Sheila's Voice

She was standing in the middle of a crowd, concerned about which route would be the most beneficial. She was exhausted after the bus ride and just wanted to continue sleeping. Is it vital to stand here and wonder? Why can’t she just think a little less and do a little more?

When she acted confused, she saw her friend waving his hands in excitement.

“Holly! Over here!” Herman yelled from his place on the opposite side of the crowd.

Holly used her elbows to almost fight her way through, and finally, she was standing beside Herman.

“This is not what I expected from this little village. Why all the noise? What’s going on?!”

Herman nodded in yet another exciting expression.

“It’s the birthday of our Mayor. She’s very upheld and everyone likes her. So it’s a surprise festival near the old fountain beside the library, if you remember where they are?”

“Of course, I remember. I was spending all summer at the library as a kid,” Holly grinned. Now she was feeling a little bit calmer. The mission was complete since she found Herman, at least.

“Would you like to visit the festival before going home?” Herman asked, and he looked so amused by the idea of it, so Holly felt almost obligated to say yes. Her exhaustion was gone, so she thought it could be a good idea after all. It’s funny how this middle-aged man, who was a friend of her dead parents, could act childishly sometimes. He always called her an “old soul” because of her seriousness. Let’s not be serious this time, let’s have fun, she decided for herself while smiling at Herman.

“Come on, let’s go!”

Holly did not normally think about what other people may think, but now she couldn’t help but think about what an odd view Herman and she could’ve been to the outsider looking in. She was twenty-three years old, with big blue eyes, long, wavy, dark red hair, and a flowery dress with a pink ribbon on her back. She was pale but had a little bit of a sun-kissed look this summer. And she was short, shorter than the average woman her age, which she has always been a little bit self-conscious about. Herman was a man in his fifties, so almost double her age. He had started to become a little bit gray and overweight in the last few years. He was a good old family friend, and he was also Holly’s godfather. She was thinking about how good it felt to leave the city right after her parents’ funeral and not answer any questions about her decision to do so from her friends and colleagues back in the big city she still called home. If people thought she and Herman were an age-gap couple, they were completely wrong. They just had such a good connection. She almost felt embarrassed for feeling worried about that potential thought in other people. “Traveling to a middle-aged man could leave some thoughts, what do I know?” she was wondering just to herself. She didn’t know anybody out here.

“Herman! Hey!”

Holly and Herman notice a short, round lady with a short, grey-ish hairstyle and an orange dress, and she was waving excitedly, almost in an overly animated way, at them.

“Ah, Irene! Nice to see you. What are you thinking about this surprise party? Oh, let me introduce my goddaughter, Holly Kendryn, who’s visiting me this summer!”

Holly shakes hands with Irene, who is so excited she almost drops her glasses on the ground.

“Just call me Holly! Herman is so formal” Holly responded with a smile.

“Holly! I’ve heard so much about you and your work. It’s truly an honor to have you!”

“Thank you,” Holly answers, and her shyness made itself known in her face. Irene and Herman started to talk about the weather, the people, and everything around them. Holly didn’t realize they knew each other that well. There was a lot she didn’t know about this place.

After some conversation with Irene, the three of them entered a cute cafe in a corner of a big house from the 1800s, where they met yet another friend of Herman’s.

“Hello, Morgan! You look so beautiful!” Irene almost shouted from her place at the door. A tall and slim brown-haired girl with green eyes turned around in surprise.

“Irene!”

The woman named Morgan immediately left her place beside the table she was cleaning and walked towards them. Before she could introduce herself, she was interrupted by a girl walking out of the cafe.

“Thank you,” the girl said and kept on walking.

“My pleasure,” Morgan replied shortly.

Morgan turned to Irene.

“I don’t like that this girl enters my cafe every day, it’s not a good look when thinking about her family...”

Holly was stunned by the ignorance in the tone of voice. The girl was thirteen or fourteen years old. In other words, a kid.

When they got out of the cafe and into a taxi car, they saw the girl wandering beside the road again, all by herself. She was poorly dressed in a way too big dress with multiple stitches - as if it was repaired on multiple occasions instead of being recycled. She had big bruises on both of her legs. The unnatural yellow hair color could have been beautiful if it weren’t that she was in desperate need of a haircut. Holly started to feel empathy for the child, but didn’t know why. Herman remained silent. It seems like he forgot about the festival when he saw this girl. Holly wondered why.

The house looked like she remembered it. It needed some new paint, but overall a fine-looking house. Holly took her suitcase and walked directly to the room she had always had when she visited as a young child.

“Ah, the piano is still here!” she said in excitement.

“Yes, I have recently had a piano tuner here to make it perfect for your arrival.”

Holly moved her head to look outside the window and was almost shocked when she saw that girl again. She sat on a swing outside the neighbor’s house, swinging sadly and somberly.

“Who is she?” Holly asked Herman and pointed at the girl from the town.

“It’s Sheila, she lives next door. They moved in a couple of years ago.”

Herman went downstairs. He didn’t want to continue the conversation about Sheila; that was very clear from his posture. It had already become evening; the sunset shed its golden light through the window. Holly felt the exhaustion again. After all, it was a long trip, and tomorrow is always a new day.