The Power of Destiny

Chapter Three

         “Believe . . . life goes on.” – Kelly S.

Two years after her mum died, she finally realised she wasn’t going to see her mum again. She was now eleven and her birthdays had passed without an atom of joy to celebrate it. Her dad could only take them out because even if he had organized a party, it would have been boring.
Each night as she went to sleep, she would wish her mum was still there to sing her a song and give her goodnight kisses. She would cry and look at the stars as if wanting them to drop her mum from the skies.
“Dad, why is Ollie always crying at night?” Brinnie would ask her dad every morning.
“I guess it’s because… er… she hasn’t seen her twin sister yet. She would miss her a lot, you know,” he would always answer.
He tried to talk to her but she would always promise to stop. She reduced in her grades at school and stopped being the ever-ready-to-help Ollie. She became much more quiet, shy, and less friendly. Lorna discovered Ollie’s new behaviour and tried to talk to her, but Ollie would burst into tears and run away from the spot if asked any question.

TODAY WAS SATURDAY and the sun shone at its best. Lorna was going to pay Ollie a visit on this beautiful Saturday. She was supposed to follow her parents and siblings to the park but she preferred going to Ollie’s house. Her parents agreed for her to visit Ollie and they went to the park.
She quickly went to Ollie’s house and rang the bell. She was dressed in a waist-length denim jacket with silver studs, pink rib-knit tank top, a denim jeans, and pink moccasins. She wore a silver-stud earring; her long hair fell at her back. She entered into the compound and saw Ollie and Brinnie at the sun shade in the lawn. Ollie saw her as she entered the compound and she ran to meet her.  
“So you’ve come to visit me today, Lorenina,” Ollie said after the greetings and they both giggled.
“Yeah, Daisy and Darrell together with mum and dad went to the park,” Lorna replied.
“Why didn’t you go with them?”
“I wanted to come here,” she said and they both walked to the garden. Sam and Ciara were playing in the garden and Brinnie was learning songs from a song book. Ollie arranged the sheets she’d been using to draw, her paint brush, her paint and her sketch board. She helped Brinnie to gather her song books, and they all went inside the house. Brinnie went into her music room while Ollie and Lorna went into Ollie’s room.  
They settled down on Ollie’s bed which was warmly cladded in pink flowery bedclothes. The pink velvet drapes were drawn and flickers of sun rays filtered into the room.
Ollie excused herself and went to the kitchen. She collected four empty ice cream cones, opened the ice cream bowl, and scooped ice cream from the bowl into the cones. She laid them on a smaller bowl and put it on a tray. She collected few bars of chocolates, choc-ice, and few strawberry cheese cakes. She took them to the room and laid the tray on the table.
“Care for some choc and ice cream?” Ollie asked Lorna.
“What else would I ask for,” Lorna said and beamed with delight.
Ollie collected an ice cream cone and passed one to Lorna, in no time they’d finished the ice cream.
“Thanks for the ice cream, Ollie,” Lorna said cheerfully.
“You’re welcome,” Ollie replied.
“You sound dull Ollie, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Ollie replied with a tinge of hurt in her voice.
“Anyway, my mum had finally agreed for the sleepover. She said I’m goin’ to have it all through the break before our exams. That’ll be from today till Tuesday,” Lorna said excitedly.
“Yeah,” Ollie replied and sighed.
“Yeah? Is that all you’re goin’ to say?” Lorna asked with a deep feeling of hurt. “I suppose I shouldn’t have told you.”
Silence followed thereafter and all that could be heard was the munching of chocolate bars, chirping of birds, Brinnie’s melodious little voice and Sam and Ciara’s shrieks of laughter from the garden.
“Er… Ollie, what about your mum? I haven’t seen her for yonks!” Lorna asked her eyes on her last strawberry cake.
“She’s… gone.”
“I know she’s travelled, Brinnie told me so, but when is she comin’ back?”
“She’s not travelled.”
“Then where is she?”
“Gone.”
“Gone? You mean …” Lorna said in wide-eyed amazement.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me since?”
“I… I… couldn’t,” Ollie said and started sobbing.
“I’m sorry, Ollie, I didn’t know,” Lorna said and went closer to Ollie who had her face covered with her palms. Lorna raised her head and she buried it in her bosom.
Few minutes later, when Ollie had calmed down and they had finished their cheese cakes, they decided to go out and play with Sam and Ciara.
“Ollie, I’ve got some bad news,” Lorna said soberly, still sitting on the bed.
“What is it?” Ollie asked sitting on the bed.
“It’s about Stacie.”
“What happened to her?”
“She got ran over by a car. She ran across the road when we went to buy some sweets before I could see her,” Lorna said sorrowfully.
“Sorry about Stacie, she was an exciting cat. When did it happen?”
“Two months ago, just down the streets.”
“How did you come over the loss?”
“Well, like you always said, I just had to believe she’s always real even though I can’t see her.”
“That’s right.”
“Of course, and I think that’s how you should act. Haven’t you noticed that your grades at school have reduced at school and our exams are starting next week? What’s really wrong with you?”
“I dunno.”
“I hope your sisters don’t know of the news yet.”
“No.”
“So when are you goin’ to tell them?” Lorna asked in a low tune.
“I’m going’ to tell Sam and Ciara soon but I don’t know ‘bout Brinnie yet.”
“But you’re not goin’ to let this drain your thoughts, Ollie. She still lives in your heart if only you can believe,” she said and paused. “Whenever her picture comes into your mind, just let your heart guide you in everything you’ll do and not your mind.”
“Right,” Ollie said and kept quiet. She wanted to say more but she couldn’t. She felt tongue-tied.
“You have to come out from your shell Ollie, learn how to smile again, how to laugh, how to play, how to help and enjoy friends again. You don’t have to kill yourself with thinking,” Lorna said.
A short silence followed after, until Lorna got up and sat down close to Ollie.
“Sorry Ollie, but you have to move on. Now, you have to take the good with the bad and always smile even when you are sad. You have to always love what you have and remember what you had. Now give me that beautiful smile of yours,” Lorna said flashing her whole set of teeth.
Ollie looked at her, looked back at her fingers, and gave a wry smile. Lorna’s face nearly went red as a beetroot.
“Not that kind of smile,” Lorna said and looked around the room. “Just like that,” she said and pointed to a picture of Ollie and her mum. She didn’t know if it would hurt Ollie if she saw her mum’s picture, but she had to do it.
They both had faces full of smiles and Ollie looked really beautiful in her sweetheart gown with fitted red velvet bodice, puffed sheer sleeves covered with tiny hearts and matching floor-length bouffant bottom. It was on her fifth birthday. Ollie looked at the picture and smiled, for she was yet to realise that smile was a language of love.
Lorna looked at her just in time to see Ollie smiling. Her mum had really given her a beautiful gift.
“Do you know your mum gave you a beautiful gift?”
“Really?”
“Of course, so you have to smile always so that your mum would be happy wherever she is. At least, you have one,” Lorna said smiling. “Let’s go out and play with Sam and Ciara,” Lorna suggested.
“But I’ve not read.”
“All play and no work makes Ollie a dull and boring girl. Don’t worry; I’ll revise with you after play and during the sleepover.”
“Thanks.”
“Let’s go outside,” she said and got up.
Ollie felt much better, better than before. They called Brinnie and they all went downstairs to the garden.
Ollie began to laugh again, because it was the music of her soul. She began to smile because it was a simple, mind touching, interactive, long-lasting, effect that wins the heart. She helped and enjoyed her friends because it was the source of her happiness. She began to dream because it was the picture of her future. She began to play because it was the secret of her being. She began to love because it is one sacrament of life.