Since I cannot have the lyrics in here, it pains me to say I had to take them down. I never said they were mine, nor (technically) did I say the song was Celtic Woman's. I said the best version to listen to (and the version I think of most of the time) is that one. For all any of you know, the version Espie sings is the Josh Groban version. Honestly.
I was trying to HONOR the song by writing this story around it. I never claimed it was mine, just the idea of the story. I feel like a bit of my freedom of speech was violated. Yes, I know piracy is wrong, and if I see a story that is word-for-word someone else's, or if the story is JUST lyrics (without a story inspired around it) I will feel the need to warn them or report it. I wanted to honor the song (by whomever it was originally sung/made—I actually don't know), as well as fathers and families in general with this one-shot.
Don't bitch that I have the last lines of the song (that is clearly NOT MINE) still in here. Without that last line, this story is nothing and I'll be damned if you force me to take that bit down. It's the heart. The soul. The reason this story exists.
So, without further ado, here's the edited version of You Raise Me Up.
I own nothing you recognize as canon.
*~You Raise Me Up~*
An Esperanza Grace Valdez Fanfiction
"Mrs. Enyart? Can I talk to you?"
The principal of New Athens High looked up from her desk and smiled. A sheepish Latina, known as the usually loud and boisterous Esperanza Valdez, stood in the doorway to her office. She was twirling a finger through one of her black curls nervously.
"How can I help you, Espie?" Mrs. Enyart gestured to the chair in front of her desk. "Please, go on and sit."
Espie shuffled forward and sat down lightly. Her foot tapped. "Sorry for bothering you, Mrs. Enyart. I, uh, have a request."
"What about?"
"The graduation ceremony."
Mrs. Enyart fixed her glasses. Many students had come up to her in the past to ask to change the ceremony. Most of the requests were too much; asking for rock concert interludes, flames, to do away with boring speeches. They were just whimsical fancies that didn't really fit the traditional flow of a graduation.
"Miss Valdez," she started. "I should warn you that most changes to the program don't actually happen. Many have tried in the past."
"This isn't much, I swear." Espie tapped her fingers on her legs. "I just…This is more of a request about a song the choir sings."
"Did you already bring it up with the director?"
"Not yet. I wanted your approval first. Mostly because…I'd like to involve the rest of the senior class."
"You do realize that many of the students are not descendants of Apollo and are not gifted with lovely voices. Your brother is one such example."
Tulio Valdez, Espie's twin brother, was a worse singer than their father, Leo. The only time he'd actually sung something well was when he'd been charmspoken before a concert in Vegas. That's another story, though.
Espie nodded. "I know. I'm not asking much. But I've noticed that when we sing things at campfires or even the school song, everyone seems to be in a good harmony. I don't ask that everyone be, you know, in tune. I just figured they might want to sing along."
"What is the song, then?"
Espie told Mrs. Enyart the plan. She told her the song, the idea, the reason, and how it would be executed. She'd mulled over it during Christmas break and now was ready to put the idea forward.
Mrs. Enyart was impressed. No, she was astounded. A tear was ready to fall from her eye. She wiped it away and smiled. "What inspired this?"
"I was watching the Christmas special for Celtic Woman and thought of it," Espie said casually. "It felt like the perfect song to sing for, y'know, the parents."
The principal nodded. "Then go right ahead and talk to your choir director about it. And tell the graduation committee to place it in the program."
"Can they not?" Espie asked. "I mean, I'll tell them we can do the song. But, can we not put it in the program? I want it to be a surprise."
"Of course."
"Also," the legacy of Hephaestus continued. "Can my sister, Aria, do the violin solo?"
"I suppose, but that's more of a question for the director, isn't it?"
Espie rose. "Thank you, Mrs. Enyart! I'll make this the best graduation you've ever seen! Trust me!"
She rushed out. Mrs. Enyart smiled, nodding. "I do trust you."
Esperanza Valdez was in the last line of students to get their diploma. She was lined up on one side of the stage, Tulio the other. Both of them wore Honor Society cowls and she had a yellow rope draped around her shoulders.
Espie spotted her parents in the front row, out by the stands. The graduation ceremony was being held outside on the football field. Parents and family members were sitting in the stands, and handicapped and elder people sat on the ground level, where the football team and cheerleaders usually sat.
Leo, who was bound to a wheelchair as of three years ago, sat in the front, smiling proudly. Calypso was sitting next to him, with Zac (the youngest Valdez at seven years old) on her right. Aria, the eleven-year-old middle child, sat on Leo's other side, her violin tucked away, but ready.
Espie felt amazing. She and Tulio would be the first in the Valdez family since the original Esperanza (their grandmother) to graduate high school and go off to college. Calypso hadn't been to college, mostly because she hadn't needed to in her youth (which had been around three thousand years ago, give or take), and Leo…well, he'd been the master at his profession long before he was even old enough to graduate high school. Plus, he'd never even graduated high school anyway!
Espie's name was called. She walked proudly onto the stage. She heard her father's cheers over everyone else in the crowd. She was his daughter, his pride and joy.
Espie took the diploma from one of the teachers, went down the stage steps to shake hands with Mrs. Enyart, received a rose, posed for a picture, and went to a reserved seat in the front. Tulio copied her movements, but returned to his seat in the back. Leo and Calypso noticed and exchanged a confused glance.
When everyone was seated again, and the applause for the seniors died down, Mrs. Enyart took the microphone.
"Students, teachers, parents, siblings, family members, and friends," she began. "Normally this would be the time I ask all of the graduating students to switch the ropes on their hats to the opposite side. However, there's one more thing to be done.
"In January, a student—a senior—came by and asked for a request in changing the graduation ceremony. Normally, I'd say no. Rock bands, bike stunts, and handheld fireworks are just not traditional."
The parents laughed. The students chuckled, though some kind of pouted.
"This senior asked my permission to sing a song, which would involve the senior choir members, the band, all the seniors sitting before you, and one eleven-year-old. I asked her for the reason. I think you should all hear it before she sings. Esperanza Valdez, please enlighten them."
A round of applause arose as Espie nervously walked up to the podium. Mrs. Enyart patted her on the shoulder and sat down in the staff area below the stage.
"Good evening, everyone," Espie said into the microphone. "My name is Espie Valdez, daughter of Leo and Calypso Valdez, and legacy of Hephaestus. Mrs. Enyart said there was a song to be sung. I'll get to that in a second.
"It occurred to me over winter break that during last year's ceremony, as well as a few previous, there was something unsaid. Something that should be mentioned. Here it is:
"We students of New Athens High are all very smart. We're talented in our own ways, whether we be artists, architects, mechanics, love experts, battle-ready teens, or even thieves who do Lord Hermes proud."
The students smiled, the legacies and children of Hermes actually chuckling.
"But we didn't get that way on our own. No, we…we had help. Sure, some of us are children of Apollo or Athena and having those abilities is something we take for granted. Some of us are legacies with similar standing to the direct children. But we all have something in common. Somewhere all of us has at least one parent who isn't a god, one that raised us and taught us how to survive the world. Some, like me, have two.
"That's who this song is for. This is for all of the parents. You taught us right from wrong. You guided us, directly or indirectly, every step of the way. You told us we were strong, that we could be anything. Do anything. Sure, you've been thanked along the way, but I actually didn't hear you guys get thanked at the most important step in a teen's life—right here at the graduation ceremony. This is the height of all you've taught us. We made it. We're making you proud."
Aria stood up and took her violin. She stepped across the field and stood by Espie's side. The senior choir members stood and took their places in the choir bleachers next to the stage. The rest of the choir stood nearby. Senior band members went back to the band. The seniors began to shift in their seats, awaiting what came next.
Espie took the mic out of the podium. "Moms, Dads, step-moms, and step-dads, grandparents, and guardians…this is for you."
She nodded to Aria.
The eleven-year-old began a tune on her violin. In her hands, it was expertly played. The tune was sad, yet hopeful, and with each passing note, the hope rose. The melody echoed into the night. Aria leaned into the music, dragging each phrase beautifully.
When she finished with a held out note, the piano began to lead in Espie, whose unmatched, beautiful voice rang out softly.
When I am down, and oh, my soul so weary...
Aria played some more as Espie continued the song, this time accompanied by a senior clarinet player and flutist. The harmony was beautiful, touching the hearts of the crowd. Already there were tears in parents' eyes.
Espie's voice echoed through the night. Her singing was even more beautiful than Calypso's, Leo thought for a moment as he became entranced by his own daughter's voice. Long ago, he'd been the same the first time he was in the presence of Calypso's singing. Sans Calypso, Esperanza Valdez's voice was unmatched.
Espie continued in the song. The band softly played behind her, the volume slowly rising. She went up and down the aisle between the groups of seated seniors quickly. Each time she passed a row, the seniors stood. When Espie was finished with the chorus again, all of the seniors were standing, sans the band members.
Espie finished the chorus slowly and sweetly. The senior trombonist played a soft melody that lasted a measure or two, then rose with the senior band members at last. The rest of the band would continue playing.
Suddenly, all of the seniors erupted into the chorus loudly and faced their parents in the stands. Though many of them were terrible singers on a normal basis, the melody came out crystal clear, just like when they were to sing the national anthem or the school song.
It was at stormy seas that the senior choir members chose their entrance and echoed stormy seas with great pride and harmony. They continued this for the rest of the song, except the very end. Espie's voice was drowned out, carried along with the current stream of loud voices singing to the parents.
Then, they hit the end of the chorus for a second time.
The seniors stopped singing. The choir continued on, but lowered their volume. The band softened again. Now only Espie could be heard once more.
Espie was walking toward the crowd, making a direct beeline for her parents, all the while continuing the song.
The piano hit a few chords once the first lines of the chorus were sung for the third and final time. At the final ...on your shoulders, the choir faded away.
Espie crouched down onto her knees in front of her wheelchair-bound father, Leo Valdez. Calypso was already crying. Leo's eyes brimmed with tears ready to fall.
Espie took her father's hand. "Papi," she said into the mic. Her voice was shaking. It took all her willpower not to break down when she sang the last words:
You raise me up…
To more than I…
Can be.
Aria and the band held out their last notes as Espie hugged her father. The crowd cheered. The seniors howled in approval. There was not a dry eye anywhere. Into the microphone, Espie said happily, "I love you, Papi. Mom."
She stood up, and faced the rest of the parents. "To all the parents and guardians and family members who have helped us make it this far…"
She spread her arms. Every senior shouted, "WE THANK YOU!"
Espie left her parents and returned to her seat. Her brother, in the aisle next to her, nodded approvingly.
Mrs. Enyart took the mic again and announced that the seniors had graduated. Hats flew into the air. Confetti rained from nowhere. Silly string suddenly appeared and tangled into everyone's hair. Horns blew. People cheered.
And in the front row of parents, one man was crying. Happy tears poured down his cheeks and he sobbed in joy for his babies. His children were grown. They had graduated high school and were off to college in the fall.
Leo cried out in pure joy. Calypso joined him.
Espie and Tulio ran up to their parents and initiated a family hug. Zac and Aria joined in. Together, all members of the Valdez family cried happily. Among the tears and sobs, Esperanza and Tulio kept muttering, "Thank you. Thank you."
A/N: Story ruined. Hope you're happy. I'm now crying out of anger that I cannot express myself the way I wanted. Life sucks. Boo hoo. Eventually I'll move on. Let's see if I can vent by creating another chapter somewhere. More than likely, it'll come out in artwork.
That teaches me to try something inspirational.
Happy Father's Day anyway.