14 ~ 1st of June, 1911 ~ Urðr

A field close to the woods could be seen.

Summer was beginning on that precise day for her.

She looked at the blue sky through the leaves, daydreaming, hidden from sight.

A younger voice suddenly called for her, getting close to her unknowingly.

S - Rose! Where are you? Dad is back!

She came suddenly out of the bushes to scare her younger sister. Scarlett screamed.

S - You’re so mean!

Rosemary was smiling kindly to her. The annoyed face turned rapidly back into another smile despite what just occurred.

They started to run back toward the house sitting in the distance.

She left partway the track crossing the small field and climbing up their hill.

She reached the house garden behind the house. She could hear over the joyful squeals of her sisters meeting up with their parents on the other side.

She stopped there and lost her smile softly. She just had to walk around the house to find them all, but she stood there, in the shades behind. Even thought they were all there now, she was feeling suddenly lonely and wanted to stay behind.

The sky was turning cold. She closed her eyes, listening to Elise’s amused laughter just behind. She heard Scarlett too. And Blue was there too... Hearing that particular high pitch was making her smile, and tear up too...

She looked around this side of the rear garden, feeling melancholic.

The trees, the field, the hills, the distant town with its mines they could guess.

It was her life here and around her, but she found herself trembling.

She looked at the sky again. It was so clear and blue, she was feeling it could be a hole ready to swallow her completely... Her mind was already half taken away by this fear of falling, when a large and tall man reached her.

She briefly had the feeling to suddenly fly toward the sky, falling toward that infinite ocean, making her panic instead of laughing. She was being pulled up by strong arms, before being brought onto the wide shoulders.

She wiped some tears from her cheeks.

R - Hi dad... Welcome home...

G - Hello my sweet little princess... Why are you crying here alone? Isn’t the day beautiful?

R - I like today... But I’m scared for tomorrow...

His daughter still on his shoulders, Georges walked slowly into the garden, quietly. She was still feeling sad, despite the reassuring presence below.

She liked the wind, the sun, the sky and all that colour above her, but she couldn’t stop crying meekly, almost quietly.

He lifted her again and brought her with him to a bench where they sat. He didn’t ask anything and simply listened to her as she began to open.

R - For some time already... I’ve been so sad. I just know... that this bliss won’t last much longer anymore. And I love you all so much...

Georges looked in the distance for a few seconds. He was worried too. He glanced at the rosebushes behind.

G - Mary... You’re right. Sad things will come someday, expected or not. You know, I’m scared too, because I... I won’t be there much longer.

R - Dad?

He looked older, and sad.

G - Mary... You won’t need to survive alone. It’ll still be your family here to give you ground... And later, when you come to love someone sincerely, you will grow a wider one with them.

Rosemary replied shyly, looking down and at the flowers beside.

R - The one I love most is Blue... But... She can’t understand me just yet... And I felt so sad lately... I told mom... She gave me this. She said it would help me...

She took an old doll from a side pocket of her dress. The doll had marks of numerous repairs, a few among which were the mother’s work. Georges recognised the toy immediately.

G - Gülnihal... She gave you Gülnihal.

R - That name is so strange. We chose another one.

G - But do you know its story?

R - Mom told me you gave it to her because you loved her... Should I give it to Blue?

Georges thought about it. On this day, the answer was easier.

G - One day, when she will need this gift just like you have, you may give it to her... You know, it is our blue rose for your mother and me...

R - Blue Rose sounds better than Mary Mary.

G - That’s funny... Well, why not? She might become your bird of happiness too someday.

Rosemary had a bittersweet smile.

R - I hope... I can stay with her forever...

G - I don’t think you will ever be able to marry each other, but you already are sisters... You already share the same name.

R - Thanks to you... Don’t you have a tale where it happens?

He was a little taken by surprise but laughed it off.

G - No, I don’t think I have... But I know you would keep pestering me asking ‘’what happened next?’’ over and over!

R - No I would not! But I just... loved your tales... I understand them truly...

G - No matter what will happen to you, or me; there is no reason that would prevent you two from ever being happy... I know you will overcome the hard times ahead. I know you will be strong enough to survive the hardships that life has for you ahead... You will be happy, bud.

Night was already falling in the distance. Children elsewhere were already turning restless for their missing dad.

She stopped crying slowly, holding a doll she didn’t play with. She was too old for that already.

But she still held too dearly all the tales going with it.

She still felt bad and concerned nonetheless.

R - Scarlett and Elise will be angry. I kept you too long just for myself... They keep hating me...

That amused him to hear that far more than it worried him.

G - No they don’t hate you. They love you as much as your mother and I... They’re jealous, they want to grow stronger and smarter fast, to become more like you.

Rosemary wasn’t convinced.

~

G - Tell me, do you know how that doll came here?

R - I heard you brought it back from overseas... And that you rode in a beautiful train.

G - Oh the wolf... That was only the end of our journey. It was quite a journey for me and even more for Gülnihal you know. It sailed across the world and back before I encountered it.

R - How old is it anyway?

They began to walk slowly around their home, toward the main door.

G - That’s a good question and there is another tale for it. The truth is there is no way to tell now... But if you want to learn a secret, it’s said to be soon a hundred years old. And in that faraway country where it went, there’s a legend saying that if it was held dear and loved for a whole century, it would gain a life on its own!

R - You believe a doll would become alive? As long as someone loves it?

G - I like to think it could be true... That if it were to be loved as blue rose long enough, it might make these gains of life and soul someday. I did love it, as your mother did. As did the family I got it from. Now it’s your turn. And we can hope that the person you give it to will love it enough as well so it becomes alive for you.

R - Would it grant a wish then like some other djinns?

G - Yes... Maybe it could fulfil your dream as a mean to thank you... If you keep your promise, it will help you. For your mother and I, it succeeded as our blue rose. Now it’s your turn to make a wish come true.

She was smiling a little more, looking at the inconsequential doll. That was why she loved her father’s tales. Anything and everything could become slightly more... She squeezed the doll a little more merrily.

G - What was the new name you gave it?

R - Mary, I mean Blue thought of it. It’s Esther.

~