The Cottage.....The class looked up as the schoolroom door opened and a young girl, accompanied by the principal, walked in. "Class", he said, "I'd like to introduce you to our new student, Columbine Greenly. I trust you will all make her feel welcome." Next to him stood a rather plain girl, her hands hidden in the pockets of her dress. She glanced up only briefly before returning her gaze to the floor. You could tell she was horribly uncomfortable and painfully shy.
Some of the kids in the class snickered and whispered among themselves. The boys prone to bullying sat in the back and shuffled around. One of them coughed and then looked knowingly at the others who chuckled under their breath. All of this made Columbine even more self-conscious and if she could have, she would have melted into the tile floor. The principal put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her toward the teacher of this fifth grade class, Miss Blackwell, then turned abruptly and went out the door saying to no one in particular, "carry on then, class".
Miss Blackwell, after noting that this plain little girl had no self-esteem whatsoever, showed her to her desk. Columbine slid into the seat, mumbling a thank you. She wished she could just go home, or better yet, to the cottage, but she couldn't do that just yet. How she hated new situations and it seemed as though she was always having to face them. The teacher's voice droned on about the rainforest and the various species indigenous to the region. Columbine's mind began to drift. Her fantasies were her means of escape and in her world she felt self-reliant, confident and important. She was sought out by her peers and respected for her wisdom, which was far beyond her 11 years of age. Yes, in her world everyone wanted to be like her and be with her....totally opposite of what her real life was like.
Before she knew it, lunch recess was upon them. She followed her classmates to the cafeteria where they scattered in all directions seeking out their friends. She wasn't hungry and took very little of what was offered for lunch. She scanned the room and picked a spot at a table in the corner where she spread out her meager lunch and opened a book to read while eating. She was so engrossed in the book that she didn't notice the girl sliding into the chair beside her until she was already there, asking if it was alright for her to share the table. Colly nodded and went back to her book. The girl stated that her name was Margaret and that she loved to read too. Columbine told her that most everyone called her Colly for short and so began a friendship of two misfits. Margaret liked to wear tissue flowers in her hair. She would slowly and methodically accordion fold the tissue, pin it and then carefully pull the layers apart to make a lovely flower. She had them in all colors and refused to hear the taunting laughter of her classmates when she wore them. She liked to pretend she was a famous Spanish dancer with hair so black it had blue highlights in it; the tissue flower became a bright red rose as her coal black eyes slid over her admirers. Yes, Margaret had fantasies of her own.
Colly eventually told Margaret about her cottage in the woods and all the lovely things inside and around it. She told her about how her father lived abroad and would send money to the people she lived with to make sure she was taken care of. No, she didn't know why he lived abroad but it was necessary right now and soon they would be reunited. Because of his immense love for her, he had hired workmen to build her a cottage straight out of her dreams. It was set in the woods and unless you knew how to get there, you would never come across it accidentally. It was the keeper of Colly's happiest moments.....memories that had a life of their own, so intense you could smell the cookies baking, feel the hugs and bask in the warm glow of the fireplace. The fragrance of the wood burning, the pop and hiss of the crackling fire mixed with the laughter of a family bound by love. It was beautiful, cozy and secure and once there, she never wanted to leave but had to when her other life got in the way and she had chores to do and homework to complete. She would leave then and walk back home to once again experience the pain of being a little different and no one quite understanding it.
Margaret wanted to visit the cottage but Colly wasn't sure she could take her there. She tried to tell her how to get there but Margaret never could get the directions right and if Colly asked her to follow her, Margaret would later say that Colly never went anywhere, that she had just sat in the chair. How ridiculous was that? Colly suspected that possibly there was something wrong with Margaret and decided that perhaps she wasn't meant to see the cottage. Perhaps no one except herself and those already there were meant to see it.
As she grew older, Colly eventually became interested in things outside the cottage and visits became less regular until soon she was only visiting a few times a year, usually when things were tense and stressful. Colly's escape into a beautiful world of her own making was her protection against a harsh reality that she couldn't deal with at the time but it served her well. Colly grew up to become a noted child psychiatrist who fascinated the parents of her young patients because of her ability to reach them. She instinctively seemed to know exactly where those little souls went when their minds would drift away. She could walk up to the cottage door and knock politely to visit with no trouble at all. She had not forgotten the way.
~ Inspired by above photo displayed in Magpie Tales ~
