Second Chances: An Unexpected Angel

Chapter 47

Meanwhile, I, once again, was struggling to fall asleep, so I decided to do some work on my computer. The other day, at my nursing home gig, Diane was kind enough to film some of the show, including Sméagol's performance of "Hurt." I loaded the video onto my computer, made the necessary edits, and uploaded it to my YouTube channel.

In the morning, I logged back on to see if anyone saw the video. I was taken aback when I saw that it already had over a thousand views. As I read through the comments, it almost felt as if someone had wrapped a soft, warm, fluffy sweater around my heart.

"OMG he's real!" read one comment. "My life is complete!"

"Wow, Sméagol's actually an amazing singer!" another comment read. "His voice is so beautiful and pure and sweet! Holy shit, I can't believe he's actually real! Well, I'm glad he got the second chance he deserved, even if it's not in Middle Earth."

"Whoa! Okay, I am speechless! First of all, I can't believe Sméagol is actually real... and alive! Second, wow, what an amazing voice he has! This was one of the best covers of this song I have ever heard! Lastly, I could feel his pain just by listening to him sing. Even without seeing the look on his face, I can tell he's still hurting. This made me cry so hard."

"Wow, okay, this was just... beautiful! I can't stop crying. I'm having a hard time seeing what I'm typing. Sméagol's voice is so beautiful, and the emotion he conveys in this cover is powerful. Cheyenne, thank you so much for sharing this. I am truly touched, and Sméagol, if you read these comments, you really need to have your own channel. I would so subscribe!"

As I finished reading the rest of the comments, I felt a few tears form. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of positive feedback Sméagol was receiving from people.

Just as I finished reading the comments, Sméagol knocked on my bedroom door. "Come in!" I answered.

Sméagol opened the door, and sauntered in. "Good morning, my precious friend," he said cheerfully.

"Hey, Sméagol."

"What's it doing?"

"Can you come over here for a sec?"

"Of course." Sméagol pulled up a second chair, and sat next to me.

"So, um... I hope you don't mind, but... Diane got some of your performance at the nursing home on video. I put it on my YouTube channel, and... well, look at these comments you got."

Sméagol read the comments to himself, and his eyes filled with tears. "They likes me?"

"More than that," I said. "They love you, and they think you should have your own YouTube channel, and I agree with them. I think more people around the world should see what an amazing singer you are." I smiled at him. "And, what an amazing person you are, too. That is... if you're interested. You know, if you want to."

Sméagol smiled brightly. "Oh, yes, I would love to! But... how do I do it, Precious?"

"Oh, I'll show you."

So, I showed Sméagol how I made my videos, how I recorded the songs, edited and mixed them, and how I edited the videos. I showed him how to use YouTube, and how to upload videos. I helped him to set up his own channel, as well as other social media pages, where he could promote his videos and connect with his followers. Even though it was a lot of information, Sméagol picked up on it very quickly, and became an expert at it in no time. He recorded and mixed his first cover, filmed and edited a video to go with it, and posted it to his new channel. His very first video on YouTube was his gorgeous cover of "The Blessing" by Celtic Woman.