Saturday, 18 October 2025

Cinderella's Life Story

 

Cinderella's Life Story

  • Group Member:
  • Chandra Dinata Dava Maharani
  • Inova Dwi Putri
  • Kesya Rifina Putri
  • Nicholas Austin Giti Alfian

Once upon a time, in Suki village, there lived a girl named Cinderella. Her mother passed away when she was five years old. She lived only with her father, Nugraha, a kind and well-groomed man who loved her deeply.

Eventually, Cinderella's father remarried a widow named Sulis, who brought along her two daughters, Rani and Rana. This new stepmother was skilled at acting sweetly in front of Nugraha, but in reality, she subjected Cinderella to constant poor treatment.

Not long after, Cinderella’s father had to attend to important business outside the city. He was required to leave home for an extended period, entrusting Cinderella to the care of her stepmother and stepsisters.

As soon as her husband left, Sulis immediately unveiled her true, cruel nature. She forced Cinderella to manage most of the household chores and compelled her to work at a pecel lele stall so that Cinderella would not be able to ask her for pocket money. Cinderella was now utterly alone.

One weekend, as Cinderella was preparing two servings of pecel lele and a glass of iced tea, a flyer drifted down and landed right at her feet. Cinderella bent down and picked it up. The poster advertised: "Witness the ‘Gajah Gajahan’ Jaya Manggolo cultural performance at Sawoo Market on September 17th." Cinderella felt an immediate draw, but she knew her step-family would never grant her permission.

As she gazed at the poster, a young customer, about her age, called out loudly.

“Hey,” the girl greeted her.

Cinderella quickly sought a short break from the stall owner.

“My name is Maya, and what’s yours?” the girl asked kindly.

“I’m Cinderella,” she replied.

After the brief introduction, Maya asked if she planned to attend the performance advertised on the poster.

Cinderella looked down. “My family won't allow it. I have to keep working and doing chores. I don't get any time off except at night,” she explained softly.

Seeing the deep sadness in Cinderella’s face, the stall owner approached, offering Cinderella a day off. Cinderella refused, reasoning, “My stepmother will surely scold me for being lazy.”

Maya thought hard, then smiled. “How about you come here tomorrow and just tell them you’re going to work? After that, I’ll pick you up, and we’ll go watch Gajah Gajahan. What do you think?”

Cinderella's sad face instantly brightened. She thanked Maya profusely for her kindness.

“Why do you want to help me?” Cinderella asked curiously.

Maya answered softly, “I need a friend. We’re the same; we both need to break free for a little while.”

The next day, as Cinderella was at the warung, Maya arrived on her automatic motorbike. Cinderella, waiting eagerly, quickly said goodbye to the stall owner and joined Maya. The two continued their journey to Sawoo Market.

Once at the event, they fully embraced the show. They danced, sang, had fun, and even took several selfies. However, while they were enjoying the music, Cinderella’s phone, a precious gift from her father, slipped out of her pocket. Neither girl noticed its absence.

Time quickly passed. Maya's wristwatch showed twelve o'clock. Realizing this, Cinderella urgently encouraged Maya to return to the pecel lele stall. She felt it would be improper to leave her work for too long. Maya, remembering her own responsibilities, agreed, and they headed back.

III. The Descent into Tragedy

Upon arriving at the stall, Cinderella reached for the phone her father had given her for her 16th birthday. Her pockets were empty. Cinderella panicked, realizing the cherished phone was lost.

Maya offered to return to the Gajah Gajahan event, thinking the phone might have fallen there.

“But even if it fell there, someone has probably picked it up already,” Cinderella said, her voice strained. “My father gave me that phone after saving up for a long time. I truly don't want to lose it just like that.”

Suddenly, a distinct Facebook notification sound came from Maya’s phone. It was an announcement from a large local group in Ponorogo: a phone had been found at the performance they had just attended. Excitedly, Maya told Cinderella this was likely hers. Rising from her despair, Cinderella confirmed it was her phone, and Maya urged her to return to the event immediately.

Meanwhile, the organizer who found the phone was struggling to locate the owner. He had made announcements but had only managed to post a notice on the Facebook group.

Fifteen minutes later, instead of a reply, the organizer was met with horrific news in his group: a severe accident had occurred. It was reported that the victim's body was dismembered, scattered on the road, with some organs strewn about. The driver, however, survived with injuries.

The organizer, also the group admin, was curious and decided to go to the accident site. He asked his friend to call him instantly if anyone came claiming the lost phone.

At the scene, he spoke to a police officer about the accident's chronology.

The officer explained that the motorcycle was being driven normally until a high-speed van suddenly tried to overtake from the opposite direction. Startled, the driver swerved left. The motorcycle inevitably overturned, throwing the passenger onto the road, where a truck instantly struck them.

The officer added that finding the victim's family contacts was difficult. The driver stated they were on their way to retrieve a lost phone at Sawoo Market, but the driver didn't have the passenger's family contact information.

The organizer immediately explained the phone he found. He suggested attempting to match the fingerprint on the phone with the victim's severed finger. The police officer agreed but requested the organizer wait until the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) was complete.

After the CSI concluded, a forensic investigator tested the victim's fingerprint against the found phone. The forensic team confirmed that the lost phone belonged to the accident victim. The police officer immediately searched for the victim's closest family contacts.

They reached Cinderella’s stepmother, Sulis. The moment Sulis answered, she screamed about Cinderella forgetting to turn off the lights. The officer struggled to gain control of the conversation. When he finally informed Sulis that her stepdaughter had died in a traffic accident, the stepmother sounded completely indifferent. She even said that Cinderella was a useless, forgetful child who deserved to die.

The bystanders who overheard the call were profoundly shocked by the stepmother's reaction. The police officer sternly reminded Sulis to inform her husband, whose calls had failed repeatedly.

After concluding all formalities, Cinderella was buried in the same public cemetery as her mother.

Months later, Nugraha, Cinderella's father, returned from the city. He carried new jewelry, clothes, and a new phone for Cinderella, eagerly anticipating her joy. He knocked happily. His wife and two children welcomed him warmly. When Nugraha called out his daughter's name, she did not appear.

Annoyed that her husband was preoccupied with Cinderella, Sulis informed him bluntly that Cinderella was dead. "That bothersome daughter is gone," she stated. "Now, you can focus on making your new wife and our daughters happy."

Nugraha’s gifts crashed to the floor. He stared blankly at his wife, the horror and disbelief in his eyes erupting into burning rage. He no longer heard his wife's voice; only the echo of Cinderella's laughter and the memory of their happy moments.

Sulis, seeing his shocked face, snapped that he shouldn't be surprised, revealing that the police had called him repeatedly but he never answered, forcing her to handle everything. "Your daughter was useless until the end!"

The truth—the cold indifference Sulis showed the police, the suffering Cinderella endured—slammed into Nugraha. He roared that Sulis had polluted his home with her hate.

Nugraha threw Sulis and her two daughters out that very day. He sat on the cold floor, surrounded by his shattered gifts, hugging Cinderella’s old photo. Regret and grief strangled him, making him an eternal prisoner in a house that now felt like a tomb.

Meanwhile, Maya, the survivor, was consumed by severe depression. Guilt strangled her, convincing her she was Cinderella’s killer.

In the end, Sulis and her daughters were expelled, with nothing. But the greatest punishment fell upon Nugraha and Maya; they both drowned in a sea of sorrow without end, their souls dead, their eyes forever closed to any joy that might have been.

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