Malee turned around and bowed. Georgia looked frustrated, and Malee knew what it meant. But then again, she had never worn high heels in her life before. Georgia stood up.
“Look at me.” Georgia said as she gracefully walked around the room in her own high heels. “You are walking too fast and too far. You must slow down. Understood?”
“Yes, young mistress.” replied Malee.
“Call me Georgia. There are no other servants here.” said Georgia.
“Yes, Georgia.” replied Malee as she tried to mimic the way Georgia had shown her. She stood upright and moved her legs as slow as in small steps, imagining as if she was carrying a large bag of fertilizer in her hands.
“Very good. You are a quick leaner.” praised Georgia. “Now, a challenge for you. Go down to the kitchen and bring me a cup of wine from the kitchen.”
Malee nodded and walked out of the room to the staircase. Once she was at the top of the stairs, she understood what Georgia meant by the challenge. If walking on the flat floor with the high heels was hard, stepping down the stairs was almost impossible. Malee was literally holding on to the wooden handle beam for her dear life as she took each step with utmost concentration. For someone who could push the cart full of potatoes up a steep hill with a little sweat, it was almost comical. She wondered she would her friends would say if they were to see how she was hugging on to the handle.
It took her a long time before she reached the solid floor on the first level and let out a loud sigh and a smile. She made it. She walked as gingerly as possible towards the kitchen, stopping now and then to balance herself. Mary came out from the kitchen and saw Malee struggling to balance herself on the heels and gave out a loud laugh. So did the other servant following Mary, and they quickly left Malee in a red face? It was a while before Malee reached the chiller and picked up a cup and a wine bottle and filled it. Once she picked up the cup and started walking, then she truly understood why Georgia called it a challenge.
It was hard enough to balance oneself standing on top of a two thin sticks but almost impossible if one side of the body can’t be disturbed because it is holding a wine cup. With much difficulty, she walked out of the kitchen like a clown in a circus balancing on top of a rope, but as she reached the base of the staircase, her breath stopped in horror. She once had nightmares of the steep slopes as she tried to sleep, but that was on another scale altogether. Pushing a heavy cart in the monsoon torrent needs strength and grit but climbing a staircase on a high heel, wearing a tight dress while holding a wine up on one hand requires grace, charm and agility of a ballet dancer. But Malee had succeeded in every task since she became one servant in the house, and she wasn’t the one to give up easily.
With a deep breath, she mustered enough courage to took her first step and then another. Soon, she found herself half-way across the stair and smiling at herself for making it. But she celebrated too fast, for she lost it all in the next step. Her heel slipped off the edge of the stair, sent her falling back in the air with the wine cup slipping from her hand. Then, just as she thought of the pain she would feel as she fell on the steps, a hand touched her back to stop her from falling. It was George with another bottle of beer.
“Are you ok?” whispered George, looking into Malee eyes.
“Yes.” said Malee. That was the only thing she could mutter at that moment. From the fright and the surprise of George being there to support her.
“That is so sweet.” said a voice from above.
*Clap* “Clap*
It was Georgia, staring down at both of them from top of the stairs. Malee gave out a shriek in shock as George’s hand slipped away from her back, making her fell back again.