Adventures in Writing: Slow to Heal

No matter what Lavena said, life at Willow Manor was never going to be the same. It was as if the freezing cold had seeped under the doors to infect the people as they walked through the rooms. I had never been so lonely.

When Miss Perish had asked for permission to host a ball to show off my looks, Father had decided lessons would be best halted for some time. Without half of my day devoted to Miss Perish, I ended up ambling around Willow Manor, or spending time with Iris, waiting for the hours to crawl by.

Irene Suchocki

I even found myself drifting away from Lavena, and that’s what scared me most. She was my only ally, my only supporter in a steadily darkening world. Almost every time I sloshed through the snow to Lavena’s cottage, she was gone, and the few times she was there, she was jumpy and kept speaking to her owls about some woman. I’d ask what all the fuss was about, but she would quickly change the subject. She’d also remind me at the end of our meetings to stay away from Raven Wood at night. She even went so far as to say that it might be best if I didn’t visit her for some time.

“Stay in Willow Manor,” she had said two days before. “It’s safer there. I can’t explain now, but you will understand.”

“Why is it safer there?” I asked as she shooed me out of her house. “What’s going on?!” But she had closed the door.

I couldn’t deny that Lavena’s behavior scared me. Who was this strange woman that her owls were watching? I could tell when she was thinking about her—Lavena’s eyes would darken as if a thick cloud had passed behind them. Even though I had no idea who this mysterious person was, a nervousness was with me night and day because I knew Lavena was frightened.

 

Copyright by Melissa LeGette