Herienta is a young high school girl who lives with her mother. Her compassion and tenderness has been mistaken by her schoolmates and neighbors. Only her mother understands her to the fullest, Others see her to be timid and childish. Her silence in serious interactive conversations had made many saw her to be of no essence but only an addition to the world
One day, Herienta was going to school and she noticed a young woman looking stranded and frustrated in the road leading to her school. One mind compelled her to stop and the other pushed into moving ahead. Just after she had walked five minutes,she had a rethink and decided to follow the mind that encouraged her to stop not minding if she would be late to school.
She approached the young woman and noticed her body was as cold as ice. The woman had been homeless for weeks after the loss of her husband. Her husband's relatives presumed she had a hand in his death which led to their kicking her out and deceitfully took all her husband's property. After hearing the story, she felt a strong sense of empathy for the woman and thought of how she could be of assistance.
"I'm Herienta, I will help you, madam," Herienta replied.
"Call me Erica, how possible will that be that you are going to me?"She asked surprisingly.
School was over and Herienta had promised the young woman she would help her. Erica was worried how a young girl of her age who is not independent would be able to help her .
"I would be happy if you tell me where we are taking me to my daughter".
" You will soon find out, I'm too young to harm you. So you don't have to worry, I am as harmless as a dove".
After 20 kilometers from where she met Erica, they got to her house.
"Mum, I'm back,"She said excitedly.
"Welcome my darling, who is this?"
"Mum, I will explain. For now, accept her".
"Come with me," her mum commands angrily as she leads her to their bedroom.
"You know how dangerous it is to harbor strangers, don't you?"
"I know mum but she doesn't look like one who has evil intention and she is stranded and homeless as we speak"
"When does this house look like an orphanage room, Herienta? It's not written on that lady's face, wake up!!. I expect you to be smarter than this, this behavior is making me unhappy with you ". She walked out the door to the sitting room and Herienta followed suit.
"Young woman, with due respect I would like you to find yourself a place, this is not an orphanage home".
Just when she was about stepping out of the sitting room, Herienta was able to convince her mother to employ the Erica to be their grandmother's caretaker since they have been looking for one. This was the only part she was able to convince her mother with. Being a single mom and having her aged mother alone in her family house with no one to assist her has been a thousands of workload for Herienta's mum. Who joggles with work and care taking duty. She accepted and employed her.
For weeks, Erica who worked with gladness took the old woman as her own mother, she would make her laugh, crack jokes for her and read short stories to her.
After one month, Herienta and her mother visited grandma's house only to be surprised at how vibrant, strong and healthy she is. Herienta ran to Erica and hugged her with a huge smile on their faces. She smiled and her appreciation to Herinta could be seen from the sincere smile beaming on her facial expression.
"Herienta has taught me a great lesson the day she brought you the house and was so determined to make sure we assisted you. You were in a state of brokenness and I was unable to read through". I didn't see the happiness I saw today in you the first day I saw you, it's indeed true empathy can heal a broken soul and I'm glad Herienta used her empathy to achieve that".
"I'm grateful for Herienta and I must say, her boldness and fearlessness is unimaginable. I will forever be indebted to her".
The young woman continued to take care of the grandmother as she was taken to be part of the family and no longer a caretaker.
THE END
I AM @marynn,
THANKS FOR VISITING MY BLOG AND FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ MY WORK.
A true good Samaritan! Let's hope she doesn't make a habit of it though or the house will be overcrowded in no time:)
In case you'd like to change it, your heroine is variously referred to as Herienta/Herineta/Erinta.
Hahaha. Thanks dear friend for this comment, I laughed out so loud when I read to the part of "let's hope she doesn't make the habit... ".
I apologise for any confusion. I will check it out right away. Thank you for drawing my attention.
@marynn It is better to help someone with heart, body, mind or money than showing false sympathy in life, that is the best and real sympathy.
Thanks for sharing your lovely story.
Yes, I agree with what you have pen down here @fantom22 . Genuine help is appreciated and valued than a fake sympathy. Showing concern through actions, monetary, time, emotional can a strong difference in the life of the affected person.
Hello @marynn,
This story has a nice arc. You answer the prompt well. Not only is Herienta sympathetic, but her mother learns to be also. Even Erica, in being kind to the grandmother, shows sympathy. You have created a memorable, interesting character in Herienta. She seemed to be a girl with little depth, because she was silent. But inside,there was a person of great character and feeling.
Thank you for sharing this story with us, @marynn. We appreciate that you engage with other authors in the community.
Thanks so much for your awesome words @theinkwell . I'm happy you found the story to have a nice arc. I am also glad you found the characters interesting. I appreciate your efforts in this community and for taking time to read and leave a comment.