Secrets

Chapter 19

One of the greatest feelings in this known world could be argued to be awakening in a pleasant mood in the morning. To have a smile across ones' face, to see the emerging sunlight with bright, clear, happy eyes, and to feel that everything in the world is going your way after a good and restful night under a warm blanket. The great sensation could be enhanced further with a butler standing next to your bed with a plate of blueberry pancakes and freshly squeezed orange juice, which could define what kind of day you would have. However, that is a topic to be discussed at another time. This refreshing state of mind could be considered ideal for all humans to experience, and one would hope that if everyone woke up like this, the known world would be a much more relaxed, easy-going, and optimistic one. Despite this hope being a wonderful one, it does not apply to the world known to you or me.

Often people wake up in the morning in a grumpy and miserable mood. One such reason could be because they must arise early in order to catch the morning trolley or battle standstill traffic jams while attempting to go to work in the city. Another possibility is that an individual went to bed late due to streaming television on their devices or repeatedly sending messages to friends and loved ones into the late hours. Perhaps a person is sick and is not able to sleep comfortably because of a terrible cough or congested sinuses; or the most likely probability would be that they spent a restless night tossing and turning in their beds thinking of the unanswered questions surrounding their lives, worrying about an upcoming business meeting, or mourning the loss of a loved one. All of these suggestions are often why hardly anyone wakes up in a positive disposition, leaving the world in a sad, irritable, and ill-tempered state. Therefore, it can be seen as important to treasure the rare events when a person feels refreshed and energized after a long night's sleep.

Like it was for many people before her, it had become extremely rare for Holly S. to wake up in an extremely good mood. One could often assume that she had not woken up happy or in cheerful spirits since the time she was six years old when her mother was still alive. Ever since that horrible day, she would likely toss and turn during the night grieving and lamenting over why she had lost her mother, and more recently fretting over the questions about her family and past that had not been answered.

At one time in her life, the young girl probably would have arisen in a good mood because she would have fallen asleep listening to her mother's violin music and woken up in the morning knowing that both of her parents would be there to greet her. She would then enter the kitchen to see her mother smiling as she cooked eggs on the stove and her father reading the newspaper over a cup of coffee. This memory would be in great contrast to her life now, where she was falling asleep in deadened silence and awakening to an empty or quiet house with neither parent around to greet her. She would then enter a dark kitchen and make her breakfast alone before beginning her mundane routine of schooling and trying not to be sad all day.

However, the day after her date with Duncan Quagmire, Holly was in much better spirits as she had slowly recovered from those sensations of falling and overall feeling happy for spending time with a person, she was extremely fond of. According to several accounts engraved on the benches in nearby parks, the girl felt as though nothing could ruin this wonderful and no one could spoil it. She had come down to breakfast with a large smile that had not wavered, even when she was being given foul and grumpy looks from other students. She'd sat through her morning class with the very same expression and now she waited with her lunch until she saw the dark hair and eyes of her date, followed by his sister and their three very exhausted friends.

After taking one glance at the Baudelaire orphans, seeing the heavy bags under their eyes and the way they winced as they walked due to being so very sore, the euphoria vanished, and immense guilt filled her stomach because while she was having a fun and relatively romantic evening with her crush, her friends were at the mercy of Count Olaf, a man who likely had always awoken grumpy and ill-tempered in the morning. She could tell that the Baudelaires themselves had not woken up in a good mood, nor had they fallen asleep in a good mood, or gotten any in the middle due to them staying up night after night. She decided then that her pursuit of happiness needed to be put on hold while she attempted to help people who meant a lot to her. Although, she did give a small knowing smile to Duncan, who returned it before beginning to eat their terrible lunches. Unfortunately, due to circumstance, the friends had not been able to meet up until this particular time of day.