April 10, 2011

Sasha sat in the third row of her History class, listening to her teacher's lecture detailing their next lesson. Mr Gus was a somewhat elderly man with gray hair sticking off the sides of his head and some of the students thought him eccentric but she found him to be very smart. Sasha got a few looks from some of the students in her classroom, but just ignored it. Sasha lived in New York with her mom, and just her mom because her father had died of few years ago of cancer and life was never the same since.

"Now I want you all to think about something," Mr. Gus, was saying to them. "Life comes at you fast, and it goes by you even faster. You didn't think the Summer would be over this fast. When you were in first grade you didn't think twelfth grade would come this fast. The more your life goes by the closer you come to the end of it, so you've got to enjoy it while you still have it. Any day of your life has to be a good day, and no matter how tough things get don't wish you're life away to a better place that probably doesn't exist. What I'm saying is I am giving you an assignment on the Titanic."

Some of the classmates groaned. Sasha silently whispered, "Cool," to herself, for if she said it aloud, she would certainly be picked on. She was a big fan of history and she enjoyed learning everything she could about it, in fact it was the only thing that cheered her up.

"I want you to write an essay on the tragedy about what your impression is of it. It's due in a week." Mr. Gus said. The bell rang and the students grabbed their backpacks and their books and then walked out of their classroom, to their lockers.

Sasha put her stuff in her locker before she walked outside to the front of the school building. She went over to the bike racks where she picked out her bike and hopped onto it and rode away down the sidewalk.

As usual, before she rode back to the apartment building she and her mother resided in, she turned across the street and then around the corner where she stopped in front of the old antique shop which was owned by Mr. Valentini, who was a friend of hers. She parked her bike outside of the shop and entered through the door, hearing the bell above it chime as she did so.

She found Mr. Valentini sitting behind his counter where he was surrounded by shelves upon shelves of many curious and wonderful looking things, most of which looked more than a hundred years old. Mr. Valentini himself looked almost like he was a hundred years old, though he was actually in his seventies. He was also of Italian descent and spoke with a somewhat noticeable accent. Sasha really liked him and would come here just to visit him whenever she could because she found him to be so warm, and kind, and above all, understanding of anything that was troubling her.

"Bouna sera, Sasha!" Mr. Valentini greeted her jovially. "What is new with you today?"

"Not much," she replied as she came over to him and sat down on the stool that was nearby. "Just I have a new assignment in history and I'll be at the library more often once again."

"I see," said the old man. "What will you be writing about this time?"

"The Titanic," she replied. "You know, the most famous shipwreck of all time."

"Oh yes," he said solemnly. "I remember studying about it when I was your age also. And I also remembering learning I had an ancestor who had perished on that ship also. One which I never knew, of course, but I remember hearing he was very young, not much older than you."

"Mr. Gus says learning about your history can make you think about how fast life can pass us by and how we shouldn't waste any of it," Sasha said reflectively.

"And he is certainly right," agreed Mr. Valentini. "In fact, I think you should be learning not just about things of history like the Titanic, but also more things about yourself and so be able to live your own life more fully."

Sasha frowned and said, "That's what my Mom always says also, and so did Dad before he passed away. But still I just don't know how to do that."

"And the reasons you don't know how to is because you are afraid of what other people will think of you always, no?" Mr. Valentini said with sympathy in his soft voice. "And youa re afraid to take any risks because you are afraid of what kind of consequences they will bring. I understand perfectly. All I'm saying is you mustn't grow as old as I am and yet never really have lived before your life is done. You just need to learn to take life as it comes at you, to make each day count."

Sasha thought reflectively a moment. "That sounds very wise."

"Well," Mr. Valentini replied, "I don't remember where I heard it from but I think it was an old saying in my family, of a friend of my family. Anyway, another thing that might help you to seize the day, as they say in my old country, is to find someone to help you do so."

"Do you mean like a boyfriend?" asked Sasha frowning again.

Mr. Valentini nodded. "I suppose so, yes."

"But that is impossible for me to have, even if I wanted one," Sasha said miserably. "Because I can't imagine anyone liking me for just me, let alone loving me. No one understands me better than you do, but I know none of the ones my age can. They call me a geek or a loser, and the worst of it is they're probably right."

"There you go with your negative way of thinking yet again," Mr. Valentini said sadly. "You must also learn to think about things with love and respectful for not just others, but for yourself, especially for yourself because you are such a special girl, if only you knew it."

"I'm sorry," said Sasha, "but it seems I don't know it."

Mr. Valentini appeared to be in deep thought for a few moments and then the light of a new twinkle appeared in his aged and wizened eyes. "I know just the thing for you then," he said decidedly.

He then went behind the counter and to the back of the shop and Sasha watched him as he appeared to be taking something off of a higher shelf. When he came back moments later he was holding in his hands a small ceramic angel that was playing a lute and had a cherub sitting at her feet playing a harp.

"Now," Mr. Valentini said, "this is for you to keep."

Sasha frowned sadly and said, "But I already told you I could never afford to have any of your things around here, and besides I don't even believe in angels."

Mr. Valentini only smiled and replied, "Oh no, no, you don't need to pay for this piece, it is a present from me to you as you are a special girl like I said. And also, you do not have to actually believe in angels to like them, as this one is magical."

"Magical?" asked Sasha in confusion.

"Yes," replied Mr. Valentini. "You see, she plays music." He then turned the angel on its side and turned a small golden handle in it and then a soft little melody began to play.

"Well, that's very nice to listen to," Sasha admitted with a small smile. "What song is it playing?"

"I do not know," replied Mr. Valentini. "And that may be what is magical about it. Please do take it."

So Sasha finally relented and took the musical angel from his hands and placed it into her backpack. She then left the shop, got back onto her bike and rode away home.

When she got home she went into her apartment and found her mother busily cleaning as she usually did whenever she came home. Sasha would sometimes clean their apartment also though she didn't enjoy it. She took off her backpack and took out the small ceramic angel and went with it upstairs to her bedroom.

She sat down onto her bed and held the angel in her hands for a moment completely entranced by it. She turned the handle a moment and then listened as a little melody began to play. It was the sweetest thing she had ever heard, even without words to it. It was so gentle and soothing it relaxed her and she sighed and leaned back on her pillow and let it her soothe her to sleep.