Dimelda and Rita
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| Dimelda & Rita |
When Dimelda got her new assignment she was excited. Taking care of a godchild had long been her ambition. Like so many others she had imagined herself successfully mentoring the next Cinderella. Possibly with a little less bloodshed.
Provoking the stepsisters into cutting off their heels and toes had not gone down well with the board of Angels. Though she had improved Cinderella’s life, it had not brought that fairy the immediate promotion she had hoped for.
Dimelda took her example as a warning. Angels and fairies did not see eye to eye on bloodshed and it was the Angels who decided on advancements. So it was that Dimelda set out full of hope and ideals to meet her god-
daughter.
Unfortunately she had been matched with Rita. Rita was no oppressed young lady. She, like Dimelda, was ambitious and argumentative. It annoyed Dimelda as she could just imagine the board laughing at their little joke.
Well if this was how the Angels were going to play it, she would show them she was up for it. Hovering about Rita for a moment she decided to take the direct approach. Dimelda materialised out of thin air in front of Rita just as the latter was sorting her laundry in the bathroom.
In her corporeal form Dimelda was a short, slightly plump woman with close cropped black hair and skin the colour of aged oak. Her dark brown eyes scanned Rita from top to bottom and back again.
Rita was a few centimetres taller than Dimelda. Her weight matched her height so she was neither too skinny nor too chubby. Rita’s skin was that curious mix of red, brown and yellow like the desert sand. Her hair was plaited in lots of small braids and the expression in her dark brown eyes matched Dimelda’s look. “Where did you come from?”, she said, tossing a red shirt on the pile of dark clothes.
“I’m your fairy godmother Dimelda and I’ve been sent to help you.” Rita frowned, “Help me do what?” “I don’t know but I’m here to find out.”, Dimelda said. “Right. Well I hope you’re real and not some symptom of a brain tumour or you know a sign that says I’m going crazy from all the stress at work.” “You think that if you went crazy you’d imagine a plump fairy godmother?”, Dimelda asked with one eyebrow raised.
“Well yeah, why not?”, Rita said. “It’s just that if you were imagining things, shouldn’t you have come up with a handsome guy ready to do all your bidding? You are single aren’t you?”, Dimelda said. Rita’s eyes lit up, “I hadn’t thought of that!” She stared at Dimelda intently for a moment then gave up with a quizzical look on her face. “Couldn’t do it huh? That’s because I don’t materialise as a man any more.” “Really? How come?”
“The last time I did someone asked me if I was their fairy godfather. It annoyed me.” “You have something against being a fairy godfather?” “I wasn’t his fairy anything, I was there on my own business thank you very much!”, Dimelda snapped. “Don’t start yelling at me, I didn’t ask you to come here.”, Rita said. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t have been assigned here if you hadn’t asked for something.”, Dimelda said.
“Well I don’t remember asking for a cranky fairy godmother so your guess is as good as mine.”, Rita said. “You like being difficult don’t you? I told you I’m here to help and you can’t even be bothered to think of what it is you need me to do.”, Dimelda crossed her arms. Rita sighed, “Fine, in that case, I want it all.” “What all?”
“You know, the house, the job with more pay and less irritating colleagues; the handsome guy, a car and a vacation long enough to take in both the beach and the cultural side of a place. I like museums, I like swimming and I hate having to choose.”, Rita said. Dimelda made a snorting sound. “You can’t get all that from me. Pick one”, she said.
“I don’t know which one. What if I make the wrong choice and this turns out to be my only chance?”, Rita said. “That’s your problem right there. You can’t go through life without making choices. Sometimes you’ll get it right, sometimes you’ll get it wrong, that’s just the way it is.”, Dimelda replied. Rita dumped her white and coloured clothes back in the big hamper. She set the small hamper with the dark clothes on her hip and carried it to the washing machine in the kitchen.
She put the clothes in the machine and got the cycle started. All the while ignoring her fairy godmother. Dimelda hovered about waiting like a silent shadow. At last Rita looked at her again. “What if it’s an impossible choice to make?”, she said. “Describe it to me.”, Dimelda said.
“My job is not working out like I had planned. They demand a lot, they offer little and now in order to keep my job, I’ll have to work more hours and take a pay cut. On the other hand, my studies aren’t working out either. See after I finish my Bachelor courses I was supposed to do a specialised track in addition to my Masters to get me another job. Only the specialised track has been cancelled and there’s a hiring freeze on that other job. So what am I supposed to do?”
“At the risk of sounding like an internet cliché, I’m going to say: do whatever scares you the most. It’s probably the thing you really want anyway.”, Dimelda said. Rita looked exasperated. “What scares me the most is the idea of being unemployed in this economy and having to compete for a job with a whole bunch of people far younger and whiter than I am. I wouldn’t exactly call that my deepest desire.”
“I guess not, but what if that’s the only way to get to where you want to go?” Rita stared at Dimelda with a horrified look, “That would be damned awful.”, she said. “It would explain why you got a fairy godmother to look after you. Unusual circumstances and all.”, Dimelda shrugged. “Oh that’s just great. So you’re telling me I have to turn down my current job, finish my studies for a job that is no longer hiring and then what?!” “Tough it out till you get where you’re going.”
“But that’s insane!”, Rita yelled. “I may have mentioned this before, but I’m here to help you. Now tell me, what is it you need?”, Dimelda answered. “What I need? How about a new job or I know, if you can’t give me the job could you at least give me a lead?” Dimelda shook her head. “Yeah, I didn’t think so…” Rita moved to the sink and grabbed the electric kettle. “Do you want some tea?”, she asked.
“Sure, as long as I’m here and you’re avoiding the question I don’t see what else I can do.”, Dimelda said. “I’m not avoiding the question. I’m thinking alright?”, Rita snapped. The woman and the fairy godmother had tea. Both were doing their best to be patient and polite with each other.
“If it’ll set your mind at ease, I won’t be gone right after I help you out with this. You won’t get to see me any more but I’ll still be here to watch your back and help you along in any way I can.”, Dimelda explained.
“You could have said so sooner.”, Rita replied. Dimelda’s eyebrow twitched but she bit her tongue and let it slide. “But if you’re really going to stick around, then maybe, maybe all I need right now is a little strength to see me through.” Dimelda looked pleased as she conjured up her magic wand. It was bright yellow and sparkly.
She was about to swing it when Rita piped up again: “Courage, did I mention courage? It’s not just strength you know, this whole situation is going to be scary so I’m going to need some courage too.” Dimelda paused with her jaws set and her toes tapping. Rita noticed the attitude.
“Well I’m sorry but you just told me to do what scares me the most and I’m trying to think ahead. You know some wisdom would be good too. I’ll be needing to make lots of choices after turning down the offer at my current job and a little wisdom goes a long way. You know what? Maybe I should make a list just in case. Yeah, just give me a moment and I’ll grab a pen.”
“Hold it right there. You asked for strength, courage and wisdom. Now I can arrange that.”, Dimelda said. “Arrange? What do you mean arrange?”, Rita said. “Do you mind letting me finish? As I was saying, I can arrange the things you asked for. But that’s it. You didn’t think we were going to sit here and plan your whole future did you?”, Dimelda said.
Rita crossed her arms. “When you say arrange, that means you’re not going to give it to me are you?”, she said. Dimelda gave her a shrewd smile, “Anything worth having is worth working for, you know that.” She swung her magic wand around. It was mostly for show, the glittering sparkles gave people something to look at while she dematerialised herself.
Dimelda hovered around Rita as she spend the evening working on one of her course assignments. She kept watch during the night and fought off the demon that tried to keep Rita from falling asleep. She stood by her shoulder as Rita got up early the next morning and got ready for work. She could tell Rita was holding herself together by her nerves. But at every stage of the commute Rita seemed to lose a little something.
Dimelda summoned her power as she followed Rita into the manager’s office that morning. “Good morning Rita, take a seat. Have you thought about our offer?” Rita nodded as she sank into the chair.
Dimelda took her example as a warning. Angels and fairies did not see eye to eye on bloodshed and it was the Angels who decided on advancements. So it was that Dimelda set out full of hope and ideals to meet her god-
daughter.
Unfortunately she had been matched with Rita. Rita was no oppressed young lady. She, like Dimelda, was ambitious and argumentative. It annoyed Dimelda as she could just imagine the board laughing at their little joke.
Well if this was how the Angels were going to play it, she would show them she was up for it. Hovering about Rita for a moment she decided to take the direct approach. Dimelda materialised out of thin air in front of Rita just as the latter was sorting her laundry in the bathroom.
In her corporeal form Dimelda was a short, slightly plump woman with close cropped black hair and skin the colour of aged oak. Her dark brown eyes scanned Rita from top to bottom and back again.
Rita was a few centimetres taller than Dimelda. Her weight matched her height so she was neither too skinny nor too chubby. Rita’s skin was that curious mix of red, brown and yellow like the desert sand. Her hair was plaited in lots of small braids and the expression in her dark brown eyes matched Dimelda’s look. “Where did you come from?”, she said, tossing a red shirt on the pile of dark clothes.
“I’m your fairy godmother Dimelda and I’ve been sent to help you.” Rita frowned, “Help me do what?” “I don’t know but I’m here to find out.”, Dimelda said. “Right. Well I hope you’re real and not some symptom of a brain tumour or you know a sign that says I’m going crazy from all the stress at work.” “You think that if you went crazy you’d imagine a plump fairy godmother?”, Dimelda asked with one eyebrow raised.
“Well yeah, why not?”, Rita said. “It’s just that if you were imagining things, shouldn’t you have come up with a handsome guy ready to do all your bidding? You are single aren’t you?”, Dimelda said. Rita’s eyes lit up, “I hadn’t thought of that!” She stared at Dimelda intently for a moment then gave up with a quizzical look on her face. “Couldn’t do it huh? That’s because I don’t materialise as a man any more.” “Really? How come?”
“The last time I did someone asked me if I was their fairy godfather. It annoyed me.” “You have something against being a fairy godfather?” “I wasn’t his fairy anything, I was there on my own business thank you very much!”, Dimelda snapped. “Don’t start yelling at me, I didn’t ask you to come here.”, Rita said. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t have been assigned here if you hadn’t asked for something.”, Dimelda said.
“Well I don’t remember asking for a cranky fairy godmother so your guess is as good as mine.”, Rita said. “You like being difficult don’t you? I told you I’m here to help and you can’t even be bothered to think of what it is you need me to do.”, Dimelda crossed her arms. Rita sighed, “Fine, in that case, I want it all.” “What all?”
“You know, the house, the job with more pay and less irritating colleagues; the handsome guy, a car and a vacation long enough to take in both the beach and the cultural side of a place. I like museums, I like swimming and I hate having to choose.”, Rita said. Dimelda made a snorting sound. “You can’t get all that from me. Pick one”, she said.
“I don’t know which one. What if I make the wrong choice and this turns out to be my only chance?”, Rita said. “That’s your problem right there. You can’t go through life without making choices. Sometimes you’ll get it right, sometimes you’ll get it wrong, that’s just the way it is.”, Dimelda replied. Rita dumped her white and coloured clothes back in the big hamper. She set the small hamper with the dark clothes on her hip and carried it to the washing machine in the kitchen.
She put the clothes in the machine and got the cycle started. All the while ignoring her fairy godmother. Dimelda hovered about waiting like a silent shadow. At last Rita looked at her again. “What if it’s an impossible choice to make?”, she said. “Describe it to me.”, Dimelda said.
“My job is not working out like I had planned. They demand a lot, they offer little and now in order to keep my job, I’ll have to work more hours and take a pay cut. On the other hand, my studies aren’t working out either. See after I finish my Bachelor courses I was supposed to do a specialised track in addition to my Masters to get me another job. Only the specialised track has been cancelled and there’s a hiring freeze on that other job. So what am I supposed to do?”
“At the risk of sounding like an internet cliché, I’m going to say: do whatever scares you the most. It’s probably the thing you really want anyway.”, Dimelda said. Rita looked exasperated. “What scares me the most is the idea of being unemployed in this economy and having to compete for a job with a whole bunch of people far younger and whiter than I am. I wouldn’t exactly call that my deepest desire.”
“I guess not, but what if that’s the only way to get to where you want to go?” Rita stared at Dimelda with a horrified look, “That would be damned awful.”, she said. “It would explain why you got a fairy godmother to look after you. Unusual circumstances and all.”, Dimelda shrugged. “Oh that’s just great. So you’re telling me I have to turn down my current job, finish my studies for a job that is no longer hiring and then what?!” “Tough it out till you get where you’re going.”
“But that’s insane!”, Rita yelled. “I may have mentioned this before, but I’m here to help you. Now tell me, what is it you need?”, Dimelda answered. “What I need? How about a new job or I know, if you can’t give me the job could you at least give me a lead?” Dimelda shook her head. “Yeah, I didn’t think so…” Rita moved to the sink and grabbed the electric kettle. “Do you want some tea?”, she asked.
“Sure, as long as I’m here and you’re avoiding the question I don’t see what else I can do.”, Dimelda said. “I’m not avoiding the question. I’m thinking alright?”, Rita snapped. The woman and the fairy godmother had tea. Both were doing their best to be patient and polite with each other.
“If it’ll set your mind at ease, I won’t be gone right after I help you out with this. You won’t get to see me any more but I’ll still be here to watch your back and help you along in any way I can.”, Dimelda explained.
“You could have said so sooner.”, Rita replied. Dimelda’s eyebrow twitched but she bit her tongue and let it slide. “But if you’re really going to stick around, then maybe, maybe all I need right now is a little strength to see me through.” Dimelda looked pleased as she conjured up her magic wand. It was bright yellow and sparkly.
She was about to swing it when Rita piped up again: “Courage, did I mention courage? It’s not just strength you know, this whole situation is going to be scary so I’m going to need some courage too.” Dimelda paused with her jaws set and her toes tapping. Rita noticed the attitude.
“Well I’m sorry but you just told me to do what scares me the most and I’m trying to think ahead. You know some wisdom would be good too. I’ll be needing to make lots of choices after turning down the offer at my current job and a little wisdom goes a long way. You know what? Maybe I should make a list just in case. Yeah, just give me a moment and I’ll grab a pen.”
“Hold it right there. You asked for strength, courage and wisdom. Now I can arrange that.”, Dimelda said. “Arrange? What do you mean arrange?”, Rita said. “Do you mind letting me finish? As I was saying, I can arrange the things you asked for. But that’s it. You didn’t think we were going to sit here and plan your whole future did you?”, Dimelda said.
Rita crossed her arms. “When you say arrange, that means you’re not going to give it to me are you?”, she said. Dimelda gave her a shrewd smile, “Anything worth having is worth working for, you know that.” She swung her magic wand around. It was mostly for show, the glittering sparkles gave people something to look at while she dematerialised herself.
Dimelda hovered around Rita as she spend the evening working on one of her course assignments. She kept watch during the night and fought off the demon that tried to keep Rita from falling asleep. She stood by her shoulder as Rita got up early the next morning and got ready for work. She could tell Rita was holding herself together by her nerves. But at every stage of the commute Rita seemed to lose a little something.
Dimelda summoned her power as she followed Rita into the manager’s office that morning. “Good morning Rita, take a seat. Have you thought about our offer?” Rita nodded as she sank into the chair.
“I took this part time job because my classes are mostly scheduled during the day. Besides that, the coursework is pretty intense. If I took on more hours, I would fail my studies so…” Rita wavered. Dimelda hovered closer to her god-daughter. She aimed the power she had gathered and pushed it onto Rita’s shoulders.
Rita straightened her back, “I have decided not to take on more hours in favour of my studies.” The manager nodded. “We were afraid you’d say that but I understand. If there’s anything we can do for you, if you ever need a recommendation, don’t hesitate to ask.” “Thank you, I’m sure I’ll be needing it.”
Rita straightened her back, “I have decided not to take on more hours in favour of my studies.” The manager nodded. “We were afraid you’d say that but I understand. If there’s anything we can do for you, if you ever need a recommendation, don’t hesitate to ask.” “Thank you, I’m sure I’ll be needing it.”
“Oh and Rita, one more thing. Could you please not speak about this with your other colleagues just yet? We haven’t had the chance to speak with Tamara and she’s on a part time schedule as well.” “Right of course, just let me know when you’ve spoken to her.”, Rita said.
As Rita walked out of the room, Dimelda thought her godchild seemed a little bit brighter than before. Well, well Angels, looks like I gave my charge the right kind of advice. Bet you I can still make her the new Cinderella, just you wait and see.
As Rita walked out of the room, Dimelda thought her godchild seemed a little bit brighter than before. Well, well Angels, looks like I gave my charge the right kind of advice. Bet you I can still make her the new Cinderella, just you wait and see.
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In case you were wondering, when Dimelda thinks of the toe and heel being cut off I'm referring to the brothers Grimm version of Cinderella but having Dimelda as Rita's godmother is more like Perrault's version of Cinderella (for the English translation click here). The idea that fairies can somehow get promoted to becoming Angels, is something I got from Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series, also known as the Southern Vampire novels.
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