How Sweet the Sound

“Oh, Pamela, you have to come! Pretty please,” begged Pamela’s friend Emilie. 

“I’ve already told you Emilie, I’m not going, I’m not a party person,” sighed Pamela. Shaking her head, her golden-brown hair shimmering in the light coming in through the window. 

“But please, it’s going to be fifteen people. That’s it, you promised that the next party we got invited to, you’d go,” pointed out Emilie. Pamela rolled her eyes, knowing that her friend wouldn’t stop until she succeeded. 

“When is this party?” asked Pamela, finally giving in. 

“It’s tomorrow evening! It’ll be wonderful to have you there!” said Emilie, immediately launching into what Pamela should wear and how they would do her hair. 

They talked and talked and the more they did, the more excited Pamela got for the coming evening. 

“Ohh and you have to sing for everyone!” suggested Emilie. Pamela shook her head no. She had the voice of an angel but hated singing in front of a crowd. 

“You know, I hate that I couldn’t sing in front of them,” argued Pamela, shaking her head again. 

“But you must! Your voice is angelic,” praised Emilie. Pamela laughed- she wasn’t that good. 

“Let’s just focus on what we’re going to wear tomorrow,” decided Pamela. Emilie agreed and they started going through their closets, deciding which dresses looked best on each of them. 

Emilie chose a light purple ankle-length tulle on the outside, a lining of silk on the inside, and a snowflake print on the skirt. Pamela chose an ombre, elbow-length sleeved dress that went all the way down to her feet. It had a gold ribbon around the waist. 

Near the end of the evening, they kept to themselves, busy in their thoughts. So busy, they almost burnt dinner! 

They wished each other good night and headed to their own apartment- they lived right across from each other, so they didn’t have to go far. 

Pamela settled in her soft bed, pulling the sheets up to her chin. Too excited to sleep. Thoughts filling her head, one in particular, stayed in the very front. A young, tall man with dark hair and the brownest of eyes would step forward to greet her, then ask her to dance and then, by the end of the night, they embraced with a kiss. This warm thought stayed with her even through her dreams. 

She woke up feeling warm and excited for the day to come. Since it was a Saturday, they didn’t have any classes, so they got their outfits ready and stared at the clock, waiting for the time to turn five. 

“I had the best dream last night where a handsome stranger came up to me and we danced together, then at the end of the night we kissed,” told Pamela suddenly while they were waiting at the kitchen table. 

“Ohh!! That’s amazing! Let’s hope Mr. Mysterious comes tonight,” joked Emilie, winking. Pamela blushed a bright pink. 

“Unfortunately, my luck in love hasn’t been good so far. You remember Justin, don’t you?” reminded Pamela. Emilie nodded sadly. Justin was Pamela’s husband-to-be until he cut things off the day of the wedding. No one really knows why Justin cut things off, so last-minute, but it’s suspected by many members of the family that he had been cheating on Pamela with her second cousin. The blow was hard on Pamela and she hasn’t dated for three years. She decided to focus on getting an education and getting a job. 

“Well, hopefully this man isn’t like Justin,” said Emilie. 

They talked about school and work until it was finally time to get ready. They put on their dresses and did their hair. Applied their makeup and soon they were ready to go. 

They arrived right on time to the house. It was a two-story building and a freshly mown lawn. Music was playing from the inside and as the front door opened and closed, chatter floated out. 

“Are you ready?” asked Emilie, grinning. Pamela nodded, taking the lead to the house. They pushed the door open and it felt like their eardrums exploded. The music was really loud and there were a lot of people in the house. And there were definitely not fifteen people. 

“Hello there!” shouted a voice somewhere off to Pamela’s right. She turned around and saw a tall young man in a fancy suit and tie. It complimented his dark hair perfectly. When Pamela saw him, her heart stopped. It looked just like the man from her dream. 

Instead of replying, Pamela just stood there in shock. She tried opening her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. The man cleared his throat, bringing Pamela back to earth. 

“H-hi,” stuttered Pamela. 

“Welcome to the party, I see you’ve just arrived,” welcomed the man. 

“Thanks, yeah, my friend and I just got here,” 

“You look very nice in that dress,” 

“T-thanks, you look very nice as well,” blushed Pamela. It was like thousands of butterflies were flying around in her stomach. Her dream was turning into reality. 

“Would you like something to eat?” asked the man. Pamela nodded, following the man to a table near the back door of the house. She peered outside and saw there was a pool there. 

I turned my attention to the snack bar- it was full with everything from carrots to double chocolate brownies. Up until that moment, Pamela hadn’t realized how hungry she was. 

She filled up her plate with a little bit of everything. The man also filled up a plate, although not as much as Pamela did. They found two empty seats and sat and started to chat. 

“My name is Jase, by the way,” said the young man. 

“Nice to meet you, Jase, I’m Pamela,” said Pamela. They started talking about school, work, and life. The more they talked, the more the butterflies grew in Pamela’s and Jase’s stomach. 

Once their plates were empty and their stomachs were full, Jase invited Pamela to dance. Which Pamela accepted happily. Once they got onto the dance floor, a slow dance song started to come on. 

He offered me his hand and she took it. His hand was soft and warm. They started to dance. They stared into each other's eyes. Their lips started getting close, their noses were touching. But before they could kiss, the lights and music suddenly turned off. Several people groaned. 

“Sorry everyone, it seems we have a small power outage,” announced someone in the dark. Groans and yells of outrage filled the house. 

“I know! My friend Pamela is an angelic singer and she could sing for us!” yelled Emilie from somewhere in the crowd. Pamela practically melted from embarrassment. She would have to sing in front of everyone. She’d rather kiss Jase in front of everyone. 

“That’s great! Can Pamela please come to me,” asked the voice. There was a phone-flashlight being waved in the air. Pamela felt Jase’s hand on her hand and he slowly guided her to where the flashlight was being waved. He gave her hand a comforting squeeze and let go. 

Pamela quickly thought of a song to sing. Her mind went to last Sunday during church, when they were singing Amazing Grace. She decided to go with that song. Clearing her throat, she started to sing. 

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see,” sang Pamela, her voice rang out through the house like a bell. Silence fell among everyone, all amazed at her voice as she continued to sing. 

“Was Grace that taught my heart to fear, and Grace, my fears relieved. How precious that Grace appear, the hour I first believe,” continued Pamela, soon people were lifting their voices with her. 

“Through many dangers, toils and snares we have already come. T’was Grace that brought us safe thus far. And Grace will lead us home, and Grace will lead us home,” sang everyone. Not one person was not singing. God made a miracle there and He used Pamela. 

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found. Was blind but now I see, blind but now I see,” finished everyone, holding the last note for several seconds. Once it had ended applause broke out everywhere. Pamela was grinning from ear to ear. She turned to see Jase also grinning from ear to ear. Before she knew it, he kissed her. They embraced in a kiss. It was amazing. 

“You are an amazing singer,” whispered Jase into her ear. She smiled and hugged him tightly.