Recorded by the author at The Mark Twain House & Museum, July 22, 2025
I was born to serve
My father, the servant to a noble family
My life, second to everyone
She was the daughter of the second noble
Her eyes –green as the forest
Dimples when she smiled and lit up the room
I saw her, in the horse stable,
in the barn, in the kitchen
She always started a conversation
Whether it was the weather
Or her annoying brother
One day
I entered the horse stables, lost in thought
As I bent down to get food for the horses
I heard a soft voice behind me
I whipped my head around to see her
With a cheeky smile
I immediately bowed, but she stopped me
She spoke of something sudden
Yet it caught my heart
Minutes turned into hours
We talked under the moonlight,
peering through the wooden roof
Hours turned into days
Every day we spoke in the stables, I fell for her more
One day, everyone in the mansion was summoned by the second noble
He announced in loud words
“I want a feast thrown today! My daughter will be married to my best friend’s son!”
The world around me blurred
My heart stopped in my chest as I processed his words
I was born to serve, even if it meant serving a broken heart