trouble maker. She accepted Amanda as she found her, and it became something that Amanda grew to respect about her new friend.
As the months rolled on, and the pair grew closer, something of Alicia rubbed off on Amanda, just as Georgina’s loves had rubbed off on Amanda later on in New York.
Amanda calmed down and the old friends who flocked to her because of her rebellious ways began to drift away until Amanda didn’t consider them friends any more. Amanda wasn’t the trouble maker she used to be, and although she would never be a Catholic, she knew she didn’t need to be naughty any more either.
She remembered she once asked Alicia why she had chosen to become her friend, and Alicia had said, ‘You looked like you needed one.’
‘But, I had friends,’ Amanda had replied.
‘No Mandy, I don’t think you did. You had a…’ Alicia had paused, apparently searching for the right word or term, eventually she settled on ‘…a Gang. They weren’t your friends Mandy. Not like I am.’
Amanda knew she had been right. Back then, Amanda had not really grasped the full extent of Alicia’s wisdom, a wisdom far beyond her years. Those other kids weren’t really her friends, they had hung out with Amanda because Amanda had been a rebel, but in Alicia, Amanda had found someone she could actually call a friend in the true sense of the word, someone she respected and came to care for. Her ‘Gang’ had quickly dispersed and Amanda found herself left with only one person to hang out with, although she felt happier with one friend then she had ever been with a group of sheep following her around all day.
As she walked through the long grass, thinking of her past, she wondered what Alicia could be doing now, where was she and what might she be doing. Had she become the Nun she had once said she wanted to be? One day she would need to find out, but not yet.
Before long Amanda had reached the edge of the tree line and she paused to glance back at the cottage that sat there, a brown and white building in the midst of all this green. It held so many memories, and so many of them painful ones, it almost seemed to be filled up with the essence of death. Amanda gave a little sigh, knowing she would have to return there later on, she hoped she felt better about the cottage when she did return.
The woods were as magical as Amanda thought they would be in this weather, the dappled light of the sun fell through the canopy and hit the forest floor, falling onto Amanda’s bare shoulders and ruby hair, warming the cool air here. A passer-by might have thought she was some kind of woodland fairy the atmosphere felt so filled with mystery and wonder.
Long grasses rose and fell in arcs on the forest floor while birds sang in the trees to warn other wildlife of Amanda’s passing. Bees and Midges filled the air, lit up like tiny glow flies as the constantly shifting shafts of light hit them here and there all about her. Amanda’s mind had mercifully left behind the thoughts of the cottage and the memories it held, just as she had hoped it would, the walk had seemed to have swept those thoughts away and she concentrated on the terrain ahead of her and of finding her way to the clearing ahead.
The first test of Amanda and Alicia’s friendship had been one evening when Amanda thought it would be a good idea to try and use a Ouija Board.
Amanda had always been fascinated with Mythology and the occult. Anything unknown was of interest to her, and the secrets of the dead were certainly unknown. The mythology of Angels and Hell and other such aspects of Christianity, these things were of interest to her, but she put them on a level with things like Lord of the Rings and other works of fantasy.
Amanda had been in the middle of using the Ouija Board when Alicia walked in on her, and she promptly freaked out on the spot, she started to shout, asking how Amanda could bring a tool of the Devil into a house of God? The commotion brought the
As the months rolled on, and the pair grew closer, something of Alicia rubbed off on Amanda, just as Georgina’s loves had rubbed off on Amanda later on in New York.
Amanda calmed down and the old friends who flocked to her because of her rebellious ways began to drift away until Amanda didn’t consider them friends any more. Amanda wasn’t the trouble maker she used to be, and although she would never be a Catholic, she knew she didn’t need to be naughty any more either.
She remembered she once asked Alicia why she had chosen to become her friend, and Alicia had said, ‘You looked like you needed one.’
‘But, I had friends,’ Amanda had replied.
‘No Mandy, I don’t think you did. You had a…’ Alicia had paused, apparently searching for the right word or term, eventually she settled on ‘…a Gang. They weren’t your friends Mandy. Not like I am.’
Amanda knew she had been right. Back then, Amanda had not really grasped the full extent of Alicia’s wisdom, a wisdom far beyond her years. Those other kids weren’t really her friends, they had hung out with Amanda because Amanda had been a rebel, but in Alicia, Amanda had found someone she could actually call a friend in the true sense of the word, someone she respected and came to care for. Her ‘Gang’ had quickly dispersed and Amanda found herself left with only one person to hang out with, although she felt happier with one friend then she had ever been with a group of sheep following her around all day.
As she walked through the long grass, thinking of her past, she wondered what Alicia could be doing now, where was she and what might she be doing. Had she become the Nun she had once said she wanted to be? One day she would need to find out, but not yet.
Before long Amanda had reached the edge of the tree line and she paused to glance back at the cottage that sat there, a brown and white building in the midst of all this green. It held so many memories, and so many of them painful ones, it almost seemed to be filled up with the essence of death. Amanda gave a little sigh, knowing she would have to return there later on, she hoped she felt better about the cottage when she did return.
The woods were as magical as Amanda thought they would be in this weather, the dappled light of the sun fell through the canopy and hit the forest floor, falling onto Amanda’s bare shoulders and ruby hair, warming the cool air here. A passer-by might have thought she was some kind of woodland fairy the atmosphere felt so filled with mystery and wonder.
Long grasses rose and fell in arcs on the forest floor while birds sang in the trees to warn other wildlife of Amanda’s passing. Bees and Midges filled the air, lit up like tiny glow flies as the constantly shifting shafts of light hit them here and there all about her. Amanda’s mind had mercifully left behind the thoughts of the cottage and the memories it held, just as she had hoped it would, the walk had seemed to have swept those thoughts away and she concentrated on the terrain ahead of her and of finding her way to the clearing ahead.
The first test of Amanda and Alicia’s friendship had been one evening when Amanda thought it would be a good idea to try and use a Ouija Board.
Amanda had always been fascinated with Mythology and the occult. Anything unknown was of interest to her, and the secrets of the dead were certainly unknown. The mythology of Angels and Hell and other such aspects of Christianity, these things were of interest to her, but she put them on a level with things like Lord of the Rings and other works of fantasy.
Amanda had been in the middle of using the Ouija Board when Alicia walked in on her, and she promptly freaked out on the spot, she started to shout, asking how Amanda could bring a tool of the Devil into a house of God? The commotion brought the
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