The Shepherd and the Songbird
ARTICLES of GENERAL INTEREST
THE SHEPHERD AND THE SONGBIRD
Synopsis
This story unfolds across two timelines. The present day is set in New York, where one of the protagonists – a world‑famous opera diva – hosts a dinner party. The past takes place in mid‑rural Wales, near Lake Vyrnwy, where both protagonists’ lives briefly and mysteriously intersect.
Characters
Mrs Katrin Lloyd Evans (known as The Songbird; accent shifts between South Wales Valleys and American)
Mr Kevin Wiess (Katrin’s American manager)
Tommy (Katrin’s driver; Cockney accent)
Huw Jones (the Shepherd; strong Welsh accent)
Mrs Williams (pub owner; strong Welsh accent)
Part One
The sound of opera music, laughter, and clinking glasses.
Kevin: Oh, I don’t believe in ghosts – and neither should any of the twelve people sitting around this table.
Katrin: Well, I do, Kevin.
Kevin: Really, Katrin? And what experience, pray tell, convinced you? (Light laughter around the table.)
Katrin: If you’re going to laugh, I won’t tell you at all.
Kevin: Oh come on – will it be set back on your old home turf? Go on, my fine Welsh songbird. Tell us all, on this balmy New York night.
Katrin: Not exactly my home turf – but it is set in Wales.
Kevin: And what were you doing there?
Katrin: I was born in a village called Taffen in the South Wales mining area, but this happened years later, in mid‑rural Wales near Lake Vyrnwy. It was before you became my manager. I was working on the London opera scene and had been sent to sing at the Eisteddfod in Llangollen.
Kevin: That famous music festival.
Katrin: That’s the one. The company sent a driver – Tommy.
Kevin: Ah yes, the cheeky Cockney cabbie.
Katrin: He picked me up from my apartment in Kensington in the Rolls, and we set off for North Wales.
Part Two
Car doors close. Footsteps. The engine starts.
Tommy: Right, Katrin – straight to Llangollen, or any stops on the way?
Katrin: Just the usual comfort breaks. How long should it take?
Tommy: About four hours, traffic permitting.
Katrin: And please stop calling me “Madam.” Call me Katrin.
Tommy: Right you are. Off we go.
The car drives on. Opera plays quietly on the radio.
Tommy: Looks like a standstill ahead. We could cut through mid‑Wales and take the A roads.
Katrin: Whatever you think best. I’ll have a little nap.
Later. The engine cuts out.
Tommy: Katrin – sorry to wake you. We’ve got a problem.
Katrin: What’s happened? Why is it so foggy?
Tommy: It came down suddenly. The radio and sat‑nav went haywire, and I didn’t want to risk driving blind.
Katrin: Do we know where we are?
Tommy: Afraid not. Phones are dead too.
Katrin: Let me try mine.
Static.
Katrin: Nothing. How strange.
Tommy: I saw what looked like a building down the road. I’ll go and look for help.
Katrin: Good idea. I’ll stay here.
Tommy walks away. The fog thickens.
Part Three
Katrin wakes alone in the cold.
Katrin: Where on earth is Tommy?
A sound outside the car.
Katrin: Tommy? Hello?
Footsteps. A cough in the distance.
Katrin: Wait – please stop and call out!
She slips and falls down a slope. Sheep bleat. A dog barks. A man sings an old operatic aria.
Huw: Helo – wyt ti’n iawn?
Katrin: Please – stop shaking me!
Huw: English, are we? Jock, lie down.
Katrin: I’m Welsh, actually – the Valleys.
Huw: Ah. You’ve hurt your foot. I can strap it and take you to my hut.
Katrin: A hut
Huw: Just down the valley.
He helps her to her feet and supports her as they walk.
Katrin: My name’s Katrin.
Huw: Huw Jones. And this is Jock. I’m the shepherd here.
Part Four
Inside the shepherd’s hut. A fire crackles.
Huw: Sit down. I’ll put more logs on. Tea?
Katrin: Please.
Huw: No sugar, I’m afraid.
Katrin: That’s fine.
Huw: You asked where you are – you’re in the Vyrnwy Valley.
Katrin: And Llangollen?
Huw: Forty miles or so, as the crow flies.
Katrin: You sing beautifully, you know.
Huw: It passes the time. The sheep don’t complain.
Katrin: You could sing at the Albert Hall.
Huw: What’s that?
Katrin laughs.
Huw: Rest here. I’ll look for your driver.
Later, they walk together, singing as the fog lifts.
Huw: We’re close to the road. I’ll go on ahead.
Katrin: Thank you, Huw. Truly.
He walks away, singing.
Part Five
Katrin alone again. The fog returns.
Katrin: Huw? Can you hear me?
Knocking on glass.
Tommy: Katrin! Open the door!
Katrin: Tommy! Did you see Huw?
Tommy: Who?
Katrin: The shepherd—he helped me all day.
Tommy: Katrin, I’ve only been gone half an hour.
Later, in a pub.
Mrs Williams: His name was Huw Jones?
Katrin: Yes.
Mrs Williams: Come and look at this photograph.
Katrin: That’s him.
Mrs Williams: Taken in 1888. He drowned in 1892, saving my grandfather when the reservoir was new. That’s why this place is called The Drowned Shepherd.
Katrin: It felt so real.
Mrs Williams: Around here, we’d say you had… an experience.
Epilogue
Weeks later, back in Wales.
Katrin walks alone. Mist gathers. A dog barks.
Katrin: Jock?
An operatic voice drifts through the fog.
Katrin: Huw…
BBC News Report:
Police have suspended the search for the missing opera singer Katrin Lloyd Evans, who disappeared three weeks ago while on a walking holiday near Lake Vyrnwy in mid‑Wales.