She was not here today, I would have seen her. Her long dark hair framing her face softly, those eyes that would sparkle with wonder at the things even we considered ordinary and her smile which would illuminate the entire marketplace. She was nowhere to be seen…
Given, we had seen less and less of her lately. She and her stuffy husband rarely came out together, yet whenever they did, that bright smile of hers would seem even brighter. It was obvious to anyone that she was a happy woman, and given her wealth, no one could really argue with her state of happiness.
I used to think that she was merely happy because she had married well, proud to show her status and walk above us commoners. I thought she was above us, until that faithful day, when I spoke to the duchess myself. I remember the little smile tugging at her full lips as she came over to buy a fresh bunch of apples, her grimy husband in tow. She had looked at the mediocre apples of the stand, as excited as if they had been fist-sized rubies. She bought 6 apples, yes that was the exact number, I remember touching her soft, gloved hands, if but only for a moment. She had looked me in the eyes, captivating as she smiled widely and whispered ‘thank you’ in a soft voice.
No, I will never forget that day, the day I spoke to the duchess, the day I saw that she was, though immensely more beautiful, just a human like the rest of us. After a while, I started to see a change in town, on the square. The townsfolk smiled more when she was there, especially without her ‘keeper’, and too soon for any of us to resist, we had taken her in.
She walked amongst us with a dignity and pride most could only wish for, but as time passed I noticed the change. It was small at first, just uncertain glances over her shoulder, looking back towards her home, the enormous building on top of the hill, with all its trimmed hedges and mowed lawns. I brushed it off at first, she was a duchess, and even we knew that the lives of the rich were far from perfect.
In the weeks that followed, she came to the market less and less, and like so many times before, today she was not here.
Her face, the last time I saw her, I will never forget. Though she smiled and laughed at the stupid local jokes, there was a glimmer of something in her deep eyes, something which did not belong. It was not until later that same day that I realized, it was sadness..
So, here I stand today, enjoying the cool feel of rain on my skin, looking at the empty square. No one feels like eating apples today it seems, yet even so, our duchess always feels like apples. I will wait for her, surely she will come tomorrow, yes, definitely! Our duchess will come back tomorrow and when she does, my apples will make her smile, just like she used to!
Very interesting - you seem to be describing the fascination of common people with stars and royalty, the Princess effect... What gave you this idea?
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