Where to Start.... How About A Little Tabitha!

Welcome to the first installment of Notalotabull Press Storytime!

We thought we'd begin with Tabitha's Magical Voice by Tiffany Prochera - a story about a young girl who hates her voice but discovers it, in fact, has magical powers that can save a village from destruction... if she's willing to use it. 

Here's Part I

Tabitha didn’t like her voice. In fact, she more than didn’t like it. She hated it with a passion. Sure, people told her she could sing just fine but she assumed they were just being polite and didn’t believe them.

No, whenever Tabitha opened her mouth she could hear all the little squeaks and the going off tunes and they drove her crazy. She wanted to like her voice because she secretly loved singing but she thought she was so bad that she couldn’t even bring herself to sing Happy Birthday in a crowd. She thought that she shouldn’t sing at all, ever.

But Tabitha’s little sister, Caitlyn, loved her voice. She kept asking Tabitha to sing to her but Tabitha had come to dislike her voice so much she started saying “No.” Caitlyn would beg her and beg her, even to the point of tears, but she would still refuse.

On Caitlyn’s fifth birthday, friends and family came to the house for a big party.  After games had been played, food had been eaten and presents had been opened, everyone gathered around the dining room table for cake.

Tabitha’s mother stepped out of the kitchen carrying a huge cake with pink and white frosting, multi-coloured balloons drawn on top and a big candle in the shape of a five standing up in the middle. Caitlyn’s eyes grew bigger than her head when she saw it and she clapped her hands with delight.

“Happy birthday to meeee!” she squealed.

“Alright everybody,” Tabitha’s mother said excitedly, “On the count of three. One, two three.”

Then the whole room full of people – grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends from her pre-school class - started singing “Happy Birthday” to Caitlyn. Everyone except Tabitha, who kept her lips tight together in case a note decided to try and escape. Caitlyn noticed Tabitha’s mouth wasn’t moving and her excited grin turned into a sad little frown. She stared at Tabitha with disappointment in her eyes.

“Tabby, why aren’t you singing for me?” she asked. She looked at her mother, “Mommy, Tabby isn’t singing for me.”

The party guests became quiet, wondering what the big deal was. Tabitha’s mother didn’t want to attract attention but she couldn’t just ignore the birthday girl’s concern.

“Tabitha, please.” she pleaded softly.

“Mom,” Tabitha protested in a whisper, “you know I don’t like -”

“I know it makes you nervous, honey, but it’s her birthday.”

 Then everybody else joined in, trying to be encouraging but making Tabitha feel even worse.

“C’mon Tab, show us what ya got!” said her grandpa Joe.

 “Why on earth wouldn’t you sing “Happy Birthday” to your own sister?” asked her Aunt Cathy.

 “Really, you don’t sound that bad.” said her cousin Brad.

Tabitha’s head was swimming with fear and confusion, all of those people staring at her. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone? Then she got mad, at her sister for caring whether she sang or not and at her mother for making a fuss about it.

“NO!” she screamed, “I don’t want to sing! I am twelve years old! I am not a baby and I don’t have to do it if I don’t want to! Leave me alone!”

The guests gasped, surprised at the outburst. Tabitha slammed her fist down, sending a fork flying off the dining room table and onto the floor with a little bit of frosting landing on her dress. She ran out of the house with only thin slippers on her feet instead of real shoes. As she raced towards the wooded area behind the house she could hear her mother calling after her and her father saying, “She just needs time to cool off. She’ll be back soon.”

 Tabitha didn’t want to go back, at least not until everyone had left the house. She was angry at them all and was so embarrassed for making such a scene. Tears ran down her face until she could hardly see through them. She was getting warm running in the summer heat with the sun still shining very brightly in the late afternoon. She kept running and running and the woods became darker and darker until she had gone further into the woods than she had ever gone before. She slowed down to a walk, worried now that she might not be able to find her way back to the house.

Stay tuned for Part 2....  

And if you want to download your copy of the Tabitha ebook, head to www.tiffanyprochera.com.