It’s been so long since I’ve thought of that little girl, but when Stephanie showed me that picture, the years all rolled back and the tears all flowed forth.
The war had taken a husband from her, but she was not alone. The village was full of women who had sacrified even more. Husbands and sons — some so young that they had barely lived beyond boyish youth, others so old that they deserved to live in restful peace — they all left that dark day… How long had it been, she wondered. They had stored food to last for several months, and that was gone. She was living on handouts, and that was barely enough to feed her infant daughter, let alone herself.
She had become so weak, so frail. She wondered how long she could survive. She feared mostly for the baby, and then she feared for herself. In desperation one night she stole meat and bread from a neighbor. They would have given it, she knew. They had already given so much and she could not bear to ask for more.
And then she was gone. Her neighbors wondered if she had been taken in the night. They knew she would never leave on her own. Where would she go? Where could she go? But she had. She had taken her daughter and the bread and the meat and she began to walk.
It was dangerous in the city. There was still fighting there, she knew. But toward the city she walked all through that night. In the morning she awoke under a blanket that was not hers. She was startled and panicked, but saw that her baby was right there in her arms.
A woman sat beside her. The stranger had a kind yet mysterious look about her.
“The blanket,” the mother began.
“You were weary,” the stranger replied.
“I don’t know where to go. My husband is gone. My daughter and I are going to starve to death.”
The stranger was rubbing a large polished stone. Sparks connected the stone to the woman’s old hands. It would have been more terrifying if the woman hadn’t shown such kindness to the young stranger.
“If I offered you one wish, young lady, would you use it wisely?” The elder stranger asked.
“I would, but…” she wearily replied, puzzled.
“You may not wish for any thing, for what we hold in our hands is not real.”
The young woman held her baby close to her and began to cry.
“I remember when I was a child,” she spoke, “the future seemed so promising. We had so little, but we had enough, and there was peace throughout the land. I wish I could be that little girl once again.”
There burst thunder from the cloudless sky. The old woman’s stone glowed brightly for an instant. Suddenly the young women held a doll in her arms. The baby was gone and… Another clap of thunder and the young woman fell to the ground. She felt dizzy for a moment and then calmness.
An elderly woman held a mirror in her hand. The woman gazed into it and looking back at her were the fresh eyes of a young girl. Frightened, the girl looked into the old woman’s eyes.
“Use this gift wisely, young lady.” said the woman just before she vanished.
The girl heard a soft rumble of thunder and felt dizzy again. Her vision blurred, then cleared. She looked around and wondered where she was. She couldn’t remember how she had gotten there, or why she was carrying a doll in her arms. There was nothing around her but peace and quiet and the promise of the future.
Update: Stephanie even has a poll where you can vote on which of the Spooky Girl stories you liked best! Wow!!
Monday Memoir
http://www.whiskeytalking.com/2006/01/23/monday-memoir.html
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