The Girl and the Stolen Fiddle

Stephanie Julia Gibson

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN:
  9781666724721
• Print ISBN:
  9781666731798
  9781666724714
• Subtopic: Women in Fiction

Melinda has lofty ambitions, but she is left with no way to pay her college tuition when she gets fired. She jumps at an opportunity to not only pay for her education but to live easy for the rest of her days. All she needs to do is return a stolen violin. However, the task leads her to a strange kingdom that she would trade every penny to escape. She is dragged into a quest to help save the people of this world from their cruel ruler. A tyrant king controls the light, forcing the people of this land to live in a dark underground village to survive. Although this is the most beautiful and wondrous place Melinda has ever seen, it is full of pain--the light, like flames, destroys everything it touches.

chapter 1

“Get your hands off that!" Mrs. Aidan Odessa sat bolt upright in the sterile bed. Her hair and skin had the same starched crispness about them as the sheets. "Put it back," she bellowed. “Put it back this instant."

My left hand lay flat on the cold tile floor; my right hand grasped the perfect neck of the violin.

"I don't know what this world is coming to.” Her eyebrows came together like thunderclouds. "People think they can waltz in and stick their noses anywhere they please."

I'm not sure why I took the instrument from its place on the shelf. I had never rifled through any of the residents’ belongings before, and if Mrs. Aidan Odessa hadn't been sound asleep, I would have kept to the standard laundry rounds. Mrs. Odessa was still castigating, but my eyes dropped to the instrument resting in my hand. The dark wood was as smooth as a song. Silver strings lay over an ebony neck. Absolutely gorgeous—but it was the lack of a bow that first caught my attention. This beauty had no way to be played.

I meant to only take a quick peek. I had gingerly raised the fiddle from its case—not a bow in sight. I turned it over in my hand and admired the polished wooden surface. It was carved from a single piece of wood—a mark of high craftsmanship. I was thinking to myself what an excellent tone it should have when Mrs. Aidan Odessa's shrill voice startled me, and I fell, fiddle in hand, to the floor.

“Young lady, this may be a nursing home, but that doesn’t mean you can disregard a person’s privacy.”

I nodded, trying to look repentant. I wonder how much trouble I will get into for this. Hopefully, just the standard lecture from Aunt Milly.

I now pushed myself up and stood to face Mrs. Aidan Odessa directly. “I’m sorry, ma'am, would you like me to tune it up for you?"

"Get out! Out!" She lobbed a pillow at my head and began reaching for more ammo.

I ducked and hurriedly re-shelved the fiddle and ran into the hall, making sure I was out of sight. A pen clattered out the door behind me. She was still muttering as I snuck away. Whoever said, ‘it is better to ask forgiveness than permission’ has never met Mrs. Aidan Odessa.

I shuffled the tired old laundry cart into the next dingy room. Most of the residents here did not bother with the overhead light. Bits of sunlight squeezed through thickly curtained windows, but the result was only more shadows draping across the dungeon-like chambers. Rainy days were unbearable.

The first bed was empty. The blankets of bed number two rose and fell to gentle snoring. With one swoop, I gathered up bed number one’s dirty laundry. I'll never get used to that smell. I tried to take my mind off my task. Perhaps Mrs. Odessa had been in an orchestra in her sprier years. Maybe she had some forgotten fame and played for wealthy families—people do that. She was probably a bluegrasser. I smirked at the image of Odessa in overalls playing “Turkey in the Straw.”

The laundry cart crashed a little too hard into bed number two. I lunged forward, and my hands clenched the plastic handle. The blanket continued its steady snore—up, down, up. I let out a sigh of relief. "Good thing nobody has any hearing around this place." I backed the cart out the door and started into the next room.

“Melinda, can I speak to you for a moment?

How’d she find out so fast? “Be right there, Aunt Milly.” I let the laundry cart roll into the hall and collide with the wall—leaving a dark gray streak. I winced. I hope Aunt Milly didn’t see that.

“My office, please.”

I sighed. In-the-office lectures were always the worst.

“Melinda. How many times have I told you to be respectful of the residents here?” My aunt’s southern draw was thicker than anyone around here, and nothing was more important to her than manners and respecting your elders.

“I wasn’t—”

“You were invading Mrs. Odessa’s privacy.”

“Aunt Milly, you know how she is.”

“I know how you are.” Aunt Milly’s eyes were stern, but she wouldn’t stay mad at me for long.

“I will try to do better.” I turned to leave.

“Have a seat, Melinda.”

“I understand, Aunt Milly; I’ll respect the old lady’s privacy from now on.”

Aunt Milly didn’t look up but pointed to the chair.

I groaned and slouched into the overstuffed armchair by the door.

“This is a perfect example of what we need to discuss. I’ve tried to be patient with you, but you are pushing your luck.”

This was going to be a much longer lecture than I had anticipated.

“I understand this is a temporary job to get you through school,” Aunt Milly said, “but let me tell you right now, your disregard for procedure and disrespect of this establishment will not get you anywhere in life.”

“Aunt Milly, most of the regulations are a bunch of pointless hoops to jump through.”

“The rules are there for a reason. Even if you don’t know that reason, you will respect them.”

“I follow the rules!”

Aunt Milly gave me the look.

I shrugged. “Unless they are stupid rules.”

“It is more than that. You need to get out of your own world and start thinking about others a little more. That is what I have been trying to get across to you for years.”

She had said it fo...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 20
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 22
• Chapter 23
• Chapter 24
• Chapter 25
• Chapter 26
• Chapter 27
• Chapter 28
• Chapter 29
• Chapter 30
• Chapter 31
• Chapter 32
• Chapter 33
• Chapter 34
• Chapter 35
• Chapter 36
• Chapter 37
• Chapter 38
• Chapter 39
• Chapter 40
• Bibliography