Cindy's Grim Tale - Unfortunate Beginnings

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(Edited)

Hello Steemians!

I mentioned how writing your own fairy tales can be therapeutic in a previous post. That post also explains the 3 STEEM bounty I have set on my June fairy tale posts. You can learn more about using storytelling as therapy and the requirements for the bounty here.

Handsome Prince

There once was a handsome and brave knight that descended from the Austrian people in the mountains far, far away. His name was Cliff Hartzell. Hartzell was the surname given to brave soldiers.

Cliff understood many languages, was especially sensitive and skilled, so he was selected to be one who wore the medical shield and carried a bag of healing tools and potions with him into battle.

After a few years of faithful service, his commanding officer sent him to a special air force training camp - Fort Bragg, in the Deep South land of the United States.

Princess (?)

Soon after he arrived he was smitten with a very beautiful young lady, Ruth in a village near the camp. Cliff only courted Ruth for six months before he proposed marriage to her. One evening during the courtship, Cliff proclaimed that their first child would be a daughter; they would name her Cynthia, but everyone would call her Cindy (a character from his favorite song).

They were married in the village of Lumberton in front of Ruth’s family and friends. Only one of Cliff’s best friends, Ben could attend the wedding. Regardless, it was a joyous occasion for both newlyweds. Two months before their first wedding anniversary, Cindy was born.

Off to Germany


When Cindy was only six months old, Cliff’s commander sent him far away to the land of Germany. Cliff took his new wife and child with him. Ruth reveled in this new land, and she was very happy to escape the ever-watchful eyes of her parents, Sir Red and Lady Alma.

This new land had plenty of good strong ale and Ruth developed a taste for it. She would drink ale in the afternoon and evenings and sleep all through the day. She enjoyed the ale and making merry with her new village friends so much, she often forgot about Cindy!

Cindy started having accidents. Ruth always had an explanation; she said Cindy tripped, and that a village boy hurt Cindy, and that Cindy fell out of a chair, .... Cliff adored Cindy and it made him angry with Ruth, but Ruth would not stop drinking and making merry with all her new village friends.

Cliff was required go out on his assigned missions each day, so he asked a nearby matron, Mrs. Kuckartz to be Cindy’s caretaker for a small wage.

Cindy and Mrs. Kuckartz grew very fond of each other. Cindy was always happy to see Mrs. Kuckartz. When Cindy saw Mrs. Kuckartz, she would stretch her arms up and out, so Mrs. Kuckartz could easily pick her up and take Cindy into her comforting arms. Mrs. Kuckartz even taught Cindy to speak German.

Back to North Carolina

But after some time passed Cliff was sent back to the Deep South land again. Once there he bought a small castle near the Special Forces camp where he was assigned. Cindy was now almost four years old.

Once back in the region where her parents lived, Ruth was afraid that they would disapprove of her merry making. She could no longer get the ale she so enjoyed in Germany. And without her German village friends to spur her on, she resigned herself to mediocre existence and only engaged in drudgery, cleaning the castle and cooking evening meals.

Troubled Princesses

She had severe headaches and many complaints, which prompted her to visit various medicine men. They all gave her special potions and magic pills, but despite any of it, she spent most of her days in bed.

Cindy played quietly by herself during the day. There were no other children in the village by the castle they called home, so she watched the magic viewing box and kept herself amused by making things. Ruth scolded her if she made noise, so Cindy learned to be very quiet.

Sometimes Cliff was sent away on secret missions. When Cliff went away, Ruth would sneak out into the night with new friends to make merry. Sometimes her merry making would cause Ruth to be very sick the next day. When she was sick she summoned Cindy to take care of her and cook special healing broth for her.

Schooling

After Cindy started going to the village training school of McArthur Court, Ruth would sometimes keep Cindy home from school so she could be a nursemaid to Ruth after a night of merry making. Her first year in McArthur Court School, Cindy caught all the plagues and diseases in the village, causing her to miss many days of training.

One day when she was attending to Ruth, she spilled the healing broth on her hand. She returned to school the next day with a bandage covering the large blister on her hand. Her teacher, Miss Fissyton asked Cindy about her blister, and then she asked the whereabouts of the knight. Cindy explained her mother, Ruth had been sick and her father was away on a secret mission.

Miss Fissyton sent a special messenger to Cliff, and he became very angry upon hearing the news. When Cliff returned home he paid Miss Fissyton a visit. That year Cliff had to petition the knights of McArthur Court to make an exception for all her absences and allow Cindy to advance to the next level of training. After Cliff returned home this time, Ruth stopped sneaking out for merry making for a good long stretch of time.

Fallen King

Before Cindy’s first year of training, all the lands of the United States received a new king, John Kennedy. Cindy was especially fond of the new king, and wore a special ring honoring the king to school.

King John had made a request to the Special Forces to join him in a parade in the large land of Oil, so Cliff had been sent to march in that parade. Cindy was very excited about this so she watched the magic viewing box very carefully to find her father in the parade.

Right after Cindy spotted her father, a madman did kill the new king by delivering a fatal blow to the head. Joy was immediately replaced by shock and sorrow across all the lands of the United States. News traveled quickly to many distant lands. It was a very sorrowful time.

Call to Battle in Vietnam

Then the time came when all the men from different lands of the United States were called to do battle in a far, far away land called Vietnam. Cliff was called to bring his medicine bag and potions to the battle.

While he was gone Ruth did sneak away to her merry making taverns once again. Cindy was accustomed to Ruth’s ways, and she quietly entertained herself, so as not to disturb Ruth.

An unexpected messenger did come one day. Ruth and Cindy received sad news that another knight from the Hartzell clan had been slain on the battlegrounds of Vietnam.

Cliff was escorting his brother’s body to his final resting place in the Pennsylvania Dutch land and had summoned them to meet him there.

Ruth and Cindy quickly gathered their things to journey to meet Cliff in the Dutch land. During the burial ceremony, Cliff was dressed in his finest uniform, wearing gloves on his hands and all his medals proudly sat on his chest.

The other knights fired off loud weapons to salute the fallen knight. This scared Cindy, but Cliff held her hand tight and kept her safe from harm. Soon after the ceremony, Cliff was beckoned to return to the land of Vietnam, and Cindy feared he may return as her Uncle did.

Great Sorrow

Cliff did return home after the battle, but somehow had changed and Cindy sensed something was very wrong. Ruth prepared his favorite meal of roasted beast, roots and blueberry cobbler, but Cliff could not eat it. He began to cry at the dinner table. This struck deep fear in Cindy’s heart. Her brave father had never shown any weakness before; he was always able to conquer any enemy.

Cindy cried along with her grief-stricken father. In a few days Cliff left again, this time he went to a distant hospital to find a cure for his deep sadness. After a few months, he returned home to his castle once again.

Fitzsimons Army Base, Colorado

By Cindy’s eleventh year, Cliff received orders to go to a medical training camp in the higher land of the West. It was a long journey by carriage, but finally they all arrived in the high village of the West land. Soon after they arrived, many changes happened for each of them.

There were many children in this new village, so Cindy made friends and she was happy. Cliff and Ruth did allow Cindy to have a dog and she was all the more happier. Cliff worked very hard and his commanders gave him more responsibility.

Cliff’s best friend Ben also lived in the high land of the West, and he was happy to be reunited with him. Cindy called Cliff’s friend, Uncle Ben.

Ruth became heavy with a second child, who was called Rhonda. Right before Rhonda was born, Cliff fell stricken with a severe disease of the heart. He was carried to the village hospital where special medicine men worked to cure his disease.

Ruth was then laboring to bring Rhonda into the world, so she was also taken to the village hospital which left Cindy alone in their high land cottage.

In all the haste and turmoil, everyone had forgotten about Cindy. Cindy knew she needed to take care of herself, so she ordered a pizza meal to be delivered and made fudge.

She supped on the pizza and fudge continuously until she could eat no more. By the time Uncle Ben arrived to check on her, Cindy was very sick. Uncle Ben scolded her, and told her she was not a princess; she was only a spoiled brat! Cindy was sick and sad, and she wanted her father.

To be continued -

All the pictures shown in this post are scanned copies of original photos and a newspaper clipping from a family album!

fairytales storytelling writing psychology therapy
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Congratulations to the following winner(s) of the bounty!

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Looks like Cindy had some good and bad moments in her life. U cut it at the best moment, when complications pilled up.

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Thanks Gerber! The continuation post will be made next Sunday - Father's Day. It will become very clear why I wrote all this!

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Cindy did not have an easy childhood, she had many obstacles to overcome at a very young age and it really is to be admired. The good thing is that in every dark moment there always came a ray of joy for her. I hope to know a little more about this story soon.

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@rosargelisperez, thank you for taking the time to read the first part of my story! I am very happy today, in spite of the unpleasant environment and the trauma I experienced. And, it is because of those traumatic events I now have a mission to help others find peace with their past or current living situation.

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@cindyhartz, In my opinion, in life most challenging aspect is Beginnings because we never know what is waiting for us and from what situations we will going to go through. Sometimes life take our test and every moment reflects as new test.

Life is a dynamic journey but when we reach our destination and look back we collect so many stories.

This comment was made from https://ulogs.org

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@chireerocks, you are right! We never know from day to day, or moment to moment how things will turn out for us. But every day is a chance for a new beginning! Writing our story in fairy tale style is one way to put unfortunate events into perspective. It is a way of saying - yes, bad things did happen, but look where I am now - I'm OK!

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Good to know these words and these words are true.

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Considering how old you were when the king was killed, I suspect that we are in the same age group, more or less.
I am an Air Force brat, so I know a bit about moving often as a child. My father was stationed in Germany for 4 years when I was a little kid. I went to kindergarten and half of first grade there.

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(Edited)

We probably are close in age! I never realized how much Kennedy’s death affected me until I went to a music therapy class many years later. While playing music from the era, they also showed a video with pictures from that same parade, and it got me sobbing! Because of my history and my father, I really have a heart for veterans. I’m hoping to do a special workshop with veterans in the near future.

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It indeed can work as a therapy but also it is a safe way to tell.

I wrote parts of my life and was blocked (the rich, evil King and Queen ordered to do so).
☘💕

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Finding a safe way to tell is very much a part of the therapy, That is why so many with PTSD have difficulty. They have not been taught a safe way to tell about their troubling experiences and they are haunted by them.

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It is also better if you do not want to put yourself and your beloved ones in danger. They found me after 40 years and guess what? Are afraid of the truth to be told, people mind find out.

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Wow! It sounds like you have quite a story too! Another trick I teach people is to tell the story using animals as the characters, but then the story is much more simple. Using animals works well for children’s books.

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WOW, what a story. Phew, hard for Cindy for sure.
Thank you for opening up and relying a part of your like to the community. It takes a strong center, a foundation that is stable to open up like that.
I look forward to reading next week's post!

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Thank you @jacuzzi! I am hoping to help people see that they can write about their traumatic experiences. Sharing bad experiences in a safe environment brings healing to more than just the author! 😊

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I sense that this has something to do with your own childhood... I'm looking forward to read the other part to see what will happen next.

It looks like Cindy didn't have an easy childhood - father always away, mum merry too often.. Maybe she was feeling alone more than she could admit.

However I am sure that this story will have a good end :)

Thank you for sharing and have a great day!

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PTSD is serious man. It's sad that the wife isn't being a mother when Cliff isn't around. Now Cindy might find it hard to cope with all this because the one person she was close to is now different and everyone has forgotten about her. Just sad.

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(Edited)

Yes, fredkese, this experience and some more are what have given me a heart for veterans! Many years later and after plenty of therapy, I’m happy, and I’m determined to bring emotional healing to anyone willing to accept it.

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Interesting story! You got me with the to be continued :-0

Now I must follow :-) Nice Job!

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(Edited)

Thank you. And at least I know it worked with one person ! 😉

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I like Handsome prince Cliff's, sounds nice. I want him for myself :P:P nice write up and congrats on your curie vote :)

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Did you see the little picture of him on the newspaper clipping? Lower left corner = Very handsome!

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did not notice earlier but now i did, such boney macho face. :P :)

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Great storytelling writing skills you have I tell you, very good one and I have started following you so I don't miss anything. Cheers.

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