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And wonders of His love…”
I sang too from my seat loudly, and of course, Odette wouldn’t let me get away with half-assing. She extended her hand to me, and I rose, getting on stage with her.
Shaking my head, I sang and tried to dance with them.
The things this woman got me to do. It really was a miracle.
“You are a really bad singer, King Galahad,” the first magi said to Gale as we talked with them. The look on his face was so funny.
“Excuse you, I am not that bad. It is just that she is so good!” He put the blame on me.
The little boy thought about it and nodded like he agreed with his assessment. “Yeah. It’s like that when we sing next to Olive. She is good, too, but she gets scared all the time.”
“Shut up, Oswyn!” the little angel next to me yelled, to her father and mother’s horror, and they came rushing up, but I held up my hand, winking to them before bending in front of her.
“Is your name Olive?”
She nodded. “I’m Olive Francey.”
“Nice to meet you, Olive Francey. I’m Odette. You have a wonderful voice.”
“Thank you, miss…I mean, ma’am.” She changed quickly, picking at her fingernails.
“Can I tell you a secret, Olive?” I asked, putting my hands over hers.
Again, she nodded.
“I used to be just like you. I had the throat bug, too,” I whispered though I was sure everyone could hear.
“The throat bug?” She reached up to her neck.
“Yep.” I nodded, touching my neck.
“The bug messed with me. Every time I wanted to sing and there were people around, it would lock my voice. And it was really scary too because everyone was looking right at me. Sometimes I would get so scared I’d freeze or cry or both.”
Which was why when I saw her, my heart sank. I knew what it was like to want to do so well but just couldn’t get your voice to work. Then afterward, everyone looked at you with disappointment, which only made it harder to sing the next time.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“A lot of things,” I said honestly. “I would close my eyes and sing, trick the bug into thinking no one was there. It can only see what we see. Sometimes I turned around. But one time, none of that worked, and I almost messed up in front of the king.”
“Really?”
“Really, but the king called out to me, and it made me realize the bug didn’t mind me singing for him. So I focused directly on one person and forgot everyone else was there. Whenever I thought of that person, I could sing anywhere. Whenever I wanted. And the throat bug went away. Do you love to sing?”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t stop even when it feels hard or scary. You can beat the throat bug.”
She giggled when I touched her neck.
“One day, I hope to hear you sing again.”
“I will!” She nodded.
“I hope you will sing for me, too,” Gale said, coming up beside me, outstretching his hand for me.
“Yes, sir,” she said.
