Meryl's Shareable Parables
Cinderella Sequel:
Sad and Happy Endings, New Beginnings, and the Flow of Life

         

Happily ever after
“And Prince Charming took Cinderella to his castle where they married, danced to beautiful music and lived happily ever after. The end.” Amah closed the book and leaned over to kiss Sophie good night. “But wait!” Sophie exclaimed. “What do you mean, they lived happily ever after? Does that mean they never fought like you and Daddy did? Does that mean Prince Charming didn’t get sick and die like Daddy did? Does that mean they’re still around? Where are they? What do they do? Are they just dancing to beautiful music all the time? Why do they get a happy ending and we don’t?”

Amah’s voice was sharper than she intended when she said, “It’s a fairy tale, Sophie. It’s just a story. Now go to sleep.”

“But doesn’t everything end? What is this ever after, anyway? Isn’t there a sequel?”

Amah fought to stay cool when she said, “Don’t ruin the story, sweetheart. Just enjoy the happy ending. You ask too many questions.”

Amah turned the light off and shook her head. “That girl is so irritating,” she thought. “Why won’t she let things be? Why do I get so annoyed? I swear, she’s just like her father was.” Amah set the storybook onto the coffee table…right next to her wedding pictures. “There’s a fairy tale for you,” she thought.

Amah and her husband had the perfect wedding. They danced to perfect music. They were the perfect husband, wife and parents. Until reality hit.

Reality. Amah wondered, “Did Prince Charming pick up his socks? Did Cinderella nag him? Of course not. They had servants who took care of their every whim. And their story didn’t end.” Amah laughed at herself. Her thoughts sounded like her daughter’s questions.

Another tale
The phone interrupted Amah’s reflections. Caller ID told her it was her father. “Oh, not tonight,” Amah protested. “He’s sure to have some critical words for me. I’m not sure I can handle that tonight.” Amah took a deep breath and picked up the phone anyway.

“Hello!” she said, bracing herself for his words.

“Ah, hello,” her father replied. “Look, I got your new book and I want to tell you what I think of it.”

That’s exactly what Amah was afraid of. She considered telling him she wasn’t in the mood to hear criticism, but refrained.

“It’s fabulous,” her father continued. “Far surpasses anything I’ve read. It goes deep into the topic. I’m calling to congratulate you.”

Amah would have responded, but she could tell her voice would shake if she tried. She listened as her father continued to sing her praises. His words were music to her ears…until he said,

“The only criticism I have is…”

“I should have seen this coming,” Amah mused to herself. Her father continued. “I wish you’d written it 65 years ago so I could have used this information for my whole life.”

Suddenly, Amah felt embraced in the love she always held but hungered to feel. She listened as her father’s words handed his heart to her freely. They spoke a few minutes more, and said good-bye.

This was the moment to conclude, “They lived happily ever after.” This was the moment to close the book and savor the ending. That is exactly what Amah did.

“Sure, we’ll probably fight again,” she thought. “Sure, he’ll pull rank on me sometime, he’ll dismiss me sometime and he’ll insist he’s right when he’s wrong. Sure, before too long I’ll get a call and I’ll have to say a final good-bye to another man I love. But tonight, I’ll savor my happy ending.”

The sequel
The next night, as Amah put Sophie to bed, Sophie asked, “Where’s the book? I want a story.” “I wrote tonight’s story,” Amah replied, pulling out several sheets of paper. Amah read,

“Once upon a time, there lived a prince called Prince Charming. He had just married the beautiful Cinderella. They lived happily, until one day Cinderella got tired of picking up Prince Charming’s socks and Prince Charming got tired of Cinderella nagging him. They had to figure out how to get along in real life.”

Amah’s story continued through crisis and resolution, until Amah closed with the words, “And they lived happily ever after, until their next great challenge.”

“So the happy ending was really just a beginning!” Sophie exclaimed.

“Yes,” Amah acknowledged. “And for now, let’s just enjoy this happy ending. We’ll think about the sequel later.”

“But it’s not going to last.” Sophie said softly.

Amah paused.

“Sophie…can I share the chorus to a song I wrote about endings?

“Sure,” Sophie said.

“It’s called ‘The Dark Side of the Moon.’ Here, you might need some tissues.

“There’s an end to each beginning. There’s a night for every day.
There’s a winter for the summer when the world is cold and gray.
There’s a close for every opening. There’s a dark side to the moon…
But I never thought the ending would come for us so soon.”

Sophie’s voice shook a bit. “That’s what I’ve been saying. And you keep telling me not to think about it.”

“I know, honey,” Amah acknowledged. “It’s hard for me to think about sad endings. But I wrote another chorus that helps me think about it. It’s called The Bright Side of the Moon. Do you want to hear it?”

“Okay,” Sophie agreed.

“There’s a beginning for each ending. There’s a day for every night.
There’s a summer for the winter when the world is clear and bright.
There’s an opening for each closing. There’s a bright side to the moon.
And when you’re caught in darkness, know the sun will follow soon.”

Amah’s wiped a tear and said, “You’re my sunshine, sweetheart.”

Sophie’s eyes brightened. “I love you, Mommy.” Amah kissed her daughter goodnight.

“Mommy?” Sophie called, “I think you should put the poems together and call it All Sides of the Moon.”

“I like that idea,” Amah agreed. “I’ll write the whole song that way.”

“Mama?” Sophie whispered, “I still miss Daddy.”

“I do too, sweetheart. I do too.”

The flow of life
Yes, Amah did miss her husband. And Sophie was her sunshine. Amah felt closer to her daughter than ever. Her talk with her daughter felt like another happy ending. Amah basked in the afterglow of their talk without holding on. She knew a new beginning could come any time. She got out some paper to write All Sides of the Moon, as her daughter suggested.

The phone interrupted her writing. It was Amah’s brother. “I have some news for you about Dad,” he said.

Amah knew from the tone that her next new beginning was coming sooner than she anticipated.

She also knew she was ready to face the music.

Read the lyrics to Amah’s whole song here.
All Sides of the Moon,
www.speakstrong.com/articles/stories/allsideslyrics.html

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Meryl Runion and Speak Strong (SpeakStrong) provides Power Phrases (PowerPhrases) and other tools to help you improve communication skills at work and at home. You can read more about her at www.speakstrong.com.

Meryl is the author of six books on communication that have sold over a quarter million copies worldwide, including Speak Strong, PowerPhrases!, How to Use PowerPhrases, Perfect Phrases for Managers and Supervisors, and How to Say It: Performance Reviews. You can reach her at 719-684-2633, or by email:

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