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Spring - Spring Scents - 2 (Veilwood)
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Josie left the bus at the crossroads leading to her home, Veilwood House.
It stood apart from the town proper, but a brisk walk of about fifteen minutes would take Josie from her front door to the center of Brigspeel. A small convenience store with an amazing candy selection and a few other small businesses of various occupations were placed around the central green of the town square. It was a tranquil little community with friendly inhabitants and well-kept homes. On her bike, Josie could reach the square in five minutes, which made her very proud. She had timed herself and planned to improve, convinced she could do better. Because her house wasn’t in town, the town Council had placed an extra bus stop for Josie at the crossroads to help with the commute to school. But it also meant that she had to walk a few minutes to reach the safety of Veilwood House.
Leaving the dirt road and entering the small, overgrown driveway, she could already see the warm glow of the windows. Their comforting warmth peeked through the branches of the big willow tree in the garden. The towering shades of the surrounding deciduous woods in the background provided a stark contrast to the inviting light of the house, but Josie wasn’t afraid. She knew them well and had enjoyed many great walks in the forest. One could find gigantic mushrooms there in the fall. Her swing was hanging off of one of the gigantic branches of the old willow; it's still shape suggesting a patient wait for warmer days that would allow Josie to play outside again.
Josie loved Veilwood with her whole heart. It was her safe haven, and she felt grateful to be home at last. The house was of moderate size and had just three rooms on each of its two floors. The kitchen, living room, and a small library were situated on the ground floor, Nan's bedroom, the bathroom, and a large storage closet on the first. Adding to the space were the small conservatory, a root cellar, and of course the attic, which was Josie's domain. Despite Veilwood House's modest size, she perceived it as vast sometimes. Perhaps it only seemed that way because of her own small stature; she couldn't be certain. All the rooms were about the same size; Josie had estimated their dimensions and found she could cross one from end to end in about six large strides. These measurements had been crucial when building a blanket fort in the living room.
She ignored the steps that lead up to the wrap-around porch and the front door. Instead, Josie headed through the garden towards the back of the house, where a door would take her into the mud room adjourning the kitchen. The wild and overgrown grounds weren't a fenced-in garden in the classical sense but rather a spacious clearing in the surrounding woods. The single opening was the driveway connecting it to the road, giving the place a very sheltered feeling amidst the seasonal foliage of the forest. The soft murmur of water reached Josie from the back of the scenery, and the gentle sound felt almost like a greeting to her. Its source was a little brook whose course led it along the empty branches of some fruit trees and berry shrubs, the greenery still waiting to be woken up by warmer spring temperatures. The brook was a small tributary coming off of Pig’s Creek, the narrow river that ran through the town of Brigspeel. It flowed through the vast pond in Veilwood’s garden; the emerald waters home to many a pretty fish, a variety of other aquatic animals, and beautiful water lilies. Large stepping stones scattered between the pond's reeds also provided a gathering place for various small reptiles and amphibians. In the summer, dragonflies would flit about the surface, their fascinating bodies glittering in the sun.
The frogs were Josie’s favourites, though. Finding frogspawn always excited her to no end, and she observed the entire process and growth of her frogs with the same eager interest at every opportunity. Tadpoles were no more than tiny black dots, their oval form elongated by their tails, yet their eyes already shimmered golden. After a while, they grew their first limbs and started to take shape. When they eventually lost their tails and took on their final appearance, Josie was so proud of them. Sometimes she would just sit at the pond and watch them jump around - her wondrous, glorious miniature frogs. What a miracle this was - every time. That they also took care of most of the mosquitoes was another added bonus by her count. Josie’s heart almost burst with love for them.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Veilwood’s pond had too much vegetation to swim in, but she could hang her feet in if she wanted to cool off. It wasn’t for swimming anyway; it was for exploring - but either way, the current temperatures were still more those of winter than spring, and it would be a good while before the girl could walk about barefooted. Josie loved all seasons and thus, of course, also appreciated the awakening world of springtime with its subtle insinuations of possible adventures and the hopeful outlook it inspired. But the cold days had left her longing for more warmth, and so, with a bit of youthful impatience, she looked forward to summer and to feeling the garden's lawn beneath her naked feet again. A smile played about her lips as she imagined the grass - moist with dew in the morning, warm and comforting during the day, and cool and soothing in the evenings.
The rich and enticing mix of nature’s fragrances was also missing, and while taking a deep breath here right now was still refreshing and freeing, it wasn't as delicious as it was with the garden in full bloom. Everything seemed to still be sleeping without the rustle of small critters, the chirps of birds, and all the other sounds that made up her garden’s own melody. Remembering all this, Josie almost didn't want to wait any longer for her garden to wake up - even if that meant the departure of her favourite flowers. The clusters of snowdrops were fighting their way out of the blanketing snow alongside colourful crocuses. The sight made her happy every year, as the flowers were the first obvious sign of spring, the season of her birthday. Three more weeks until she was officially a year older.
At the back of the house sat the conservatory, an intricate affair of metal struts and glass panes, through which she could already see the light from the kitchen. Skipping up the steps to the backdoor, she entered Veilwood House and was enveloped by inviting, aromatic warmth. The wafts of delicious scents promised dinner, waiting for her in the oven or atop the stove. She was starving now, which reminded her of the cat in the park.
She sat her backpack and sports kit down, took her boots and parka off, and raced into the kitchen, sliding to a skidding halt on the beautiful old tiles of the kitchen floor. Through her socks, she could feel them being a bit cold, but she didn’t mind, as she also couldn’t remember where she had left her house slippers previously. The fireplace was lit, and its lively spark seemed to greet Josie with joy. The crackles sounded almost like a whisper, welcoming her into the dancing light of flames and the warm safety of Veilwood House. The knot that had formed in her chest because of the earlier events eased up, and the tension she hadn’t even realized she carried left her shoulders.
Josie was home.
Nan was standing at the stove, her slender back a bit bent but her posture otherwise composed. A simple apron was protecting her severe-looking, dark dress, and while Josie entered the room, she dried her hands with it. Her cane was leaning on the wall beside the stove, and Nan’s pretty silvery hair was, as always, gathered into a tight bun at the back of her head. She turned around to Josie and smiled, the stern face lighting up at the sight of the girl.
None of them noticed the minuscule, slight tremor that went through the entire structure of the house.
“There you are,” Nan said. “Welcome home.”
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