1870
Dear Victoria,
This is your humble subject writing you an update on my new experiences in the new world. I have already learned so much about the world and life. The biggest lesson I have learned is that life is not predictable. You can make all the plans you want, but life has another plan for you.
I can assure you that Tombstone was nothing like Great Britain. There were no green fields to be seen. The main street was very wide and had no pavement. It was just sand. There was a wooden path outside the shops where people walked. The shops were small except for the saloon. There were not really side streets. It looks like people just built their houses where there was a place.
So there I was standing at the edge of this town in the middle of nowhere. It was so different than I was used to, that I just stood there looking at it. A part of me was mad at my parents. Out of all the places in the world, why did they pick here? It was so foreign and strange for my brain and eyes. I wanted to cry, but I looked back at Shirley and she was crying for the two of us.
I knew that I had to be brave. I was, of course, disappointed my aunt was not here to meet me, but I convinced myself that the coach was late and things would be better when I found her. Tombstone was a small town, so finding her would not be hard.
First I looked back at Shirley that was just standing there crying. I walked over to her and told her to follow me. I would take her somewhere that was safe. She stopped crying from one second to the next and asked me to carry her bag. I looked her in the eye and said that she was not a spoiled celebrity here and she can carry her own bag. I nearly had to laugh as she stood there looking at the travel bag wondering how she would carry it. She looked at me wondering if I was serious. I told her I would ask the man in the ticket office where my aunt lives.
The ticket man was looking down in some ledgers and despite I was ever so polite with him, he just grunted and moaned when I asked him if he would kindly help me. He did not even look at me. I once again asked him if he was kind enough to help me where the orphanage was and where I could find my aunt. I did not understand him at all. He just continued looking down at his books and the only words I could understand was him telling me to leave him in peace.
Shirley stood next to me finally and smiled as she said she was ready. The rude man looked up at her and was shocked when he saw her. He asked in clear English if she was not “Curly Top”, the child star. Shirley was smiling as she said she was visiting the west and asked the man if he could not answer my questions.
“The orphanage is at the edge of town and this child's aunt lives in a small hut outside the town. I can show you where they are!” He said.
Shirley smiled and told him there was no need. He asked if she could at least give him her autograph.
I started walking to the orphanage as Shirley was following me and struggling with her travel bag. I was cursing under my breath because I was so mad. That rude man did not even see me. It was only because he recognized a child star that he helped us! On top of this, Shirley was asking me over and over why we were going to the orphanage.
It was here I noticed the first thing about this child star. While my parents told me to think before I speak, as it will show how intelligent and reflective I was, Shirley was the opposite. She did not think. She spoke before she even started to think. Gone was the quiet girl I met the day before. Now she was talking non-stop and asking question after question. As I was busy finding the orphanage, she was chattering and complaining about carrying a half-empty travel bag.
Walking with her became a nightmare when she shouted she knew what would help. Then she started to sing as loud as she could. Her voice was like someone hammering a nail in my ears. It made me think once again on why she was so famous. Why was I the only one that thought she sounded like a dead ghost when she sang? I was raised to be polite, so I did not complain.
We found the orphanage, which was a simple house that was used as an orphanage. There was no one there, which was strange. We found the girl's dorm and pointed at a bed and told Shirley that looks empty. She stared at it and asked me where I would sleep. Then I told her that I had to find my aunt, as I would be living with her. Shirley slumped at the bed and asked where she would live?
I sat down next to her and put my arm around her. I explained that my aunt was expecting me. I told Shirley that since she was an orphan, she had to stay here. Then I smiled and said she was lucky, as the big cities could not live without their celebrity. So some agents will hear she was and find her and she would have her old life back. I promised that we could write when she went back to the big city.
Shirley was silent again and said, “ I can never get my old life back. My parents were killed.”
I told her she had all her fans. I started to walk out. For some reason, I felt sorry seeing Shirley sitting on her bed, looking into thin air. It was as if she could see no light at the end of the tunnel. She was often an orphan in her plays, and now she was one in reality!
I started walking through town again and found my aunt's shop. It was empty. I just stood there wondering what was happening. Where was my aunt? I only had one choice left and that was to find her house.
I did not give up hope yet. I knew that I could find my aunt somewhere. So I started looking for the cabin where she lived. This was no easy feat as there were so many small houses. Some looked cozy while some looked like a shed. I asked people along the way if they knew where she lived. So the hunt to find her was like a challenge. I would be sent to one house and they would show me to the next house. It must have been the last house I found. I was so happy that I could see my aunts name on the door,
I knocked and as the door was not closed, it opened due to the force of knock. There was nothing there. The little house was empty. There was a plot of land outside and that was empty of any farm animals. I found an apple tree and ate an apple because I was so hungry.
I sat on the floor in the corner and started to cry. My aunt no longer lived here and who knew if she was even dead or alive. I was in the middle of the wild west surrounded by desert and I was all alone. My parents were on the other side of the world and they thought that I was being taken care of. I remember seeing Shirley on the bed thinking there was no hope. My situation was just as bad. The one big question I had in my head is what I would do now!
I fell asleep on the cold wooden floor.
I was woken up with a girl looking down at me. She looked like a beggar girl. It was nearly dark, but I could see that her dress was old and torn and muddy. She was looking down at me with a smile on her face.
“So your an orphan like me!” she said. I looked at her and told her I had no money to steal. She smiled and said she would never rob anyone. Her name was Lila. She sat down next to me and her smile disappeared. She told me she once had a happy family but they all died of typhus. She tried being at the orphanage, but there were never any adults. The children we left to fend for themselves. No one was there when they cried and no one cared how they looked. They hardly went to school. So Lila told me that she left the orphanage and now goes from to farm where she works for meals.
I was starting to feel sorry for her and thinking this was my fate. She could see that I was feeling sorry for her and told me not to. Lila explained that she worked for the food she had. She learned a lot about life. Even though she was homeless and looked like a beggar girl, she had dreams. She wanted to own a restaurant one day where she served great food.
I fell asleep thinking of Shirley. She was in that orphanage and no one would be there to notice her and give her the comfort she needed. I do not know why I thought of Shirley so much. I knew it was not because she was famous. Why did I worry about her and even think about her? I knew she could be the most annoying and spoiled child that I ever met. I would grind my teeth by her just speaking. Why was I thinking about this girl as I was trying to sleep?
The next day, I walked to the orphanage and picked a bed next to Shirley. She was not there. I wondered where she went. I laid on the bed that was better than a cold floor. Lila was right. There was no adult in the orphanage all day. After a few hours, A woman came by to deliver a pot of food. I asked her if she worked here. She left mumbling some words. I could not believe that the town employed her, as she did not give the children what they wanted. They needed more than food. They needed someone who would be their mom while they were there.
Shirley came later that day. She did not even ask why I was there or welcome me. She was in a bad mood. She explained that she went to the theater and even the saloon asking them if they wanted to have her sing there. The man at the theater said he never heard of her. She could be famous in the East, but she was not famous here. He told her no one wanted to listen to a child singing. It did not go much better at the saloon. The barkeeper shouted that no children were allowed.
I opened my mouth to tell Shirley why I was there. I am sure that she would enjoy my story about my aunt and Lila. Maybe it would show her that she was not the only one that experienced bad things. Just as I was about to speak she continued talking about how famous she was in the East and even people in Europe knew about her. How could people not even know who she was? I tried telling her I also experienced a lot. I even tried telling her to shut up. Shirley continued until she fell asleep.
The next morning, I heard some whimpering. Shirley was on the side of her bed. I tried telling her that today would be a better day. She looked at me and whispered that she wet her bed. I did not say anything. I changed the sheets of her bed while she looked at me.
We decided to walk and explore the town. As we walked, I asked Shirley why she did not help with the bed. She skipped along and smiled as she shrugged her shoulder. She could not hear my teeth grinding as I told her I was not a maid. Shirley had to accept that she was a normal girl now. There were no posters of her here and no one cared if she had curly hair or not.
Shirley told me one of the other children said there were mines We should go and explore them. I told her that sounds dangerous and they most likely were dark and cold. Shirley just smiled and told me that there could be gold and everyone knew that at the end of a mine was a secret place where fairies and unicorns lived.
We fought until this nicely dressed woman asked us why we were fighting. I told her Shirley wanted to visit the mines. Then Shirley started arguing again until the woman told us that they were too dangerous. Her name was Miss Zetey and she told us that some children were even kidnapped and forced to work in the mines. She made us promise that we would not visit the mine. I was happy when Shirley smiled and said that she would not go in the mine.
As soon as Miss Zetey went to continue her shopping, Shirley started skipping away. I asked her where she was going. She told me she was going to the mines.
The mines?????
I reminded her that she just promised not to visit the mine. Shirley smiled and said that she will keep that promise. She would not visit the mine where the kidnapped children were. She would just find another mine. I must admit that I could not understand her reasoning. Did she just promise not to visit one mine? There was another thing I did not understand. Why did I follow her?
We spent all day walking through the dry prairie land. Shirley kept on trying to cheer me up telling me that the mines were on the other side of the hill. I believed her when she told me on the first hill. I began to doubt her when she said the same after the seventh hill and I was frustrated after the tenth. Shirley was smiling all the way and even tried singing songs.
I got mad at her and told her that I was going back. Shirley looked disappointed but knew that I was mad. She tried singing until I told her to shut up. I consider myself a nice person. I had two faults. The first is I had no time for people that were dumb or rude. My second fault was that when I was annoyed, then I was in a mood that was dangerous. It was not nice when I was mad or annoyed. The best thing was just let me calm down.
Shirley was not dumb. She was just a spoiled celebrity that thought the world revolved around her. She had a chirpy personality and as I said, she spoke before she thought. The girl could test anyone's wits, and that happened to me on the way home. Shirley knew I was annoyed, as she stopped singing and tried to keep up with me. She kept on begging me not to leave her and that she was sorry. I just grunted and after a few hours, we reached town.
I sat down on a bench outside the printers. Shirley sat down next to me. Once in a while, I could feel her looking at me. Once in awhile she whispered that she was sorry. I looked at Shirley and could see tears flowing down her face. I knew that I was the only one she had now and she was probably thinking that I would leave her to her fate.
Part of me wanted to do this. I was raised to be a good girl. I made sure I was dressed properly and my ponytail was always perfect. I respected the adults and did what they wanted me to. I loved learning and wanted to be a constructive part of society. In other words, I was the perfect child!!!
I could not say this about Shirley. She had a hundred things in her mind at once. She wanted to experience things and have fun. She never thought about if things were dangerous or not. She was not the perfect child. Only her spirit and charm made her something special.
Shirley was afraid that I would leave her. This being said, I did not want her out of my life, I do not know why. Maybe she reflected a side in me that I tried to suppress. Maybe it was because she was becoming a good friend. I put my arm around her shoulder and said we should promise each other that we will be together like sisters from now on and protect and take care of each other.
I made that promise.
Shirley made that promise.
Her promise did not last long. The next day I woke up and Shirley was sitting on her bed holding her traveling bag. I asked her what was she doing.
Shirley said that she was leaving the orphanage, as a lady and man wanted to adopt her. She smiled at me and said, “Don't worry. I changed the wet sheets.”
My mouth was wide open. Shirley was getting adopted and about to leave me
What about our promise?
Your Subject and friend,
Sarah
PS. In my next letter, I will write about the Devon's,
ns 15.158.61.7da2
