WHERE IS HELEN?

On the cold Christmas Eve of 1996, in the third room on the second floor of the Saint John's hospital at Burnington Hills, approximately two minutes before the clock struck at midnight, a woman in labour, supposed to have had her child three minutes earlier, was tiring the surrounding midwives screaming "Push!", All for the reason that she wanted to have a child on Christmas Day. You see, her husband was born on the twenty-third, and she was born on the twenty-fourth, so she wanted her first child, or perhaps her only child to be born on Christmas Day. Her husband was not supportive of the idea, but he stood beside her anyway, holding her hand throughout the five minutes of her stubbornness. Finally, when the bells of the church right opposite the hospital began to chime, she gave in to cooperate with the midwives and had her baby girl, an infant clothed with beauty. But just as stubbornness always come with a price, her baby made no sound of a cry like a baby should when it's brought

Thursday strolled in gently with smiling faces all-over the schools campus. The gossip on every lip was the early morning announcement that there will be a picnic in two days. Even though the date for the picnic gave less time for preparation, it was warmly embraced by the students who wanted some refreshing time to interact with nature. Initially, the picnic was meant for the fifth and sixth graders, since they were thought of as a little more responsible than the ones below them and would not be a burden. However, that year's was reshuffled a little bit. The fifth and sixth graders were informed at a much earlier date to help them prepare, and the third and fourth were delayed in order to prevent them from joining in multitudes. During recess, students spread out on the playground, engaging in all manner of activities they could think of, making sure they stayed "seven meters away from the old well at the edge of the playground", like the principal had asked them to. Just as rules we

Sunday morning had come, and the breakfast table was set with an array of delicious food that Mrs. Wilson had prepared while Helen slept. Her parents had agreed to her sleeping over at Mrs. Wilson's the night before, and she was expected to be home before Monday morning. The aroma was all-over the place, and even succeeded in slithering down Helen's nostrils and into the dream she was having about a unicorn. She sprang up with much adrenaline, and with calculated soundless steps, hid behind the door to observe Mrs. Wilson, humming her favourite song as she set the table for breakfast."Why do I get the feeling that somebody is watching me from a different helenverse?" Mrs. Wilson joked when she heard Helen mistakenly make a sound.Helen walked up gently towards her, and as she gave her a hug and greeted "Good morning", Mrs. Wilson noticed how much her focus was on the meal set on the table, "Ah, ah, ah," she said "Not until you try out the new brush I bought for you."The little girl s

Helen woke up to the sound of her alarm buzzing on her phone. She rubbed her eyes and reached for her glasses, putting them on to check the time. It was 6:00 AM, and she had to be at the university by 8:00 AM for her first class. It was hard to believe that time had flown by so fast. It felt like just yesterday that she was in high school, studying for exams and dreaming of going to university. But now, at the age of 20, she was finally here. She had saved up all her money from part-time jobs during high school and invested some in stocks. With a little help from her parents, she had enough money to buy her own house near Megaminds University, the dream school she was finally a student of. It was a small and cosy house, but it was hers, and she was proud of it. Just a week ago when she announced to her parents that she was going to move into her new home and experience life on her own, the tears of joy that flooded their eyes were like the sea on a rainy day. Her mother's unbeara

It was a Wednesday afternoon, and Helen sat on the edge of her bed, phone pressed against her ear as she chatted with Stephanie and their second best friend, and once favourite teacher, Mrs Wilson, on a conference call. "He's just amazing," she gushed about her new friend Alex. "We've been hanging out a lot, and he's shown me around the city. He's even taken me to meet some of his friends." Mrs. Wilson's tone suddenly turned panicked. "Helen, you need to be careful. You barely know this boy. Have you done a background check on him? Has he introduced you to his family?" Helen rolled her eyes, dismissing her teacher's worries. "Relax, Mrs Wilson. He's a nice guy, and I can take care of myself. Plus, he promised to help me find a job." "Oh, that's great," Mrs Wilson said, sounding relieved. "Is he cute?" Stephanie, who was getting a manicure at the moment and was struggling to focus, finally spoke up. "I won't say he's charming, but he's one hell of a comedian. I can't even stop myse