Next day morning Erika woke up early. Sharp at 6 am , she ran downstairs and waited impatiently for breakfast to be served.
"But its only quarter to seven Miss Shepard " - said the governess briskly . She was surprised that Erika was up so early and is eager for breakfast, A meal she hated. Erika usually has her breakfast late, with the governess herself and most of the day ,her first lecture of the day would be on how insipid the breakfast was and how pointless it was to eat a heavy breakfast after 12 hours of sleep. The governess neither listened nor argued to Erika's lecture and most often pitied her parents for keeping up with the chatterbox.
The Shepard family was small and comprised of Mr John Shepard, Erika's father , who was a priest in the Village Church. Her mother ,Catherine Shepard, was a music teacher. She taught violin in the local school, a sensual instrument played by an unusually beautiful lady, her symphonies were very popular in the village. Catherine and John were a very religious couple and decided that their life is fullfilled by serving the Lord. Erika was hence the only child . The Shepards tried to introduce and inculcate their thoughts and religious beliefs to Erika from a very young age. But Erika had no interest in it, she avoided choirs and hated the violin, when she sang, it sounded like a howling wolf, she neither danced nor painted and unlike other young girls, she hated dolls and brushing her hair.Her mother and father left her to God's will and decided that their prayers will not go unnoticed. But as Erika turned older, their hopes started fading. Eventually they came to terms that Erika was an unruly Child, they let her wander off into the barnyard and didn't care if she knew hymns and prayers. She liked books, so they gave her ample amount of books, as its only when she read that she kept quiet so there were more books in the house than anything else.
Erika seemed to have an opinion of everything, be it food or way the wind was blowing. Her parents were agast as to what is going to become of their daughter. She had no friends and her teachers were complaining about her opinions and speeches. She did however get good grades in all academics except arts and music, much to the disappointment of her mother.
But that morning was different, Erika was fidgety, loud and hopping around. She didnt really talk much except for good mornings which her governess quite obviously noticed. She was aimlessly walking around, mostly peeping into the kitchen to see if Food was ready.
"Miss Shepard, would you like to sit down and tell me if it is sunny enough today?"- asked the governess.
" Oh yes, its the most beautiful day ever "- Erika said but wandered off again. She seemed to be excited rather than anxious which relieved the governess a little.
" Mrs Appleton, Isnt there anything you can quickly put together for me to eat?" - Erika asked the cook
" Oh I Suppose i could warm up some milk and boil an egg for you " - said that chef
" Yes please, that will be most appreciated"- Erika said.
"Appreciated?? "- thought the governess, I haven't heard the child utter that word ever. Something is really not right today, I better keep a close watch on her.
Erika ate up her breakfast without much talk except for something about spiders in her room and once she finished, she ran upstairs to her room and shut the door.She went through her wardrobe and found a smart blue skirt that her Grandmother gifted her last christmas. She wore it with a white blouse, her usual clothing and hat and headed downstairs.
" Where are you off to Miss Shepard " - Called out the governess
"I'm going to the postoffice" - she said loudly " I have an important letter coming in today"
" Erika! Come back inside!"- said the governess " Its only 8 in the morning, Post offices Do not open this early.
Hearing this, Erika got disappointed . She stopped running and came back into the house. Her mother heard all the noise and came down hurridly and asked about the noise. Governess explained the events from morning and Erika was surprised to hear that her governess was getting worried about her quiet behaviour today.
" Whats going on Erika?" - asked her mother. The next one and a half hour was Erika hopping behind her mother, telling each and every detail about her important information and the queen and this and that. Her mother started listening the moment erika mentioned her Majesty's name but as she mentioned the secret service team and her letters , Erika's mother bursted into laughter.
"Sweetheart, there is no such thing as a secret service that personally delivers mails to the Queen"- said her mother
" Mother, you dont know it , that is the reason why its called secret service , its not meant to be known to the public"- said erika
After school, Erika ran to the post office, it seemed as though Erika was running the whole day. She could barely contain her excitment when she reached the post office and saw her secret service friends.
" Good afternoon Mr Winters, I'm here to see if Her majesty has a response for me, I will be most delighted to read her majesty's letter" - she said proudly
The clerk called to his friends . Everyone came together and proudly handed an envolope to Erika.
" My oh My , I cant believe it, is it really from her? " - Erika was squealing with excitement.
" Yes, and she was so happy to see your verrrryy immppoorrtaant message" - said one of the clerks.
" Oh was she? Of course she was ! Oh thank you Mr Winter , Thank you all "- Erika said excitedly
" We'll wait for your response Miss Big.. Er... Miss Shepards" - said one of the clerks.
As Erika left, the men burst into laughter.
Little did Erika know that the Cream Envelope with a Stamp seal was written by Mr Winters himself and that there was really No secret service to her Majesty.
Erika went home and read the letter, she read it in her room, read it in the barn, she ran to the orchard and read it to the trees. For once in her life , she wished she had friends so that she could read the letter to them as well.
The letter was very brief , to the point, no gimmicks. Of course its from the Royal Queen of England, she wont play around with words. Her letter Congratulated Erika for her observation and asked her to update with more thoughts Erika had. It said Awaiting your response ,From the Queen of England.
" I will not hesitate, I have so much work to do, so many issues to take care of" - said Erika
and thus Erika began to write endless letters to the Queen on various topics she thought were important. Each of her letters were received with the same response encouraging her to write more and congratulations. Erika was started to wonder if the queen was really reading her letters as she never answered to her questions and queries but that did not deter her from writing .
Meanwhile in the post office Erika or Miss Big mouth was a laughing matter, the workers would read her kiddish mails out loud during work breaks and they were always hilarious letters to them. The entertainment was soaring till the day Mr Pitts found out about this. He couldn't believe dear little Erika was subject to mockery and her letters was being ridiculed. He snatched the letters from his colleagues and threatened to complain to their superior officer if they do not stop this joke.
" But the child is persistent Mr Pitts, Its not like she can be controlled"- said one of the workers.
"We can stop all this, we can tell her all this was a joke, but it will just crush her enthusiasm sir"- said another
" Yes Yes, he is right, she's only 10 , poor child, We were just encouraging her childish play"- another clerk said.
" Well , I agree , but you must not make a public mockery out of her letters, Lets see, give me the letters "- Said Mr Pitts.
The men handed all her letters and Mr pitts instructed them to hand him any future letters.
Mr pitts read her letters and felt that she was indeed a bright ambitious child and that she could use a mentor who will encourage her in her life..
He thought of who could be a mentor to Little Miss Big mouth for a while till a perfect person came to his mind...
With the letters in hand, he set out to find him.. a real mentor for Erika.
Read Part 1 Read Part- 3
"But its only quarter to seven Miss Shepard " - said the governess briskly . She was surprised that Erika was up so early and is eager for breakfast, A meal she hated. Erika usually has her breakfast late, with the governess herself and most of the day ,her first lecture of the day would be on how insipid the breakfast was and how pointless it was to eat a heavy breakfast after 12 hours of sleep. The governess neither listened nor argued to Erika's lecture and most often pitied her parents for keeping up with the chatterbox.
The Shepard family was small and comprised of Mr John Shepard, Erika's father , who was a priest in the Village Church. Her mother ,Catherine Shepard, was a music teacher. She taught violin in the local school, a sensual instrument played by an unusually beautiful lady, her symphonies were very popular in the village. Catherine and John were a very religious couple and decided that their life is fullfilled by serving the Lord. Erika was hence the only child . The Shepards tried to introduce and inculcate their thoughts and religious beliefs to Erika from a very young age. But Erika had no interest in it, she avoided choirs and hated the violin, when she sang, it sounded like a howling wolf, she neither danced nor painted and unlike other young girls, she hated dolls and brushing her hair.Her mother and father left her to God's will and decided that their prayers will not go unnoticed. But as Erika turned older, their hopes started fading. Eventually they came to terms that Erika was an unruly Child, they let her wander off into the barnyard and didn't care if she knew hymns and prayers. She liked books, so they gave her ample amount of books, as its only when she read that she kept quiet so there were more books in the house than anything else.
Erika seemed to have an opinion of everything, be it food or way the wind was blowing. Her parents were agast as to what is going to become of their daughter. She had no friends and her teachers were complaining about her opinions and speeches. She did however get good grades in all academics except arts and music, much to the disappointment of her mother.
But that morning was different, Erika was fidgety, loud and hopping around. She didnt really talk much except for good mornings which her governess quite obviously noticed. She was aimlessly walking around, mostly peeping into the kitchen to see if Food was ready.
"Miss Shepard, would you like to sit down and tell me if it is sunny enough today?"- asked the governess.
" Oh yes, its the most beautiful day ever "- Erika said but wandered off again. She seemed to be excited rather than anxious which relieved the governess a little.
" Mrs Appleton, Isnt there anything you can quickly put together for me to eat?" - Erika asked the cook
" Oh I Suppose i could warm up some milk and boil an egg for you " - said that chef
" Yes please, that will be most appreciated"- Erika said.
"Appreciated?? "- thought the governess, I haven't heard the child utter that word ever. Something is really not right today, I better keep a close watch on her.
Erika ate up her breakfast without much talk except for something about spiders in her room and once she finished, she ran upstairs to her room and shut the door.She went through her wardrobe and found a smart blue skirt that her Grandmother gifted her last christmas. She wore it with a white blouse, her usual clothing and hat and headed downstairs.
" Where are you off to Miss Shepard " - Called out the governess
"I'm going to the postoffice" - she said loudly " I have an important letter coming in today"
" Erika! Come back inside!"- said the governess " Its only 8 in the morning, Post offices Do not open this early.
Hearing this, Erika got disappointed . She stopped running and came back into the house. Her mother heard all the noise and came down hurridly and asked about the noise. Governess explained the events from morning and Erika was surprised to hear that her governess was getting worried about her quiet behaviour today.
" Whats going on Erika?" - asked her mother. The next one and a half hour was Erika hopping behind her mother, telling each and every detail about her important information and the queen and this and that. Her mother started listening the moment erika mentioned her Majesty's name but as she mentioned the secret service team and her letters , Erika's mother bursted into laughter.
"Sweetheart, there is no such thing as a secret service that personally delivers mails to the Queen"- said her mother
" Mother, you dont know it , that is the reason why its called secret service , its not meant to be known to the public"- said erika
After school, Erika ran to the post office, it seemed as though Erika was running the whole day. She could barely contain her excitment when she reached the post office and saw her secret service friends.
" Good afternoon Mr Winters, I'm here to see if Her majesty has a response for me, I will be most delighted to read her majesty's letter" - she said proudly
The clerk called to his friends . Everyone came together and proudly handed an envolope to Erika.
" My oh My , I cant believe it, is it really from her? " - Erika was squealing with excitement.
" Yes, and she was so happy to see your verrrryy immppoorrtaant message" - said one of the clerks.
" Oh was she? Of course she was ! Oh thank you Mr Winter , Thank you all "- Erika said excitedly
" We'll wait for your response Miss Big.. Er... Miss Shepards" - said one of the clerks.
As Erika left, the men burst into laughter.
Little did Erika know that the Cream Envelope with a Stamp seal was written by Mr Winters himself and that there was really No secret service to her Majesty.
Erika went home and read the letter, she read it in her room, read it in the barn, she ran to the orchard and read it to the trees. For once in her life , she wished she had friends so that she could read the letter to them as well.
The letter was very brief , to the point, no gimmicks. Of course its from the Royal Queen of England, she wont play around with words. Her letter Congratulated Erika for her observation and asked her to update with more thoughts Erika had. It said Awaiting your response ,From the Queen of England.
" I will not hesitate, I have so much work to do, so many issues to take care of" - said Erika
and thus Erika began to write endless letters to the Queen on various topics she thought were important. Each of her letters were received with the same response encouraging her to write more and congratulations. Erika was started to wonder if the queen was really reading her letters as she never answered to her questions and queries but that did not deter her from writing .
Meanwhile in the post office Erika or Miss Big mouth was a laughing matter, the workers would read her kiddish mails out loud during work breaks and they were always hilarious letters to them. The entertainment was soaring till the day Mr Pitts found out about this. He couldn't believe dear little Erika was subject to mockery and her letters was being ridiculed. He snatched the letters from his colleagues and threatened to complain to their superior officer if they do not stop this joke.
" But the child is persistent Mr Pitts, Its not like she can be controlled"- said one of the workers.
"We can stop all this, we can tell her all this was a joke, but it will just crush her enthusiasm sir"- said another
" Yes Yes, he is right, she's only 10 , poor child, We were just encouraging her childish play"- another clerk said.
" Well , I agree , but you must not make a public mockery out of her letters, Lets see, give me the letters "- Said Mr Pitts.
The men handed all her letters and Mr pitts instructed them to hand him any future letters.
Mr pitts read her letters and felt that she was indeed a bright ambitious child and that she could use a mentor who will encourage her in her life..
He thought of who could be a mentor to Little Miss Big mouth for a while till a perfect person came to his mind...
With the letters in hand, he set out to find him.. a real mentor for Erika.
Read Part 1 Read Part- 3
