Hollis & John

Filed under: Stories — purplehsiaoling at 8:43 pm on Saturday, March 11, 2006

This is a story I wrote with reference to The Test (published in the "Heart & Soul" section of Starmag on Jan 15, 2006).

     In a nutshell, it’s a sweet story about how John Blanchard got to know Hollis Maynell through a book he found in a library.  He was intrigued by the things she wrote in the margin of the book.  Thus, he made an effort to find out about her and started writing to her.  After thirteen months, they decide to meet but that was when Hollis decided to test how true he was.

     Hollis got a plump, elderly lady to pretend to be her by holding the rose with which John was going to recognize her from.  Nevertheless, John passed the test when he overcame his disappointment enough to ask the elderly lady to dinner.  Then, the old lady told him that Hollis was actually waiting for him in a restaurant across the street.

     Then, on Feb 26, 2006, Starmag published Her Side of The Story that left me feeling disappointed and unsatisfied, so I thought of writing my version of what I think really happened.  In Her Side of The Story, it turned out that Hollis Maynell was really the elderly woman and there wasn’t any "test" to begin with.

     How can that possibly be?  In Her Side of The Story, the "real" Hollis Maynell was left wondering what happened to John and the sweet young woman (in The Test, the young woman was the real Hollis Maynell) to whom she had directed him to.  I would think that if John found out the young woman wasn’t really Hollis (and he would, of course), he would have got back to the elderly lady again out of courtesy.

     So, my dissatisfaction with Her Side of The Story made me write this story entitled Hollis & John.  You might say that I fell in love with the short and simple story of The Test.  Actually, I first read it in one of the forwarded e-mails I got.  That’s why I like forwarded stuff.  There are always some gems in them. =)

     Here’s my Hollis & John.

     She could still remember so well the day she had found a letter in her mailbox with her name and address written in an unfamiliar handwriting.  Her initial surprise turned into intrigue when the writer introduced himself and told how he had found her through a book- a book among many others that she had donated to the Florida library before moving to New York City.

     Although she resisted, she found herself captivated by the voice in the letter.  He told her that he was fascinated by her thoughtful soul and insightful mind portrayed in the notes she pencilled in the margin of the book.  She smiled to herself.  Her mother used to be aghast at her peculiar habit of defacing books.  Oh, she loved books and she felt that her act was a way of personalizing her beloved books.

     After writing her reply, she tried to put the matter out of her mind.  Nevertheless, she still looked out for his letter in the mailbox in the days to come.  And he never disappointed her.  For thirteen months, they wrote, grew to know each other and even though neither would care to admit then, began to fall deeply in love with each other.  Romance was budding between two hearts in separate parts of the world.

     This is pure madness, she thought as she got into a taxi that would take her to the Grand Central Station, to the man who had come to mean so much to her and to face what she hoped would be something wonderful.  But what if he did not turn out to be what he seemed to be or what she expected him to be?  What if he was just like the rest of them?

     Men had always fluttered around Hollis as bees would a flower.  But they did not appreciate her for what she was inside.  They were so blinded by her outward beauty that they failed to see what a really more beautiful person she was inwardly.  They treated her like a trophy to brag about among friends.

     Her ears still burned whenever she remembered a conversation she overheard between her former beau and his friends.  "You lucky man. Hollis’ a babe," one had said.  Another added, "If I ever find one who looks like her, I’ll marry her in a jiffy."  But another said, "She’s a little too serious, isn’t she?  Must be all those books she read. Doesn’t do a girl too much good to be so knowledgeable."

     The biggest insult had been her beau laughing at all their comments before saying, "Well, gentlemen, my Hollis is certainly a prize. I reckon that once we are married, she will have little time for books or else I will have to watch what she reads. Anyway, we will probably be too busy making handsome little Georges and beautiful little Hollises."  No, Hollis decided as she looked at the red rose in her hand.  John was different.  He would not care what she looked like.  He cared for what and who she was.

     Much too soon, the taxi arrived at the station.  From a distance away, she made out a handsome young man in uniform carrying what looked like a familiar book.  Then, she saw a lady getting down from a taxi parked behind the one she had arrived in.  She was a plump, elderly lady but what caught Hollis’ attention was her warm and kind twinkly eyes.

     With her heart beating furiously, Hollis walked calmly towards John.  She saw him looking at her appreciatively and she could not resist murmuring, "Going my way, sailor?" when she passed by him.  Her heart fell when she saw that John looked beyond her towards the back and a cloud of disappointment shadowed his handsome face.  Hollis steeled her heart and moved on towards a restaurant across the street.

     As she absent-mindedly stirred her cup of coffee, Hollis’ heart almost burst with joy when the man in her thoughts appeared beside her table and said, "Hello, Miss Maynell."