Dust was everywhere, mixed in with that fluffy insulation stuff that always made me cough. I'm probably on my way to getting some sort of respitory problem from that foul fuzz. Anyway- I was up in the attic getting the winter clothes down, and I came upon a slim cardboard box. This box was not pretty. It looked like it had been a hotel for mice or... something. Riddled with tiny holes as if it had been hit repeatedly with bird shot, the only distinguishible feature was the word PHOTOS, scrawled across the side in heavy black letters.
Aha! I remembered this box. I love looking at photographs, so I eagerly plunged my hands into the box (now up-graded to a treasure-chest in my mind), and pulled out little clusters of memories.
They were wonderful. Ranging from hilarious shots of Halloween costumes (including such gems as; washing machine, Interlochen bag-lady, school luch lady, and pineapple), to thing like graduations and the girls' baby pictures, vacations...I could go on, but- I won't, to spare you.
Why haven't I put any of these in frames or albums? Major failure on my part. Of course, I had meant to have each photo perfectly preserved in one of the many albums or frames I had, but that just never happened-- like a lot of little things around the house that had just 'never happened', that we'd 'never gotten around to'... hmmmm... .
I continued looking through the piles, until I came to the bottom. There was an old frame, lying face-down. I recognized it instantly; it was the one I had buried nearly 12 years ago so I wouldn't have to look at it anymore. Carefully, almost timidly, I picked it up and turned it over.
There she was, blanketed in a layer of dust, but in no way muffled. As if anything could silence her character. Nope, not Elizabeth Arlent. This picture was taken after one of her performances. She was a dancer, one of the best- the 'prima ballerina' in the Royal Ballet. She was getting ready for an after party. I should know, I was the one who took it.
Her gown was beautiful, made of champagne silk, strapless, the fabric sweeping across her waist to the hip, then billowing out in graceful folds to the floor. Her hair was sleek and pulled back into a tight knot. She had this odd expression on her face, it was very intense. Sometimes she would get that way when she was trying to get a point across to somebody, but most of the time, she was very up-beat. Vivacious, wild, a force to be reckoned with, but also kind and thoughtful, that was Elizabeth. She was always laughing.
I stared at that picture for a very long time. I had put it away because it had always made me miserable whenever I saw it. Elizabeth had passed-away only a few months after that picture was taken. My best friend Elizabeth was gone. It was strange that someone so full of life had just slowly faded away. I didn't understand, and I think it scared me. But I have no reason to be afraid- I've just been being a baby. She should be remembered, and celebrated, not hidden away in a dark, dusty attic full of out-dated insulation!
I stared at the picture for another long stretch of time until I heard the twins, Jane and Lizzie, tearing through the house looking for me. Jumping up in a puff of fluff, I climbed down the splintery attic stairs back to reality (whatever that is).
Elizabeth's picture rests in the living room now. I think it's a nice touch.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
One day some time ago, in an old church covered in ivy, there was a wedding. As you and I know, weddings are all about love and happiness. I can assure you that this wedding was not lacking in either category, but it is up to you to decide whether or not, in the end, this story is one of those rare, 'happily ever after' tales.
Now, in this church there lived a very large family of mice. The youngest, whose name was had never seen a wedding. His friends and sibling crowded around him, telling him all about the delights of matrimony.
"The humans are actually happy for once!"
"So many pretty things.... flowers....ribbons...."
"No one notices a bit of mischief."
"Who cares about all that, it's the cake that's important!"
And with that remark, there began a frenzy of excited voices describing such wonders that was filled with fierce longing to experience them for himself. So, when the little church began to fill up with people and the mice could hear their laughter everywhere, set out to find a spot where he could be part of A Wedding. He scurried along until he found a place looking down at the altar near the top pipes of the organ. So when the first notes of the bridal march blasted next to his sensitive ears he let out a high squeak of surprise, clamped his paws down over his ears, and squeezed his eyes shut until it was over and he could hear himself think again. Because of this, he was not prepared for the sight before him when he at last re-opened his eyes. And when he saw a lady in white holding a bouquet of wildflowers with a smile on her face and her wide brown eyes shining with happiness, the mouse, if you can believe it, fell in love.
And because the mouse fell in love with a 'princess', his eyes never left her face, and when the wedding party moved into a separate chamber of the church, he followed them, climbing into the rafters and running along overhead. And when the bride and groom moved towards the cake, scrambled down onto the lowest tiers of an old, somewhat decrepit chadelier. Hanging on by his tail, he concentrated on the bride's face so much that he lost his grip on the chandelier.
He fell right into the cake.
And when he popped up a few moments later, his wiskers coated in vanilla frosting, the bride's mother gave out a great shriek;
"AAAIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!! There is a MOUSE! In your CAKE!!!!!"
There was then a great intake of breath before all of the ladies in the church began squealing like frenzied pigs. All that is, except for the bride, who stood looking our little mouse in the eye with a quizzical expression on her face. You see, she was not angry. Somehow, she knew that the mouse now staring up at her had only wanted to be a part of something beautiful. So, reaching out, she gently picked up in one hand and brought him up to her face. And then, after a moment, she did something very strange. She placed a kiss on the top of his head, right between his ears.
It was very strange, and I bet you are wondering why she did it. Well, I can't tell you why she did it, I am just here to tell you what happened. I will say that in stories princesses (or brides in this case), do very odd things sometimes and no one ever knows why.
But I can tell you that at that very moment, friends and siblings decided to make their move on the cake. And although the bride's mother was still in hysterics, she still posessed enough sense to identify the rest of the uninvited guests with a round of shrieking that surpassed any other sound that had yet been made on this earth. As she carried on shrieking, her face turned the most alarming shade of purple, until at last, she swooned and collapsed onto the floor.
At that time, the mice saw that thier plan was ruined, and they retreated back into their shelter behind the walls. The bride set down on the ground, but the little mouse did not move.
Now, in this church there lived a very large family of mice. The youngest, whose name was had never seen a wedding. His friends and sibling crowded around him, telling him all about the delights of matrimony.
"The humans are actually happy for once!"
"So many pretty things.... flowers....ribbons...."
"No one notices a bit of mischief."
"Who cares about all that, it's the cake that's important!"
And with that remark, there began a frenzy of excited voices describing such wonders that was filled with fierce longing to experience them for himself. So, when the little church began to fill up with people and the mice could hear their laughter everywhere, set out to find a spot where he could be part of A Wedding. He scurried along until he found a place looking down at the altar near the top pipes of the organ. So when the first notes of the bridal march blasted next to his sensitive ears he let out a high squeak of surprise, clamped his paws down over his ears, and squeezed his eyes shut until it was over and he could hear himself think again. Because of this, he was not prepared for the sight before him when he at last re-opened his eyes. And when he saw a lady in white holding a bouquet of wildflowers with a smile on her face and her wide brown eyes shining with happiness, the mouse, if you can believe it, fell in love.
And because the mouse fell in love with a 'princess', his eyes never left her face, and when the wedding party moved into a separate chamber of the church, he followed them, climbing into the rafters and running along overhead. And when the bride and groom moved towards the cake, scrambled down onto the lowest tiers of an old, somewhat decrepit chadelier. Hanging on by his tail, he concentrated on the bride's face so much that he lost his grip on the chandelier.
He fell right into the cake.
And when he popped up a few moments later, his wiskers coated in vanilla frosting, the bride's mother gave out a great shriek;
"AAAIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!! There is a MOUSE! In your CAKE!!!!!"
There was then a great intake of breath before all of the ladies in the church began squealing like frenzied pigs. All that is, except for the bride, who stood looking our little mouse in the eye with a quizzical expression on her face. You see, she was not angry. Somehow, she knew that the mouse now staring up at her had only wanted to be a part of something beautiful. So, reaching out, she gently picked up in one hand and brought him up to her face. And then, after a moment, she did something very strange. She placed a kiss on the top of his head, right between his ears.
It was very strange, and I bet you are wondering why she did it. Well, I can't tell you why she did it, I am just here to tell you what happened. I will say that in stories princesses (or brides in this case), do very odd things sometimes and no one ever knows why.
But I can tell you that at that very moment, friends and siblings decided to make their move on the cake. And although the bride's mother was still in hysterics, she still posessed enough sense to identify the rest of the uninvited guests with a round of shrieking that surpassed any other sound that had yet been made on this earth. As she carried on shrieking, her face turned the most alarming shade of purple, until at last, she swooned and collapsed onto the floor.
At that time, the mice saw that thier plan was ruined, and they retreated back into their shelter behind the walls. The bride set down on the ground, but the little mouse did not move.
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