Foxglove in the Garden
A story of friendship and love.
By Rhyannon Rigby
Every breath in the forest, that was the name of the book. She looked at the book, simple, yet so difficult. This week they were studying trees. It was a normal school for average kids, with average minds. But where everything is normal, you find small differences...
Ffion looked like normal kids. Her hair curly and shoulder length. Clear blue eyes, large with wonder. Her frame small and her clothes neat and colourful. Yet she was completely different in so many ways. Her imagination was vivid and wild. Her creativity wondrous and strange. Her beliefs quirky and odd. The books she read and owned were ancient and slowly falling apart. Her parents; she had never met them, but she had a faint memory that was more ancient then her books.
Ffion didn't have many friends. She really had no friends, unless you included her cat Smokey. Smokey was a pure black cat, darker than the shadows. The only colour that wasn't black was the white tip on his left ear and his large green eyes. Ffion adored Smokey and Smokey loved Ffion back.
At school Ffion felt alone without her friend. She felt like an outcast waiting to be attacked by the older students. Ffion's home was a small cottage at the end of Iris court. No one else lived in that area of town, but Ffion loved it. The darkness reminded her of her fears and the monsters lurking under her bed. The tall trees made her feel like someone was always watching over her and the flowers, oh they grew everywhere in her garden. They were wild and free just like her.
Ffion loved her house. It was one of the only things her parents left her, along with some money and mountains of books. Even though she didn't know her parents, she always felt like they were ever present in the house, watching over her.
"Class dismissed", yelled the teacher over the racket the other students where making. A spilt second after the teacher spoke the bell rang. The students grabbed their stuff and rushed out of the room, like the class might start again if they didn't hurry.
"Ms Shukle-berry", Ffion said nervously as she neared the teacher's desk.
"Yes miss Thompson?" The teacher spat rudely. She never liked Ffion, not the way she dressed, corrected her during class and certainly not that she came to this school with a scholarship.
"Umm, I was wondering, is there anymore homework I could do? You see I have nothing to do this weekend so I will be very bored and uh...", Ffion said innocently, her knees chattering together in fear and her eyes darting to all corners of the room.
"No, so get out you're wasting my time!" Ms Shukle-berry screeched. Frightened by the outburst, Ffion rushed out of the room. The hallway was worse. The children chattering on about how weird she was and laughing at the fact she wanted more work.
Ffion was used to it though. Sometimes in class paper was thrown at her and rude words directed to her love of books. She didn't mind because she knew they where jealous that she lived alone, without people to tell her what to do or wear. But she hated being alone all the time, no one to talk to or get help from.
Ignoring the teasing from the other students, she walked to the broom cupboard and grabbed out an old brown library bag. She slung the dusty bag over her shoulder and began walking to Iris court. While walking, her thoughts drifted to the story she was reading. It was a tale about a young girl who was raised by a pack of wolves. It wasn't a realistic story but she didn't care, it was a just a story after all.
Ffion stopped walking and stared up at the house in front of her. It was made of wood with two small windows on either side and one large window in the roof. The door was small and the green paint was slowly peeling off. The walls were covered in vines and flowers and the roof was scattered with millions of leaves in beautiful shades of red, gold and brown.
She walked to the house and pushed open the door. Stepping inside, she dropped her bag onto the floor and slipped her small leather boots off, leaving them next to her bag. Ffion took her black winter coat off, along with her little red gloves, her small brown hat and her faded rainbow scarf and hung then up next to her bright green umbrella and raincoat.
Ffion put some slippers on, the type that Mr.Whickam wore as he trundled through his house looking for a ghost in one of her favourite books. With the warm slippers on, she walked over to the fireplace and put the morning's news paper in it so she could light it later. With that, she sat on her beanbag and grabbed a book from the pile next to her. While reading, Smokey came and sat on her lap, keeping Ffion warm and comforted.
"Ouch", she squealed as the cat scratched Ffion's hand. Smokey gave Ffion a sorry look, then ran up to the kitchen door and began scratching at it. "You didn't have to scratch me you silly hungry cat," Ffion stood up and began walking to the kitchen door, pushing it open a crack.
"What will it be today? Chicken and veg? Fishy wishes? Tuna and salmon? Chicken and rice? Or...a whole piece of last nights roast beef?". The small cat's ears perked up at the sound of beef, "Beef it is," Ffion laughed opening the fridge and sticking her head in, "Here we go, a small plate of beef", she giggled placing the beef next to a bowl of water.
Ffion looked outside while her precious cat ate the beef, "You know what, I will have a piece too" she said putting her hand in the fridge and making a small sandwich. "So how was your day?" She asked between mouthfuls. The cat looked up at her, his eyes twinkling in the light. He gestured outside with his small paw. Ffion nodded her head as she chewed on the last piece of beef.
"Then I guess you won't be accompanying me on the afternoon stroll then?" Ffion questioned, opening the door. She started closing it behind her when Smokey jumped out. Ffion smiled feeling great about getting her cat to come outside with her.
Ffion sat down beside her special tree. Smokey came up and pressed his warm body against her legs. She patted the blackness of the cat, combing the dust off his beautiful fur. Smokey purred with pleasure and he lay his small head on Ffion's lap.
Giant towers of foxglove towered over Ffion, like the guardians of the forest. All of sudden a small orange fox came crashing through the bushes, chasing after a single butterfly. He jumped up into the air, trying to catch the butterfly in his jaws.
Ffion giggled at the foxes strange behaviour. The fox stopped suddenly at the sound, his ears pricked up startled by the now silent giggling. Ffion stopped and stared at the fox in wonder. Forgetting caution, she pushed Smokey off her lap and crawled over to the fox.
The fox looked at her, fear evident in his eyes. Ffion noticed this and kneeled down and put her arms in front of her, hands outstretched. The fox came over and sniffed her hands thoroughly and began joyfully licking them. "Perhaps he the tastes the beef?", Ffion thought as she sat up and began stroking the foxes coarse, but beautiful fur.
Ffion put her hand in the air and the fox jumped up, touching her palm with the tip of his nose. They played this game for a few more moments until Ffion saw the sun setting, in beautiful shades of pink, orange, red and yellow. She stood up and stretched her arms up like she was trying to touch the sky.
She began walking back to her house, when she heard the soft pitter patter of foot steps behind her. She looked down behind her to see the fox following close behind her, a mix of anticipation and wonder in his eyes. Ffion smiled, her heart touched by the foxes interest and new found trust in her. She turned back around and kept walking to the house, planning a simple dinner for her, Smokey and the fox.
"My name is Ffion" she told the fox, "what's yours?" She asked, more to her self than to the fox. "What is the little foxes name?" she thought as she opened the door. The first thing she saw was an angry black cat staring straight back up at her. "Oh dear, I am sorry I walked back without you, but I saw this fella chasing a Butterfly..." She stopped in mid sentence, "Butterfly, I will call you Butterfly." The cat looked at her unimpressed, and the fox just sat there waiting... for something.
Later in the Autumn...
"Butterfly wait up," she yelled at the orange descending figure that she was chasing. They had been playing hide and seek for the last hour and when Ffion found him for the tenth time, Butterfly had run off.
The small figure suddenly dropped to the ground, his ears flattened. He didn't move, just sniffed at the air. Ffion rushed over to the fox, pressing her body to the ground, still breathing heavily from the run. Butterfly stood up and began scouting ahead, looking for something. In a sudden moment a loud noise was heard across the forest. Ffion put her hands over her ears as they were ringing from the horrid noise. She looked up at Butterfly, wanting to cover his ears too.
The sight she saw was horrid, his orange coat was soaked with red sticky blood. Tears began streaming down her face. She recognised the noise now, it was a gun shot.
Later still....
No longer a little girl, she sits beside her special tree. Where her only friends lay waiting for her. "Not long now", Ffion whispers, her voice cracking as she places a single fox glove upon the earth. Her hand frail and wrinkled. She smiles to herself. "I have so much to tell you".
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Sorry I haven't been posting. :'(
I wrote this for a competition.
I hope you liked it!
