Stained Glass Songbird

When I was a young man I never took much into account in my life other than the "big 

picture". The little details that make up something greater in life were ignored or worse, 

unappreciated. I went about my life without direction and without concern of my place on this 

earth other than what the world had to offer me to ease my occasionally troubled mind. When I 

was at the age thirteen years old however, I discovered that at times the most meaningless of 

events can have the most incredible impact in a person's life. Nothing is trivial. My life changed 

after one little song in a shop at what is considered the "happiest place on earth". However my 

happiness did not come from something as commercial as a corporate theme park with its 

foundation built on mouse ears. No, such joy came from a timid and humble source which I shall 

remember always.

        This event took place at night in a little shop selling stained glass sculptures in 

Disneyland. All the glass was beautifully blown into magnificent structures with the utmost care. 

The colors twisted and swirled around the beautiful smooth glass work. Hues of reds and blues 

were spread so beautifully around the familiar forms of Disney classic characters which I loved 

when I was younger. There were two sections to the shop; the one near the entry way was 

crowded and full of commotion. People couldn't help but bump into each other as they looked 

through the fabulous craftsmanship. The cacophonous racket this structure held was a companion 

to this constrictive crowd which pressed their faces into each other. The other section of the 

room felt like a world away from the hustle of the crowd in the other part of the store. The air 

was silent and the section practically empty. There was no overlapping crowd whose 

combination of deodorants and cheap perfumes could assault my nostrils. This is where I heard 

the most calming and soothing song. The song ensnared me and took away all cynicism and 

arrogance I once was comprised of. The one who sang this spellbinding melody was as beautiful 

as her songbird voice.

    She was a young girl, around my age at the time if I had to estimate. She was but a few 

inches shorter than I and she was thin yet full in physique. Yet despite her age and youthfulness, 

her eyes were as though they belonged to an old soul, not someone as young as her. They were a 

hue of blue as soft and as pale as her porcelain skin. Her hair was a golden blonde and what I 

imagine to be as soft as silk which flowed to her shoulders. Her hands were clenched together as if 

the song she sang was a message to all things divine. Truly a boy being as meek as I at the time 

was enchanted by this sight and humbled was I before her. Despite this captivating allure to her 

appearance however, what I shall remember most was her song and the impact it had on me.  


      Her voice echoed through the corners of my mind but seemingly unnoticeable to the 

crowd at the other side of the shop. Her voice was as refreshing as a summer breeze and the 

sound was a chorus of one. The notes and melodies which came from her lips was a mixture of 

euphoria and bliss which controlled the airwaves. Her voice could be soulful and deep and then on 

a turn of a dime it would become soft and thoughtful. I was hypnotized by her control of sound 

which could create a vivid tapestry of the brilliant things that could be accomplished to make my 

life as magical as that moment.  So captured was I from this sound I could feel my chest being 

pulled to her as if I were metal to a magnet. My common sense however prevented me from 

coming closer for fear she may stop singing and thus my feet were cemented to the floor until the 

song ended. Her song taught me that there is always light amongst the shadows and my 

melodrama ceased to exist. No longer was I in a darkened state, I was free. Her song was beyond 

auditory paradise, she was an epiphany. 

     
      What her song was about I cannot recall nor is it important. It was the way she sang 

however which meant the world to me. I must emphasize this fact for it is something I have 

learned on my short time on this earth. At times the way something is expressed in the most 

important thing. How you think and how you feel can mean so much more than what is actually 

said and done. This is what I meant when I said that nothing in life is trivial. This small little scene 

which perhaps meant little to nothing except for I who witnessed it became a fine chapter to my 

life.