Mary Agnes dances

Mary Agnes absorbed the many sensory impressions. How fortunate that she had found the courage to ask the Mother Superior for permission to visit the carnival. Colors, shapes, sounds and smells formed a dense fabric into which she let herself plunge like into a soft pillow.

Her special attention was caught by wonderful music, spherical and lively at once. Where did these heavenly sounds come from? She glanced around but couldn't see any obvious source. But it had to be somewhere to her left. A narrow alleyway between two stalls acted like a sound funnel and amplified the music.

"I'll go over there for a moment and then follow you again," she called after Mary Bruna, without paying attention to whether she had understood her words, and turned left.

Soon she was standing on a small sandy area between a children's carousel and several booths. The music here was so loud and inviting that she couldn't help but spin in circles and jump to the beat. She felt young and alive and happy. She spun around faster and faster and laughed at the top of her lungs.

Applause made her pause. A bit breathless, she looked around. The little man who had admitted them was standing at the edge of the square, clapping his hands.

"Wonderful, wonderful! You are a natural. Please don't let me hold you back, keep dancing!"

She lowered her eyes to the floor, a little embarrassed yet delighted by the compliment. It would probably be better if she returned to the other sisters. Letting herself loose had made her feel good, but was perhaps not quite the appropriate behavior for a nun in public.

"Excuse me, I have to go."

"But why is that? Aren't you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, I am ..."

"Excuse me, I have a confession to make," he put on a slightly contrite face, "your performance was so enchanting that I couldn't help but make a recording of it. And I have to make up for another omission. I haven't introduced myself yet: My name is Trapp, owner and operator of this humble fairground, at your service."

He bowed so low that his nose almost touched the ground. As he straightened up, he waved a cell phone in his hand and showed her a photo of her laughing and dancing.

"Wouldn't that be something for your social media presence? Maybe you could tell me who maintains this page, then I can share the picture. Only with your permission, of course."

"Oh, it's me, I manage that account."

"Oh really? Then allow me to express my sincere admiration. The pictures and texts are consistently excellent. You are a true artist in the subject."

Mary Agnes blushed for good. The praise pleased her immensely, even though she suspected that Mr. Trapp had already known that she was the right person.

"Well, if you send me the picture, I'll upload it tonight."

"Why wait so long? Why don't you just use my smartphone now?"

He held the device out to her and she took it hesitantly. She was not at all surprised that the login page for her account was already open on the display. As she typed in her password, she held it close to her body so that no one could see it. Barely a minute later, the photo was online.