Part 1: Saoirse

Saoirse Crawley Branson lay in bed wide awake, not able to sleep a wink, even though Da told her she needed to rest up for the big day. She shifted underneath her blankets, feeling her heart turn over in her chest, thinking about the parade she and her family would be attending. She turned her head towards her curtained window and wished with all her might that the sun's rays would start streaming in, but no luck. The view outside remained pitch black.

But even a three-year-old like her knew she should not be running around in the middle of the night, so she reached over and held the tiny Irish flag her father brought home to her yesterday afternoon. The broad green, white, and orange stripes seemed to glow in the dark, and Saoirse grinned happily imagining how she'd wave it as paraders marched, and her mouth watered thinking about all the sugary treats her father had promised her.

x-x

Yesterday afternoon, Saoirse was bored. Brushing her sandy ringlets from her face, oblivious to the fact that she was on the floor sullying her red and white cotton gingham dress, she targeted her prey. She kept her eyes on the fat tabby lounging in the mustard-yellow light shining through the sitting room windows. She advanced, creeping stealthily, making sure the floorboards didn't creak as she moved, and then she pounced upon Ulysses, grabbing his tail. The irritated cat hissed at her, and then stalked away in search of a more peaceful sleeping spot.

So she went to the kitchen, where her grandmother, who was over at their house more often these days, was helping her mother. They were preparing delicious colcannon, beef hand pie, lime tart, and soda bread – all of which were her absolute favorites. "It's like my birthday!" she exclaimed, and Mummy laughingly answered, "We're having a celebration for Ireland, my darling. Do you want to help me?" She nodded, happy to have something to do, so Mummy put a little apron around her and Gran helped her wash her hands. Then Mummy showed her how to pat the dough for the soda bread. Saoirse thought that Mummy made wonderful cakes, and she always talked about this cook she knew a long time ago, Mrs. Patmore, who had taught her all about baking. When Mummy and Gran weren't looking she sneaked some of the raisins into her mouth. She felt so proud when Mummy told her how glad she was of her help and dotted the tip of her nose with a light dusting of flour. Gran also smiled and said what a good helper she was being to Mummy, especially at this time.

Especially at this time! Mummy seemed too tired to play with her lately, which made Saoirse wish that this little brother or sister would come soon. This way, Mummy wouldn't always be so sleepy, and she could have someone else to play with besides the temperamental Ulysses. But the one wonderful thing about Mummy being home, Saoirse thought, was that she looked and smelled better. She wore bright colorful dresses, instead of the boring coarse gray she wore when she went to work, and smelled sweet like vanilla, not sour like medicine.

Now Mummy rested upstairs. The tortured Ulysses had disappeared, so under the watchful eye of Gran, Saoirse traipsed around the front garden to wait for Da. She ran her hand over the neatly trimmed hedge that she helped Da shape over the weekend, and spotted some elephant's ear. She decided to pop a leaf in her mouth, wondering if it tasted like the salads her mother made. She chewed, and feeling her tongue burning, spit out the leaf – no it certainly didn't! – and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Then, hearing the shouts of her neighbors on the road, she hopped on the front gate and swung, watching them chasing and kicking a ball. The ball darted over her head and landed in the grass right behind her. Padraic O'Rourke ran over, calling, "Oi, Saoirse, give us the ball, will ya?"

She hopped off the gate and picked up the ball, wrapping her arms around it, holding it hostage. "Can I play with you?" she asked hopefully.

Padraic's fingers impatiently wagged for the ball. "No, you're too little." He wrenched the ball from her bracing hold. "There's a girl. Grand."

In response, she stuck her tongue out at him. She knew her mother would sternly disapprove of that unladylike behavior but she didn't care. One day she wouldn't be so little and she'd show them when she went off on her adventures. Da always told her that she could be anything she wanted to be; she just had to be patient. She wanted to venture farther out, on the lookout for his brown felt hat and listening for him whistling a tune, but she glanced back into the garden and saw Gran among the daffodils and roses, inspecting the flower beds for weeds. She didn't want to be too sneaky, especially with Gran, so she kept swinging on the gate.

Saoirse loved Mummy more than anything, but she loved Da just a little bit more. She thought he was the smartest man in the world and he could do anything. She had watched him make her a swing from a piece of wood he sanded smoothly so that it became a comfortable seat, and drilled holes into which he strung through heavy, tough rope. He securely tied the swing to the tree he used to climb as a boy in Gran's garden. And she loved it when he pushed her so high it looked like her feet were touching the clouds. Da could also fix her toys. She had a habit of sometimes playing too rough with them and she marveled at how expertly he put her broken and squeaky wagon back together when she had crashed it into a tree.

But best of all, he told such wonderful stories! Bedtime, whenever Da was home, was her favorite time with him. He told her stories about magical wizards and scheming sorceresses who cast evil spells, of fairies who made little girls' wishes come true, of heroes and maidens, and of celestial beings that lived on mountaintops and threw lightning bolts from the sky. She loved how Da began every story with "Once upon a time," and ended with "…happily ever after." She'd have a satisfied smile on her face as Da kissed her and sent her off to dream of more amazing adventures.

The best story he told, however, was a simple love story. Perhaps it was the way he told it that captured her imagination and touched her heart. It was about a boy from Ireland who, a long, long time ago, was curious about the world and longed for adventure. So when he grew up, he kissed his family goodbye and sailed on a great big boat, carrying with him only his family's love and a pocketful of dreams. The ship sailed for a faraway land across the sea, and when he landed at those foreign shores, he went exploring. He soon found himself at a grand castle. A beautiful lady, who looked very, very much like her (and at this Saoirse's blue eyes widened and she giggled), lived in the castle. The lad thought she was the most wonderful lady he had ever met and he fell deeply in love. She wore light blue jupe-culottes just like the princesses wore in The Arabian Nights, and she had special healing powers that helped everyone who was sick get well again. ("Like Mummy!" Saoirse had gasped. "Yep. Just like Mummy," Da had answered with a grin.) The lad stayed near the castle, hoping and wishing the lady would one day come to love him and run away with him. He waited and waited, and saw many seasons pass. Rain showers fell and flowers bloomed, days grew long and the sun shone bright and hot, then the air grew colder and leaves from trees died and fell, and finally the snows blanketed the castle, then melted into puddles and rain showers fell again. And even with all the changes and passage of time, the lad did not stop loving the lady. He kept waiting, and his love never changed—if anything it only grew stronger. One day, the lady rewarded the lad's patience by saying she loved him back. At that moment all his dreams came true. They were both so happy, and they ran away to have adventures together.

"Did they live happily ever after, Da?" Saoirse could barely contain her excitement the first time she heard this story that she was sitting up, cross-legged on her bed.

"Of course they did, love," her father smiled. "They sailed back across the sea and had lots of adventures and they did live happily ever after."

"I want to have brave adventures like that boy," she sighed, settling back onto her pillow. "I want to go on a boat and see castles and talk to lots of interesting people."

Da pulled her blankets up to her chin and stroked her hair. "And you will. You can do anything you want, be anyone you want to be. You just have to be patient, but never give up your dreams. Someday you will be big enough to make them come true."

x-x

Tonight, she was going to ask Da about tomorrow's parade and all the things she would see. She felt like this was going to be her first real adventure, and she could hardly wait.