One Hundred Names (Special Edition)

faint smile of thanks and then she disappeared behind her hair again.
    ‘Please meet name number three, Eva Wu, a woman who was given a Pandora’s Box filled with hope at a time in her life when she felt like there was none, and because of that was blessed with the gift of bringing hope into other people’s lives.’ Eva’s eyes filled and she looked down. ‘Through her company, “Dedicated”, Eva Wu is more than a personal shopper. I liken her to an angel who spends a period of time in people’s lives, observing them with the keenest of eyes to make a journalist like me jealous, and gives them the greatest gift of all – not what people
think
that they want, but gifts that people never even know they need at all until they receive them and realise they were incomplete without.’
    Birdie, knowing more than anyone in the room that there was truth to this, reached out and held Eva’s hand. She rubbed it warmly with her other.
    ‘Meet name number four, Jedrek Vysotski, a husband, father and courageous man, who wanted to prove to the world that he was able to achieve something, that he was worth something, that he could stand out from the crowd even when he felt the world was telling him he couldn’t.’
    Jedrek proudly lifted his chin higher in the air and focused on the audience before him.
    ‘Jedrek and his friend Achar successfully completed a task that will ensure they are in
Guinness World
Records
, where it will be forever in print that they are men of extraordinary dedication and talent. And for Jedrek, proof that he is a man of
worth
.
    ‘Meet name number six, Bridget “Birdie” Murphy, a woman with unfinished business who turned eighty-five years old and collected on a bet she’d made over sixty years ago with a man, with an entire town, who believed she would never live to see this day.’ Birdie smiled shyly at the audience before her. ‘Birdie is one of the sweetest, gentlest and most inspiring women I’ve ever met and has shared with me a story of true survival, survival that has been rewarded not just financially but most importantly by being fruitful, by being surrounded by people who she loves and who love her. There is nothing boring about that,’ Kitty said to Birdie, remembering Birdie’s embarrassment at having to relate her life story. ‘At eighteen years old, she took a bet and the bet paid off, and it’s a lesson we can all learn from.’
    ‘Meet name number seven, Mary-Rose Godfrey, carer and proposee, a girl who gives so much and for it, receives a proposal at least once a week.’ Mary-Rose laughed and a tear trickled down her cheek. ‘Mary-Rose’s mother sadly suffered a stroke and because of that Mary-Rose was introduced to the world of the sick. She goes to hospitals to do hair, make-up and sometimes nails,’ Kitty heard Mary-Rose laugh nervously, ‘and through these simple acts she is like a beacon of light to the people who ask for her. But what Mary-Rose doesn’t know is that it’s her and not what she does that lights up the room. It’s the conversation she brings, her mere presence, which has the ability to, albeit momentarily, heal people.
    ‘And finally, name number sixty-seven, Archie Hamilton. Archie’s beloved daughter, Rebecca, was murdered before her sixteenth birthday. Archie, probably doing what most fathers would do, protected his daughter by seeking out the man who took her life, and took the law into his own hands. For that he spent years in prison but emerged with an entirely new outlook on life. An outlook that is,’ she looked at Archie and smiled, ‘beyond fascinating and illuminating. Archie believed that God wasn’t listening when he needed Him most, he felt forgotten and left behind, and his saviour was to wake up one day to hear the voices of those in need as much as he once was, and have the ability to help answer their prayers.’
    Archie’s jaw hardened as he tried hard not to let his emotions show.
    Kitty turned away from her emotional group of friends and looked back at her colleagues, some who were deeply moved by her words, by their stories.
    ‘What I’ve told you about them here is merely an introduction to who these people are. There is so much more for me to say about them, and so much more for you to learn about them. Pete, there are so many fascinating, amazing people out there with stories to tell that they don’t even know are interesting. The stories are endless; we have an entire telephone directory of