Ayako was a pretty, cheerful girl who lived in a nice house by the Pacific Ocean's coast, in a small sunny town in Japan. She lived with her evil stepmother and two stepsisters. Her parents had died of cancer, and Ayako was very lonely. Her stepfamily treated her terribly, making her do all of the household chores. But somehow, Ayako managed to remain cheerful despite her terrible life.
One morning, Ayako ran outside to get the mail at her stepmother's orders. It was a letter from the princess of the kingdom they lived in, The Kingdom Of Shiawase. She quickly brought it in before her stepmother got impatient. Her stepmother snatched the letter quickly from her hands and opened it.
"What does it say, Stepmother?" Ayako asked.
"Let me see..." said the stepmother. "It says that the princess has invited everyone in the kingdom who wishes to come, to a ball in celebration of her 16th birthday on Sunday."
Ayako and her stepsisters, whose names were Kaneko and Katsu, began to get excited. "I want to wear a dress that's pink and covered in precious gems!" Kaneko exclaimed, twirling around.
"I want to wear a purple dress, one softer than silk!" Katsu exclaimed, jumping up and down.
"And I want to wear a blue dress, one that shimmers under the moonlight!" Ayako exclaimed.
The stepmother laughed. "What makes you think you can go, Ayako?" she asked. "You have a lot of chores to do, and there's no way you could possibly finish them before Sunday."
"But Stepmother!" Ayako quickly said. "I can do it all, I really can!"
The stepmother raised an eyebrow. "Okay then. I need you to sweep and scrub the whole house from top to bottom, do the dishes, wash and sort the laundry, and clean your room. Oh, and clean my room too, would you?"
Ayako's face fell. "Okay," she mumbled. She walked slowly walked out of the room. Kaneko and Katsu laughed.
Ayako walked to her room, closing the door behind her. She sat down on her bed next to her dog, Hime. She began to softly stroke Hime's fur, softly talking to him. "Oh, Hime-san... Do you think I'll get to go to the ball with Kaneko-san and Katsu-san?" Hime didn't respond. Ayako sighed. "Well, I'd better get started."
For the next six days, Ayako worked hard cleaning the house. On Sunday, when Ayako woke up, she quickly finished up and ran to her stepmother. "Stepmother! I've finished all the chores!" Ayako said happily.
Her stepmother seemed disinterested. She made a grunting noise.
Ayako got dressed and ran out into town with Hime. She went to the dress store, where beautiful dresses hung on every wall. She walked to the lady at the counter. "Um, ma'am? I'd like to buy a dress... will this be enough?" Ayako held up what little money she had.
The lady smiled. "That'll be just enough. Go pick your favorite." Actually, the dresses cost much more than what she had, but the lady decided it would do. This poor-looking girl with her ragged outfit should have all the dresses she wants.
Ayako smiled. She began to walk around the shop, looking at all the dresses. She spotted another girl who was looking at the dresses. She cautiously approached her. "Hello?"
The girl looked up and smiled. "Hello!" Then her expression changed. "Hey... are you a foreigner?"
Ayako was confused for a bit. Then she remembered. Despite being %100 Japanese, she strangely had blond hair and blue eyes. "No, I'm Japanese."
"That's kinda cool," the girl said. "What's your name?"
"Ayako."
"I'm Sachi. Pleased to meet you, Ayako-san."
Ayako and Sachi both bowed at the same time and bumped heads. They laughed for a long time.
"Want help picking out a dress?" Sachi offered.
Ayako nodded. "Thank you."
Soon Ayako and Sachi found a beautiful blue ball gown. Ayako went to the changing room to try it on. She emerged the room slowly, blushing a bit. "Um... how do I look?"
Sachi smiled. For a while, she didn't say anything. She admired the way the dress cascaded to the floor, and the way the color matched Ayako's eyes.
"You look... beautiful," Sachi said finally. Ayako blushed, wordlessly going back into the changing room to put on her regular clothes.
After that, Sachi asked. "No offence, but you don't look like you have much money, I mean, with that outfit on... how are you paying for this?"
Ayako held up her money. "It's all I have."
Sachi stared at the coins in Ayako's hand. She shook her head. "No, you shouldn't spend your only money on this." Sachi reached in her purse and pulled out 5,000 yen.
Ayako looked at the ground. "No, I really shouldn't. You keep your own money."
"No, I insist! It's nothing! I have a bunch of money! You clearly need it more than I do!" Sachi said. Ayako shook her head. Sachi handed her the money. Ayako handed it back. Sachi handed it back to Ayako and this time, ran away before Ayako could hand her the money again. She ran down the street and out of sight.
Ayako silently watched her from the window.
Once Ayako got home, it was almost time for the ball. Ayako put on her dress and ran downstairs. "I'm ready!" she yelled to her stepmother.
Ayako's stepmother and stepsisters stared at her in shock. "Is something wrong?" Ayako asked.
"You can't come to the dance," her stepmother said simply.
At hearing those words, Ayako felt her heart drop. For the past six days, she had daydreamt of all the fun she would have at the dance, as she had worked for long hours on her chores while her stepsisters gossiped and painted their nails. "Not... going... huh? But Stepmother, you said-"
"Whatever I said was your imagination," her stepmother interrupted.
And with that, her stepfamily left, slamming the door behind them. They got into the carriage and left.
Too stunned to think straight, Ayako silently sat down on the foot of the staircase. She felt her eyes water up. She thought of all the fun she would be missing... and the kind girl, Sachi, who had been so kind to her as to give her the money for the dress, without asking her for anything in return. No one had been that kind to her in a long time.
Well, nothing good was going to come out of sitting there. Unless a fairy godmother appeared or something weird like that...
Ayako stood up and walked to the door. She got to the sidewalk and began to walk. She walked for a long time. It began to rain, which ironically matched her mood. She trudged through mud and ran past barking dogs until she got to the palace.
The whole castle seemed to be glowing. She heard laughter and happy voices inside. She ran to the entrance and waved to the guards. They smiled, waving back.
Inside, the palace was warm and welcoming. Ayako wished she wasn't so wet. She looked at the grand clock. She still had a few hours to enjoy the ball.
She walked around, admiring all the fancy dresses. She hoped she wouldn't run into her stepfamily. She walked until she noticed something else... or rather, someone else.
It was Sachi, in a fiery red dress. Ayako ran over as fast as she could. "Sachi-san!"
Sachi turned around, and smiled when she recognized her. "Woah, didn't think I'd ever see you again," she said.
Then a guard walked between them. "Sorry Miss, but it's just not proper to just walk up to a princess and just casually start a conversation. You should curtsy first," he said.
"Woah dude, it's okay," said Sachi. "I know her." The guard nodded and walked away.
Ayako gasped. "You're the princess?!"
"That reaction was kinda late," Sachi said, laughing. "Yes, I'm the princess."
"No wonder you gave me 5,000 yen. You're rich, aren't you?" said Ayako.
"I can always afford to do a good deed," Sachi said. "Wanna dance?"
Ayako blushed. "I don't think I can..." she said, embarrassed. "I've never danced before."
"Well it's never too late to learn," said Sachi. "Here." She took Ayako's hand and led her out to the floor. She showed Ayako the dance steps and the right dancing posture.
Ayako turned out to be a pretty fast learner. They were soon gliding like magic across the floor. Both never wanted the night to end. They danced away from the crowd to the fountain outside. Ayako hesitantly rested her head on Sachi's shoulder. Sachi stopped dancing. Ayako looked up. "Did... did I do something wrong?"
"No..." said Sachi. "It's not that." She blushed, looking away.
"Then what is it?" Ayako asked.
"It's... well... well maybe it's..." Sachi began to twirl her hair around her finger.
"What is it, Sachi-chan?" Ayako asked.
Sachi stopped twirling her hair. "It's..." her voice got very quiet. "Nothing."
The clock struck midnight. "Oh, I need to get home now," said Ayako. "Goodbye."
"Wait!" said Sachi. "Do you want to maybe hang out sometime?"
Ayako was already gone.
It was a long walk home, and Ayako had to get home before her stepmother noticed she had left.
Sachi sighed, sitting down on the edge of the fountain. "I guess I'll never see her again..." she said sadly.
"Princess Sachi-san, would you like another piece of birthday cake?" Sachi's father asked, walking up to her.
"Yeah... sure..." Sachi mumbled.
"What's wrong?" her father asked. "Did something happen?"
"I met a girl... and I think I might never get to see her again..." Sachi said.
"That's so depressing! I can't stand to see my little princess upset!" Sachi's father said. "Don't worry, I'll help you find her."
Sachi perked up. "You will?"
"Of course I will!" Sachi's father said. "Now what's her name? Do you know that much?"
"Yeah... Ayako."
"Well I will search the kingdom for all the Ayakos and bring them all to you," said Sachi's father. "Don't worry, you will see this girl again, sure as the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening."
"Thank you," said Sachi.
"It's nothing really," her father said. "Now get ready for bed, okay?"
Ayako made it home just in time. She changed into her nightgown and went to bed. She heard her stepfamily loudly talking downstairs. They finally went to bed and everyone in the house fell asleep.
The next day, Ayako go the mail and found another exciting letter. She raced inside, hiding the letter and bringing the rest of the mail to her stepmother.
The letter said that the kingdom's records showed that a girl by the name of Ayako lived in this household, and if this Ayako was the one that the princess was looking for, she should visit the palace as soon as possible to see the princess. Details were given such as that the princess gave 5,000 yen to this girl and that she had blond hair and blue eyes. Ayako read the letter twice, smiling all the while.
As soon as Ayako was left home alone, two days later, she abandoned the long list of chores she had been left and raced to the castle, on foot again.
Once at the castle, the guards moved to the side and let her in. She walked out into the familiar ballroom. It was empty this time, and she didn't stop to look around. She ran up the grand staircase and to a door marked 'Sachi's Room' on a golden plaque. She knocked, and the door soon opened. It was Sachi.
Sachi's eyes lit up. "Ayako-chan!"
"Hi!" said Ayako. "Why was I supposed to come? I hurried over as fast as possible!"
"Well I really missed you and there's something I wanted to tell you," said Sachi.
"What is it?"
Sachi looked over at a bodyguard, who was standing next to the door. "Could you please leave?" she asked him. "I'd like to privately speak with this girl." The guard nodded and left. Sachi looked back at Ayako.
"What is it?" Ayako asked again.
"I need to tell you..." Sachi said slowly. "That... I love you."
Ayako was silent. Sachi said nothing, waiting for that to sink in. "You... love me? But... how could you possibly love someone like me?" Ayako said, stunned at this revelation.
"Someone like you? You're amazing, Ayako-chan. And I want to be with you. So what do you say?" said Sachi.
Ayako's expression slowly became a smile. "I like that idea," she said.
Sachi was ecstatic. She picked Ayako up and twirled her around. Then she put her back down and kissed her.
And Ayako and Sachi lived happily ever after. The end!