“You seem very close. Frankly, I thought you’d come to tell me the good news.”
“She’s a woman!” Anna jabbed her finger at Melody. Then herself. “I’m a woman!”
Sister Annabelle shook her head somberly. She clasped her hands in front of her chest as if in prayer, the broom nowhere to be seen. Then she donned a holy, godly smile. “Love is love, my child. We mustn’t let societal preconceptions preclude us from that most sacred of gifts. I, for one, believe that the lies we tell ourselves will one day be made plain regardless before the only one who matters. So please, do away with them.”
She had an excellent view of Anna’s fuming from all the way up on the moral high ground.
“I can’t be any more plain than this: You are misunderstanding the situation!” Just when Anna was beginning to question if the front of an orphanage was the right place to have this argument, someone giggled. “Melody?”
“You look like more than acquaintances to me,” Melody laughed.
Sister Annabelle blushed and cupped her cheeks. “Do we? Yes, well, I do think we have a special sort of relationship.”
“Oh, really?” Melody exaggerated her shock. “The married variety, perhaps?”
“Melody!” Anna snapped. There were no allies here. None for her at least.
Sister Annabelle gasped, playing her part well before succumbing to giggles herself. “I’m flattered, but if I were to marry, I’d rather my husband be a tad closer to me in age.”
“Why are we doing this all over again?! Can nuns even marry?! Why am I the husband?! And did you just turn me down?! Agh! Give me a break! I can’t be mad at everything all at once!”
In front of an orphanage was indeed an awkward place for this skit to play out. Anna panted, her shoulders heaving up and down. She didn’t even have the energy to care anymore. Then someone snorted, followed by an explosion of laughter.
Anna gaped as Melody and the nun busted their guts at her expense. Her confusion quickly turned to annoyance. “Melody.”
“I’m sorry,” she snickered. “You took it so seriously.”
“Wh-what was I supposed to do?”
“It was obviously never anything more than a joke, but goodness, the way you reacted.”
Anna’s cheeks burned, the egg on her face nearly scrambled. “Th-this is all your fault, Sister!”
“Forgive me,” Annabelle said, tittering. “I suppose it did get a little out of hand, but I meant it when I said you looked very close. You’ve never visited us accompanied by anyone but your lonesome self, and when you finally do bring someone, you have matching bags! Heaven save me, you’re adorable.”
Anna wailed in frustration. “Stop reading into things! Here! These are for you!”
“Anna, I don’t believe she was teasing you that time,” Melody said calmly.
This, of course, only embarrassed her further and made her face burn hotter.
Satisfied, Sister Annabelle clapped. “Now, now, we could stand here bickering the day away, or we could go inside, ladies.”
“True,” Anna sighed. “Wait, this is still your fault!”
“It is my pleasure to welcome you to our humble home!” The nun beamed and waved them inside.
“Anna’s back!” someone squealed.
“Anna!” shouted another. “Hi, Anna!”
“Anna, come play with me!”
“I-inside voices, everyone!” the star of the show pleaded. “One at a time! Quiet! My skirt is not for pulling!”
Annabelle had escorted Melody and Anna to the dining hall, where they delivered the fruit and hoped for a bit of peace after the hubbub outside, but when the kids noticed the arrival of their favorite person, they shattered that hope. There would be no peace for Anna. The kids ate her alive. With love, of course.
“This tea is delicious,” Melody said. “I’ve never tasted anything like it.”
“Why, thank you. It happens to be a special brew I made out of herbs I grew myself,” Annabelle said. “Would you like the recipe?”
“I’d love it.”
A safe distance away from the chaos engulfing Anna, Melody and the sister enjoyed a quiet moment. The children showed little interest in the sister, and Melody was a stranger to them, so all of their pent-up energy went to Anna.
“They’re a lively bunch,” said Melody.
“Don’t I know it. Especially because it’s been so long since they last saw her.”
Anna shrieked. “What did I say about pulling hair?!”
Annabelle and Melody watched Anna get poked, prodded, tugged, and made generally uncomfortable in every possible way, and yet they felt no urgent need to rescue her. The kids clearly loved her. That alone made the trip worth it to Melody.
“All right, all right!” Anna said. “To the courtyard! Everyone behind me!”
The kids cheered in agreement.
“You’re with me, Melody!”
“I’m going to chat more with Sister Annabelle.”
“Why?!”
“It’s you they want to play with, not me. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah!” the little ones shouted, nodding enthusiastically.
Anna had no words.
“I’ll be there shortly, rest assured, if none of you mind me joining, that is.”
“Yeah!” they shouted again.
Anna groaned. “Fine. All right, outside, everyone. Go, go, go!”
One final shout.
“Go!”
“Careful! Nobody trip!” Annabelle called after the miniature stampede, doubtless to no avail. It didn’t seem to bother her. This was the status quo, and her serene expression said she treasured it.
“Anna seems used to this,” Melody said. When she mentioned visiting this place, Melody hadn’t expected her to be this popular. It was quite the shock when that swarm rushed to consume her.
“She means a lot to this orphanage. She’s our own goddess of fortune.”
“Goddess? Of fortune?”
Sister Annabelle explained how their funding had been gradually whittled away for years. She described the squalid state they’d once endured.
“Those were trying times, but we made do. If you aren’t aware, the price of goods in the city has been rising for some time, and eventually we reached a tipping point. We simply couldn’t afford anything.”