Amr El Beleidy

The girl with the most beautiful voice in the world

There once was a young girl. She was young, weak and frail, so thin and small one wondered how anyone could be so small. A King and Queen saw her, all alone, abandoned by her parents. They took her in and let her live with them.

As the girl grew up, the King and Queen brought her the best singing teachers. They would not let her out of the palace, except in very exceptional circumstances, and they needed to occupy her time. This way she can also sing and fill the palace with joy, or entertain the King’s guests, whenever the King desires.

As it turns out, the girl had the most beautiful voice in the world. Her teachers were very impressed by her and encouraged her to sing to many people. It was a shame, they told her, that such a beautiful voice should not be shared with the whole world.

The girl went to the King and told him what her teachers have said, that she should go out into the world, and share her voice with everyone. It would cure hearts, she told the King. He stopped for a minute to think.

The King had taken a particular liking to the girl, some of his own daughters thought he liked her more than he liked them. She listend to what he said, he was the most valuable person in the whole world for her. He was ambivalent. If he lets the girl out, there is a good chance she won’t be as obedient as she used to be.

She’ll open her eyes to the world and might want to wander off. And despite having protected her from such thoughts, she has been showing interest in going out.

The Queen was adept at removing any signs of resistance to orders. She’d skillfully remove any foreign thoughts the girl developed, either through her teachers or her father’s guests.

The Queen had been complaining lately that she thinks the girl is becoming rebellious. She could smell it, and she doesn’t like it.

The King then reached the conclusion that the girl should share her voice with the world. Maybe if they give her something she wants, a little bit of freedom, she’d stop her rebellious thoughts and realise that the King and Queen are who she should listen to.

Upon hearing the news of the King’s decision, the girl ran up to his quarters, and in an unusual act, opened the doors without knocking, ran to the king and gave him a strong hug accompanied by many kisses. The King smiled, he had made the right decision.

Soon enough the King realised he was wrong. The girl, instead of being obedient, started asking for more time away from the palace. And she became more assertive about it. She had started loving life outside the walls. She started seeing the King and Queen as her captors. She started despising being forced to sing for the King’s guests. She saw herself as much more than banquet entertainment. She would heal the world with her voice.

Then one day, when her demands were too much for the King to bear, in a burst of anger, he told her she can leave. She can leave, but never to return.

The girl, with a waterfall of tears flowing down her cheeks, did not know what to do. The King and Queen were everything she knew. She’d never lived outside the walls. They were her food, water and shelter. They were affection and security. They were everything.

She wanted to leave so much, but she couldn’t bare to see the King angry or the Queen upset. They were the ones who did everything for her, as they many times reminded her. They were the ones who gave her her voice. If it wasn’t for them, she’d be just another abandoned baby with an unknown future. And she loved them so much.

The King opened the palace door, pointed to the outside and shouted at her, “Don’t you want to leave? Leave!”

She looked at the world outside through the door frame. It seemed so far and scary. Her tears were now in full flow. She looked down and away from the door. Trapped in her fears, she walked back inside. She never dared ask for anything again.