You Did It, Little Girl!

Crash! Smash! Drip! Drip!

Shirley woke up with a start and looked around. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

She looked out of a window beside her bed. It was pitch dark. The sky was overcast with clouds and it was raining cats and dogs. Shirley turned her head towards the clock. 

“Past midnight,” she mumbled.

She stepped out of her bed, slowly marched to the hall and switched on the lights. It was cold and she drew her shawl closer to her.

“This place is becoming like a polar region!” Shirley shivered.

It was the month of November and Greensbury enjoyed winter where temperatures sometimes dropped to seven degrees. Suddenly she heard loud thunder and observed streaks of lightening. The house help, Shayla was sleeping in the other room. Shirley remembered how hard Shayla worked all day. 

She whispered, “I won’t wake her up.”

Shirley suddenly felt that her throat was parched and darted to the dining table. She took her water bottle and took a sip of water.

Her eyes fell on the book, “Greensbury’s Legends” which sat there staring at her longingly.

Shirley lived in the gorgeous city of Greensbury with her mom, dad and Shayla. Her mom and dad were out of station for an emergency surgery.

“A Doctor’s life is always hard work!” Shirley exclaimed taking the book in her hand.

Shirley recalled the contents in the book. Her grandmother was a brilliant author and had penned down the lives of her ancestors in the book. The book had about 50 chapters and Shirley had completed barely half of it. Her ancestors had settled in Greensbury to make a living. 

They were skilled in carpentry and architecture. Most of the buildings in Greensbury were designed by them. Greensbury flourished during this time and brought her great grandparents to limelight too. One such expert work, done at the age of eighteen, by her grandfather with his team was the “Green Tree Dam” which was more than 100 years old.

“What an astounding history!” Shirley appreciated lazily flipping through the book.

“It’s so nice of mom to gift it for my birthday,” she remarked when suddenly found a loose paper sticking out of the book.

She was about to open the book and Whoosh! A huge gust of wind blew into the hall. It was from the window she had opened a while ago. She sprinted across the room and hurriedly closed the window before heading back to the book.

“What was in that loose note that was sticking out of the book? Where’s the note now?” she stammered.

She looked high and low for the note. It was under her dining table itself. She ducked under the dining table, caught the note and was about to unfold the note when another sound distracted her.

Clank! Boom!

Shirley kept the note on the sofa and went towards the sound. It was from the kitchen. She realized that the utensils had slipped off from the basket. Careful not to wake Shayla, she placed the utensils back and retreated to the note.

“And it’s gone again!” Shirley exclaimed, putting her hand on her forehead.

After what seemed like forever, Shirley noticed the note under the sofa. She stretched her hands out and finally brought the note out when it blacked out!

The room was pitch black. Shirley couldn’t see anything through the murk.

She clenched her fists and whispered, “Candle…Candle…I have to get a candle….”

She unlocked a drawer in a cupboard in haste and took out a candle and a matchbox. She kept the candle on the dining table and patiently lit it. Clutching the candle, she trailed to the sofa and to her dismay, the note was absent. She kept the candle on the floor.

Shirley declared, “If I was the teacher of that note, I would definitely give it a D grade! It keeps disappearing all the time.”

She ran her hand into the first crease of the sofa but could not feel the note. Krrr! Krrr! To her great surprise, the note was in the second crease.

“Finally!” Shirley sang while heading to the dining table with the candle.

The note read:

“Everywhere water, go leaks, make your, dear dam, it creaks, well dream, made breaks!”

Shirley was puzzled. 

“What a weird message!” Shirley commented, “But it has to make sense isn’t it?”

She tried to circle alternate words to make sense.

 “Everywhere go make dear it well made.”

It did not work. She then noted down the second words after each comma.

“Water leaks, your dam creaks, dream breaks.”

“It makes sense! But what does this sentence mean?” Shirley pondered.

The candle died abruptly. She fretfully dashed for her mobile which was on charge and immediately turned on the flashlight to rummage through the remaining chapters of the book paying attention to the ending.

“Enough of drama, time for action,” Shirley grimaced.

With many thoughts in mind, she zipped up her woolen sweater, thick raincoat, rainboots and gloves. She scribbled a note for Shayla before rushing out:

‘Going out. Will be back in two hours.’

Outside the house, the puddles had become running water. She waded through the water amidst the blowing storm.

When she was a child, she had played near the dam most of the time. She knew the way to the dam perfectly well but this time when she reached there the situation was disoriented. People in charge of the dam were struggling to unlock the dam to let water out. 

Shirley muttered, “I know grandfather had built this dam as a savior to the city on the Gunny Sea, not only for generating hydroelectricity but also to shield Greensbury from floods. What an old yet strong edifice! And today we are all going to drown if the dam doesn’t give way…...”

Her thoughts were interrupted by an ear-splitting uproar of thunder. People were discussing worriedly about what to do next loudly and were pacing around with sad faces.

She was in a dilemma. The dam wouldn’t open. What was she supposed to do? It was a question of her city, the one which saw her childhood…The city where her history lies…The city that was building her present!

Shirley was muddled at first but later she took a deep breath and looked up. It seemed as if the steep steps that led to the top of the dam had chosen her.

She murmured, “I can’t disturb the workers here. They are trying hard and may succeed in opening the dam up. I must climb these steps at any cost. If I don’t, the water will turn into a gush, then a rush and then a roar. My city will be ruined.”

With full determination, Shirley took the first few steps. The climb became sharper and precipitous and things started getting difficult.

Clash! Thunder struck.

Pitter Patter! Rain drops fell on Shirley.

Swishhh! The wind pushed Shirley backward.

Shirley gripped the railing and held on firmly. Abruptly, her raincoat blew off due to the vigor of the wind.

“Brrr!” she quivered. 

She added, “I’m getting drenched. But I must do this.”

She willfully moved forward and forward. The steps were dark, rickety, extremely uneven and worst of all – slippery. On her next step, she slipped and lost her balance. However, her hold was so tight that she didn’t roll down.

Shirley balanced herself and commented, “Ladder built out of stone. What an amazing architecture. But this thunderstorm…It is so unforgiving.”

The last few steps were endlessly spiral, cramped and very narrow.

“Ugh! Almost there…almost there…almost…” Shirley panted.

She squeezed herself into the steps and sat breathlessly on the last step.

“I will try to open the dam from here now. As per the book, after climbing the stairs, the second lever is on the right edge of the dam,” Shirley recollected.

Mustering all her energy she stood braving the storm at the top and looked frantically for the lever. Wind was blowing stronger than ever. Hard raindrops knocked her and she was feeling exhausted.

She could see the entire city from the top being battered with the thunderstorm. A shiny white metal gleamed at the side of the dam. Shirley pushed it with all her stamina. No luck. 

“More energy Shirley!” she motivated herself, “We are almost there.”

She pushed and pushed and slowly and steadily the lever worked. And Lo! The dam opened and water gushed mightily into the sea. Shirley let out a huge sigh of relief as she sat down with tears of joy.

The workers below were overjoyed and puzzled as to how the dam opened up. They looked up and saw a girl on top of the dam and wondered how she got there. They rushed to her aid and helped her climb down safely.

 “Is it you Shirley? How did you open the dam?” a lady enquired, perplexed, lending Shirley an umbrella.

“Yes, it’s me! Oh, that’s a long story. What an adventure in the middle of the night!” Shirley responded.

“Please tell us!” a journalist enquired excitedly. A crowd with umbrellas gathered around Shirley with a huge applause.

“……and all thanks to our ancestral history, ‘Greensbury’s Legends,” Shirley completed the entire adventure.

“You are so brave. You risked your life for the city. May God always bless you,” the crowd appreciated.

“Thank you so much everyone,” Shirley replied gratefully.

“But…But…. How did you know that the dam was not opening?” the same lady inquired.

“Ah! That’s the most inexplicable thing. The credit goes to this queer note!” Shirley said gratefully.

And she took it out of her pocket and showed it off proudly. “This one!” Shirley exclaimed, “This is my grandfather’s handwriting. It is signed by him.”

The crowd dispersed with cheers and words of praise.

The next day, her mom, Flora and her dad, Donald came back and hugged Shirley with an envelope titled, ‘You Did It, Little Girl!’ Shirley opened it eagerly to find an invitation note from the President of Greensbury.

The next day was a big day for Shirley. In the gathering, amidst loud applause, Shirley received a gold medal for her determination and perseverance from Her Highness Fabiola Brown.

Her Highness Fabiola, posing for a picture with Shirley, enquired, “Shirley, what do you want to become when you grow up?”

Shirley replied, “A soldier. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost for my country.”

The proud parents looked on while Shirley took out the mysterious message from her pocket and kissed it with gratitude and respect.