The ball was in a week and they spent the whole time looking at outfits and increasing my chore list. The night before the ball, I tried again to ask to go.
"I have been keeping up with my chores; can I please go to the ball?" I asked my stepmother during her tea.
"Child, you do not have anything to wear," She pointed out at my rags, "It would take a full year to scrap of the ugly and the ashes off you."
They all went to bed and I snuck out to rest at my tree. I tried so hard to go out to talk to people, and it was all for nothing. All I wanted was to find someone that cares for me. I already lost the one person that cared before.
"Oh darling, it is okay to cry," A voice spoke before hugging me.
The person had an interesting smell to them, a mixture of fresh dirt, morning dew, and the flowers on the tree. I pulled away from the hugger and realized that half of their body was in the tree.
"What are you?"