Lean On Me
Sunday 13 th November 2011There was once a girl who could not talk. Her name was Anita. She could hear, she could see, and she could feel. But she could not speak.
Her mother sent her to a special school. Her father hired a special tutor. But still no sound emerged from the girl's throat.
Her parents took her to the doctor. The doctor told them that her daughter would possibly never talk in her lifetime. Her parents were so sad and depressed, they divorced and sent thier daughter away to a boarding school.
The boarding school was full of glamorous, pretty girls who made fun of Anita's scraggly mousey plaits while they flicked thier jet-black or honey-blond or caramel-brown or ruby-red hair. They made fun of Anita's drab faded blue school dress while they wore cute little skirts and blouses and ties.
Anita's only comfort zone was the library, where she immersed herself in other lives. She suffered in the cruelty of the workhouse with Oliver Twist, she survived the Hunger Games with Katniss, she twirled around in beautiful dresses and silver shoes with Cinderella.
Anita never spoke up in class and often read under her desk. She failed most of her subjects and was held back. After 4 long years, she was still in 8th grade at 18. And yet she still read.
Her new teacher was named Miss Partridge. She came in and clapped her hands. Anita dragged herself away from Romeo's speech to anyslase the teacher.
She had brunette hair like Anita's, cut in a stylish bob. She had a beautiful dress, a gorgeous sky blue. And on her back she had a guitar.
She swung the guitar and started to play a song and sang to it.
Anita cocked her head. She listened hard, replaying it again and again. Miss Partridge wrote the words on the board and Anita hurridley copied them down.
Miss Partridge played the song again, encouraging the class to sing along.
'Lean on me
When your not strong
I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on...'
Anita sat, and listened to the class singing, and mouthed the words, trying desperatley to make a sound come out.
The next day, they learnt a new song.
'When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be.'
Every lesson was a new song, and soon Anita's notebook was filling up.
Anita focused in class. She passed 8th grade with flying colours. She went on the 9th grade, but skipped ahead to 12th grade. She was finally going to graduate, at 19, and go to a musical college. Just because she couldn't sing didn't restrict her ambitions. She played piano beautifully and wrote many compositions that Miss Partridge had sent to hight-power colleges. One day, Anita was writing a new composition, a fast, happy little tune about spring, but she couldn't get the next riff. She decided to go on a walk through the woord for inspiration.
While she was walking, she saw a gazelle emerge from the shadows, limping. Her ear had been savaged and she looked as though she hadn't eaten in days. She wobbled on her frail legs, and Anita rushed over. The gazelle tentativley lent against Anita, but didn't trust her completley. Anita had to get her back somehow, but the gazelle was scared of her. She tried hard to mouth the first song she ever learnt with Miss Partdridge, but the deer didn't understand. Anita got frustrated and suddenly sang.
That day forward, Anita was able to sing and talk. All she needed was a little love.
THE END
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