurry of my initial attention, before being consigned to a life unlived in the darkest corners of my files. Last week, though, when Joan from Thurso Community Development Trust asked if I would consider doing a guest blog for their website I thought about my little story and wondered if it might put a smile on one or two faces in the current, difficult climate. I wondered if perhaps, what I could offer right now was a bit of escapism – admittedly wrapped up in a cheesy, sentimental tale of romance, and pink shoes.

So here’s that little story – one I hope might offer you five minutes of distraction. Enjoy it with a cup of something hot, a biscuit - and hopefully a smile. And when this is all over, and you walk along the promenade at Thurso Beach, perhaps you’ll think of the pink shoe and its little story.

Or maybe you’ll make up your own one.

Because there are all sorts of stories waiting for us - right there in the future, just waiting to be told.  

Thurso’s Cinderella

Thurso, 2019.
Gail Brown (www.welliesontheschoolrun.com)

***

Hayley frowned, peering at the pink stiletto tied to the railings of the beachside promenade. Could it really be, she wondered, after all this time had passed?

She looked down at Molly, her faithful miniature schnauzer, who was barking at her, keen to get on with their regular lunchtime outing. “I wonder if Prince Charming’s coming with the other one?” an elderly gentleman chuckled as he passed them, his scarf flapping like a ribbon in the breeze.

“Wouldn’t that be funny?” Hayley laughed, something keeping her rooted to the spot in front of the stiletto. Someone had tied it to the metal railings with twine, like some kind of lonely hearts club for footwear that had been washed up on the shore. Yes, it had lost some of its lustre and the dusting of gold sparkles that once adorned it had now faded, but Hayley still recognised it. As Molly continued with her barking, Hayley’s thoughts were drawn back to that night, over ten years ago, on the sandy beach below.

***

“Race you!” Chris had shouted as he sprinted away from her and across the sand, lit only by moonlight and the glow of street lamps from the promenade. “In these?” Hayley had laughed, gesturing towards her stilettos from her position at the top of the steps leading down to the sand.

“Run barefoot, then,” Chris had answered, walking backwards, giving her a chance to catch up with him. “Oh, all right then,” Hayley grinned back at him, pulling off her heels and swinging them from her hand as she descended the steps onto the sharp coolness of the beach.

She jogged a few paces before they both tumbled to the ground, laughing. “Sit down,” Chris said breathlessly, flashing her a grin as he patted a spot beside him on the sand.  “Tide’s coming in,” he said. “What about a paddle in the water?”

“Sounds good,” Hayley replied, accepting the hand he offered as they headed towards the shore, forgetting the shoes she had left discarded at her side.

For now, Hayley was just happy to be here with Chris, out celebrating the last night of their summer before they left for different universities. It was their final chance to spend time together.  And perhaps, Hayley thought, their final chance to tell each other how they really felt.

They had been friends for years, hanging around in the same group in High School, studying together, meeting for coffee at weekends. But for some reason, there had never been any romance, even though she was sure Chris felt the same way that she did. But here tonight, as they paddled in the water, kicking spray up into the air, she thought they might finally be able to admit their feelings. As a wave reared up towards them she clutched at Chris’s shoulder and he turned to her, his face edging slowly closer to her own.

“Your shoes!” The moment was interrupted by Chris’s shout, as he pointed to where her stilettos were being carried off into the sea by a wave that was quickly picking up momentum. They darted over to retrieve them, but in the commotion, only managed to recover one from the clutches of the sea. “It’s gone!” Hayley wailed, as they watched the other pink shoe bob away over waves illuminated by moonlight. Somewhere inside her, Hayley also realised that the fleeting moment she had almost shared with Chris was also gone, another stolen casualty of the sea.

“What now?” Hayley said, looking over at Chris who was clutching her remaining shoe and staring out to sea blankly. “Now I take you home,” he said, a touch of sadness coating the edges of his voice. “I’ll carry you along the prom and into a taxi. But Hayley, if we ever find that shoe again, can we make a pact to pick up where we left off before it disappeared?”

Hayley laughed, remembering that they were both leaving for different cities in the morning. Starting a new relationship now would be ridiculous, with the distance between them it couldn’t possibly work out. “It’s a deal,” she said, fixing him with a business-like stare and accepting his proffered handshake. They would never see that shoe again anyway. Yet again, the timing had been wrong.

***

“Recognise it?” a voice jolted Hayley back into the present, where she was still staring at the shoe and Molly was still barking. “Chris?” Hayley said. “What are you doing here?” She looked around, wondering if someone was going to jump out and tell her this was all some kind of joke. She and Chris still saw each other regularly, having both returned to Thurso after university, but there had never been any romance. They had jobs now, other priorities. Just like the old days, the timing had never been quite right.

“I live here, remember,” Chris laughed, that familiar light in his eyes twinkling round the edges. “I know that,” Hayley answered, rolling her eyes at him, “but how did you know I’d be right here, right now?”

“Well, I knew Molly would need her lunchtime walk, and this is your regular route,” Chris answered, gesturing across the promenade. “And when I saw what someone had left tied to the rails this morning….” he said, glancing towards the stiletto. “Well, I just knew I had to come.”

“Can you believe it washed up again, right here, after all these years?” he continued. “I think someone’s trying to tell us something – that maybe the timing’s finally right.”

“Perhaps it is.” Hayley smiled back at him, years of longing finally out in the open. “But what’s that you’re holding?” she asked, her gaze falling on something he was hiding behind his back.

He smiled back at her, producing a pink stiletto, a better-preserved match to the one tied roughly against the railings. “You kept it? All these years?” she gasped, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked into his face.

“I did,” he said. “In memory of an evening we spent out there. And a certain pact we made.”

“My Prince Charming.” Hayley laughed, linking her arm through his as they began to walk along the promenade, Molly trotting along merrily beside them.

As they passed the stiletto that had come back through some magic of the universe, Hayley smiled to herself. What Chris had said rang true now.

After all these years, the timing was finally just right.

 Gail Brown blogs about writing, travel, lifestyle and books at www.welliesontheschoolrun.com