Struan 1964 - Adm.monash.edu.au

eing drawn into their fun. One or two couples dancing nearby joined in
the jokes and in turn pa ssed on w itty comments to thei r fr iend s. Despite
the di st ortion which Helen's face showed w he n she spoke every wo rd seemed
to give pleasure to those w ho listened, not beca use she w as a n orator o r a
comedian, b ut beca use she spo ke about the things w hich interested the people
around her, because she wa s co nce rned that no t o ne person she co uld contact
wo uld be lef t lonel y or bored.
The effect on Sama ntha wa s strange. She felt drawn to thi s disfigured girl
w hose gr otesq ue hand w as gently tapping out the rh ythm of the music. This
g ir l wh o seemed to have not a thought for hersel f. Se lf less. Giving . It was
hard to tell jus t how s he was giving, but it became clear to Samantha that
Helen was giv ing part of herself away.
Sa m antha fou nd herself w ith her back to Helen, tryin g not to look at
her, but Rob bie w as talking to her and she w atched his fa ce. It lit up w ith
the p leas ure of seeing an old friend and im mediately they were teasing each
other good-na tu redl y.
" Who's your friend?" He len as ked.
" Oh, she's sh y . . "
" Co me off it! I'm not ," retorted Sa m antha, taking th e bait. She did not
look at Helen.
"O.K. Helen, meet Samantha. Sam m ie, meet Helen ."
Samantha was embarrassed . She felt that Helen co u ld read her mind
and knew her rebe lIiou s fear.
"Hello, can I call yo u Sammie? It's not such a mouthful. But I suppose
you're al wa ys being tea sed about yo ur unusu al name. I like it."
"Thank s. I like you rs to o. " Th en she th ought : " Oh what a fool I am.
Wh y can't I think o f so mething o r igina l to say? "
Helen we nt o n. She asked Sam an tha a ll about herself. Somehow she
di scovered her pet sub jec t, Modern Art , and soo n they we re deep in a discussion
of her favourite artist s.
Samantha relaxed; they talked and talked, and laughed. Robbie stood
by; onl y o cc asio na lly did he add a wo rd o r two to the co nve rs ation. But he
was laughing to himself for Sa man tha w as di scovering so mething. Sh e didn't
kno w it ye t, but he kn ew .
" Yo u must be sick o f ju st talking to me. Go a nd dance. That music
is too good to w as te ."
" No ! No, I can' t go and lea ve yo u here. "
Sa man tha no longer felt gui lty about Helen. She kn ew the afflicted girl
had so mething bette r than dancin g - so me thing th at no o ne co uld ever tak e
aw ay fr om he r - so me t hing d iffe rent that w as bas ic to her whole existence.
The rea so n for her reluctance to dance w as that Hele n was wonde rf ul to
be w ith.
Suddenly that wa rm, flame-like light o n the wa ll flick ered, and Sa mantha
k new that Helen an d the glo wing redness were somehow bound toge ther. The
light w as a symbol of the o utgo ing wa r m th and love and con cern, the comple te
devotion to giving to o the rs. A lamp does not exist for itself; it exist s fo r
the light wh ich is co nt inua lly tr an sferred to o th er object s w hich in turn
reflect. The ragged, red shade matters very little. What matters is the filament
inside, and th at the light is all owed to get o ut. Now she k new w hy and how
Helen w as d ifferent.
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