What would they be without me? Beggars! Thieves! They’d be rottin’ in prison! Damn ingrates! I’ll show ‘em all!
* * *
The first week of classes passed by uneventfully. Rosalie focused on conventional methods of teaching, but she saw that those provided little result. The girls would barely be able to focus, their minds always lost somewhere else, somewhere outside the window that opened up in front of the girls’ desk.
Rosalie knew that with extraordinary pupils she would need to have extraordinary methods. So, that morning, shortly after breakfast, Rosalie informed the girls that they would be going outside for a singing lesson. The girls had no objections to that. They did seem a little confused, as to why a singing lesson needed to be held outside, but they didn’t inquire at the reason.
They followed Rosalie into the woods once again, all three of them with the same sensation of peace and freedom. Rosalie had evocations of her first night here once more, but the darkness in her mind dispersed quickly. She’d been there more than a week, and this had been the most carefree week of her life. She didn’t have to perform and show herself to those who were willing to pay for the privilege to leer at her. Instead, she was in charge of two curious little girls who were trying to make sense of the world, just like she had been trying.
“Here is fine.” Rosalie stopped in a little clearing. A few birds chirped in the distance. “There! Do you hear that?”
“The birds?” Madeline asked.
The girls were both dressed in matching empire style gowns, green in color and with a yellow belt. To Rosalie, they looked like little fairies who came out to play in the woods on a sunny day, when no one was looking.
“Yes,” Rosalie nodded. “What we are going to do now is try to emulate the bird’s song.”
“But I don’t know how to chirp,” Madeline chuckled.
“Or even whistle,” Cecilia added, shaking her head.
“You don’t need to know either,” Rosalie smiled. “A simple la-la-la sound, following the rhythm of the bird’s song will be enough.”
“But that is just silly,” Madeline exclaimed. “It won’t make any sense. I won’t sound like a bird at all.”
“Well, the purpose is not to sound like a bird,” Rosalie explained gently. “It is, rather, to sound like yourself.”
Madeline seemed to ponder this idea for a moment, then she smiled. “I can do that.”
“You certainly can,” Rosalie assured her. “Just listen to the song, then try to repeat it as best as you can.”
All three of them remained quiet for a few moments, waiting for the song to commence. After a while, their effort paid off. A most beautiful bird melody spread in the air around them. Rosalie closed her eyes, enjoying the moment.
“Can I try now?” Madeline asked once the melody died down.
“Of course,” Rosalie nodded.
Madeline cleared her throat importantly, pressing her little hand on her chest.
“La, la, la, la, la…” Her voice started off softly, but Rosalie could barely hear her. With every subsequent la, Madeline’s voice grew in power, certain of the melody and of the sound.
“That was lovely!” Rosalie clapped, and Cecilia joined in.
“It really was, Maddie,” Cecilia added.
“Now, you try,” Rosalie urged the introverted sister this time.
Cecilia’s voice was more melodious, but her confidence kept pulling her back, not allowing her voice to fully shine. Rosalie immediately noticed that, and with a little bit of practice, Cecilia’s singing voice would be pure perfection.
“All right, now tell me, which instrument do you think is the closest to the sparrow’s chirping?” Rosalie asked.
“A violin?” Cecilia wondered aloud.
“A flute!” Madeline offered a different reply.
The girls started singing the la-la-la song of the birds, giggling sweetly once it was done. The wind rustled the leaves softly, adding its own melody. Rosalie couldn’t imagine a more wonderful day.
“Both wonderful guesses,” she smiled, seeing that the girls were enjoying themselves.
