Sundress

I wrote this when my grandfather passed away

My heart goes out to the little girl in the sundress. Her tan skin, sea green eyes, and her smooth long blond hair tied back with a ribbon. Every year since I was four I have been going to my grandmother’s house for the summer while my parents were off on business. Last year around the time of my eleventh birthday before school let out my grandmother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The doctors said she had about a year to live. My parents told me I could stay home with the nanny instead of going to her house that summer if I wanted.

                For the last two weeks of school I pondered the decision, but I figured if my grandmother were to die they would sell the house, and it would be my last time to play in the woods behind it. So I decided I would spend the last summer my grandmother had at her house. I packed my clothes and supplies and my parents got ready to drive me five hours north to Richmond New York. Richmond was a little secluded town in northern New York it had two stores and maybe fifty people. My grandmother owned thirty acres of that town she had a stable with three horses, a huge garden, and the best woods to play in.

                Once we arrived my parents made dinner while I worked in the garden. My grandmother sat in her rocking chair watching me pull weeds from the flower bed. The fresh air smelt great compaired to the normally city air I was used to. Feeling the dirt banithe me felt more natural than any other thing in the world.  While I was picking green beans I all of sudden heard a little girls laughter when I looked up there was a young girl maybe six seven years of age. She stood peering at me from behind a tree; she wore a sun dress of yellow and orange colored flowers. Her sea green eyes looked at me with fascination. Her blond hair was just like mine long straight and smooth.  When I turned to look at my grandmother to ask her about the little girl she had fallen asleep. When I turned back to see the girl she was gone.

                After dinner I told my parents about the girl while they had coffee and dessert. My dad just shrugged it off to kids playing in the woods. I agreed with him and just forgot about the whole thing. When it was time for my parents to go they gave me some spending money for the fair that comes to town every year. They kissed me good bye got in their car, I watched the car fade out of sight down the dirt road. I helped my grandmother inside to bed. I had a couple hours of daylight so I went for a quick horse ride.

                The next day I started early I mucked the stalls and watered the garden. I helped my grandmother get dressed and do some chores in the house. After lunch she laid down for a nap. I decided I go for a walk in the woods. I fallowed the horse path till I found the string fallowed the string right to the tree house. My father had built the tree house for my brother when he was young, but now he is off to college and I’m the only child left at home. I climb up the old latter and push open the hatch. It’s rather musty there must have been a leak in the roof over the winter.

                I spend an hour cleaning the tree house, I sake out the old rug and sweep the floor and clean the windows. Just as I was about to climb the tree and go up to the roof to see where It leaked I heard some laughter. So I climbed down the latter and looked around. Next thing I know there is the little girl in the sundress placing her hand on my back saying tag then running away. I was shocked I didn’t know what to say I didn’t know this girl, and I was always taught not to talk to strangers. But somehow I found this situation to be different.

                So I played tag with the girl I didn’t even ask her name we played for a while then I heard the milk truck coming down the road the milk truck didn’t come till later in the afternoon almost dinner time. I was worried that my grandmother was awake and wondering where I was. When I turned around to tell the little girl I had to leave she was gone again. So I ran my way back to the house. I made it just in time to see my grandmother giving the milk man the empty glass milk bottles.

                “Where were you at?” My grandmother asked.

                “At the tree house, I didn’t think you’d mind if I went out while you slept.”

                “I don’t mind at all you know your boundaries are.”

                “I saw the little girl again, but she didn’t tell me her name we played tag together.”

                “Well I’m glad you made a new friend sweetheart. Will you do, me a favor and run down to the Johnsons farm and get some eggs?” My grandmother asked.

                “Sure Grandma.”

                With that I went out to the stable and saddled up a horse and went down to the Johnsons. I used to hang with the Johnsons daughter but she moved to Boston with her cousins to go to a bigger school. Ms. Johnson invited me in for some cookies and milk. After she told me she hadn’t collected the eggs from the barn yet today and if I did it she would give us the eggs free of charge. So I went and collected the eggs and brought them in to the house. On my way home something spooked my horse and almost made me fall off.

                I went a couple days without seeing the little girl and my grandmother was feeling well and went out with me, but her feeling well didn’t last for long. A week later the cancer took a turn for the worse. The doctor came everyday and while he was there I would go out into the woods. I found that the little girl’s name was Riley. I played with riley for days I told her my grandmother was going away she didn’t understand what I meant. But she said she was sorry and everyday she asked if I was sad. I didn’t tell her I was sad I just told her I was scared. I was scared I didn’t know how to handle it.

                One day my grandmother was feeling a lot better and wanted to go out. So I hitched the horses to the wagon and helped my grandmother on I put the wheel-chair in the back and we headed into town.  Once in town we went to the farmers market and got some more grain for the horses. Kyle loaded them on to the wagon. I pulled Kyle aside and asked him if he would help me re-build the tree house, and he agreed to it. It took us about three weeks to re-build the tree house. The new wood smelt so good. We got the wood for free from Kyle’s dad’s work shop.

During the time we were building the tree house the little girl would show up playing with her doll, or jumping rope below us as we worked.  She would hand us nails and sand paper. Watching Riley play made me knowtice how much Riley and I looked alike, but I just shrugged it off as a coincidence.  When we were done me and Kyle went and got my grandmother to show her the new tree house. Riley wasn’t anywhere to be found when we got to the tree house. Kyle suggested she might be eating lunch.

Kyle’s dad the day before had made a ramp that went around the tree to the tree house. It made so we could wheel my grandmother up to the tree house. My grandmother was so proud of Kyle for helping me build the new tree house. She kept commenting on how much bigger it was compared to the old one.

On our way back to my grandmother’s house my grandmother fell asleep. About five minuets’ later Riley is walking beside me.

“Is that your grandma?” Riley asks.

“Yeah it is, where were you earlier? I thought you were going to help us show the tree house to her?” I ask her.

“I was in the woods.”

I shrugged it off to her being little and easily distracted by other things. She ran off as soon as we got to the edge of the woods saying she had to go back. Back to where, I don’t know. It rained for three days after that on the third day while my grandmother was taking her nap Riley was out in by the edge of the woods soaked from jumping in puddles. She was yelling my name and jumping up and down. So I put on some old shorts and a tank top and headed out side in my bare feet. Walking across the wet ground, the grass squished between my toes. Every drop that hit my skin sent waves of goose bumps down my back and arms. I love the smell of the fresh rain air. We begin to run through the woods in the rain the humid summer air faides as the rain falls.

 We ran so far into the woods that we came to an old stone wall. This was my boundary I wasn’t supposed to go past this point. Riley begins to climb over the stone wall.

“I can’t go any further.” I called out to Riley.

“I want to show you something special, I promise I won’t get you in trouble.”

I fallowed her because she was right how could I get in trouble my grandmother would never know she can barely get outside on her own let alone all the way out here to see if I passed the wall. I fallowed Riley out into an open field to a small stream.

“This is my favorite place to play the stream is so peaceful,” Riley said.

“Yeah it’s pretty.”

“Grace, I’m leaving soon.” She said after some time of silence

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I have to, I can’t really explain it.”

“Will you be here next summer?” I asked worried that I wouldn’t see my new found friend again.

“No, but don’t worry we’ll always be friends right?” She asked.

“Yeah,” I said confused as to what this little girl was talking about.

After that she got up and started running back towards the wall. I watched her fade and not out of sight but she faded like she turned invisible. I didn’t understand what happened, so I just walked back to the house.  As I called out to my grandmother and made my way to my grandmother’s room, I noticed she was still lying in bed. When I walked over I realised my grandmother was no longer sleeping the she had passed away. My grandmother didn’t have a phone so I did the next thing that came to mind. I left my grandmother grabbed a horse and made my way as fast as possible to the Johnsons.

I flew into their house without knocking, I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth fast enough with tears running down my face and the panic in my voice Mr. and Mrs. Johnson had realised what had happened. Mrs. Johnson got me to calm down while Mr. Johnson called the morgue. I stayed at the Johnson’s for the night till my parents were able to make it back.

                When my parents arrived they set out making plans for the funeral. My dad during that week had spent more time with me than ever before. We went for horse ride and he took me to the fair. I think he was making up for not being there when it happened, but I wasn’t that shocked as he thought. My mother and Mrs. Johnson planned for the funeral in the back yard. By the Casket there was a black and white photo of a little girl in a sundress with flowers, with long hair tied back with a ribbon. When I realized who it was I heard laughing I looked up and there was Riley waving and running back into the woods.

“Daddy is that photo of grandmother?” I asked my father, “and did people call her Riley?”

“How did you know she was called Riley as a child?” My father questioned.

“Just a guess,” I said.

I never cried or was really sad cause I knew that I was never really without her. My parents didn’t sell the house and when I graduated high school I moved in. I started my own life here and every once in a while I see Riley standing at the edge of the woods sending me a knowing smile.

                

Reviews

[Pierre.B.G.]

there is no words ,,wonderful

[Chris]

I know it's flawed. You can easily fix what needs fixing. You told a story I stayed to listen to - willingly, and that says all that really needs be said.

Take care,
Chris

[Captain]

Needs some minor grammar correction and there are some inconsistencies in whether the story is being told in present or past tense, (mostly just occasional present tense wording) but a really great and original story. I like it a lot :D Your grandma would be proud.
'Captain