1In Covington Woods
Ivy Walker found herself sitting in the last place she would have ever imagined. She was sitting on the muddy ground under a tarp somewhere in Covington Woods. She could not be certain of exactly where she was, but she could still hear the stream.
The wind whistled through the tree tops making strange and eerie noises. Ivy began to cry. Because she was blind her hearing was better than most people's and in the woods she could hear every little sound, even above the rain, and at every sound her imagination began to take over. Her father had told her that the creatures were not real, and she trusted him, but it is not easy to throw aside a fear that has haunted you every moment of your life since you were very young.
Ivy put her hands over her ears, trying to shut out the noises of the woods. She tried to think of Lucius but that only made her more concerned and more aware of where she was and how she didn't have much time. So she thought of her mother. Not Susan, the women that was married to her papa now, but her real mother. The mother that had died when Ivy was only ten years old. Her name was Anna. Ivy remembered her fondly, she had loved her mama so much. Not that she didn't love her step mother, Susan. Ivy did love Susan very much, but it wasn't the same. Ivy's papa, Edward Walker, had come to Covington Woods with Anna. They had been married in the towns just before they left. Susan also came to Covington Woods from the towns and she was also one of the Elders. When Anna died Ivy's papa and Susan were married because Susan needed a husband and Edward Walker had been concerned that his two daughters needed a mother.
Ivy remembered the day when she was six that she had lost her sight and how her mother had comforted her.
Ivy lay on her bed with her face buried into her pillow to catch the tears that fell from sightless eyes. Her papa was still outside in the rocking chair on the porch. She heard the door open. She could hear everything now. She didn't lift her head. She didn't move. She simply continued to cry. Ivy heard Kitty's soft sobs as her older sister entered the room and walked to Ivy's bedside. She could tell that someone had sat down on the end of the bed, but it wasn't Kitty. She knew it was her mama. Ivy began to cry harder, knowing that she would never see her mama's kind and beautiful face again. Anna Walker didn't speak. She put her hand comfortingly on her little girl's shoulder and softly began to sing.
Baby sleep, gently sleep
Life is long and love is deep
Time will be sweet for thee
All the world to see
Time to look about and know
How the shadows come and go
How the breeze stirs the trees
How the blossoms grow.
Ivy had almost completely stopped crying now, and so had Kitty.
"Oh, Ivy," Kitty whispered sorrowfully. Ivy looked up from her pillow and toward her sister's voice, hoping, praying, that somehow she would see Kitty again. She did not see her sister, but what she did see startled her. In the middle of all the darkness Ivy could see a color. It was purple, and it was right where Kitty must be standing. Ivy then looked toward her mama, and she could see white. She looked between her sister and her mama for some time. Slowly she extended her hand toward her mother, and she could feel her mother's hand slip into her's. Then she extended her other hand to Kitty and felt Kitty's hand take her's. The colors where coming from her mama and her sister!
"Mama," Ivy whispered.
"Yes, dearest?" Ivy could tell her mama was crying now.
"I might not mind being blind so much as I thought."
"What do you mean, Ivy?" Kitty asked.
"I can see colors," Ivy whispered. "The colors are coming from both of you. When I look towards Kitty I can see purple. It's the same color as the lilac bushes that grow in the spring. The kind I love so much. And mama, when I look towards you I can see white. It makes me think of an angel."
Anna Walker began to cry as she looked toward her baby girl that she loved so very much. Her baby girl that was now blind.
"Don't worry about me, mama," Ivy said as she hear her mother's sobs. "The colors are beautiful, and even if only a few people give off a color like you and Kitty I'll be all right. I do wish I could see you're pretty face though mama."
Drawing both of her little girls into a hug Anna began to sing again.
Baby sleep, gently sleep
Life is long and love is deep
Time will be, sweet for thee
All the world to see
Time to look about and know
How the shadows come and go
How the breeze stirs the trees
How the blossoms grow.
Whenever either Ivy or Kitty was sad, scared, or even if they just couldn't get to sleep, Anna Walker sang that song. That was Ivy's strongest memory of her mama was her singing. Ivy continued to cry as she remembered the day that her mama had died and the funeral they had for her.
The funeral was over and 10 year old Ivy Walker began to walk home with her 12 year old sister Kitty. Ivy's papa had stayed at the grave, but Kitty said to leave him because he needed some time alone. The two girls went inside their house and Ivy immediately went upstairs to her bedroom. She had been holding back tears all throughout the funeral and now that she was alone they began to fall. She laid on her bed and cried just like the day when she had lost her sight, only then her mother had been there to comfort her. What would she do without her mama?
Ivy did not hear when Kitty entered the room. Tears welled up in Kitty's eyes when she saw her little sister as she lay there on the bed. Kitty knew what she should do, but she didn't know if she would have the strength to do it. Slowly she walked over and sat down on the end of the bed. Now Ivy knew that she was there but the ten year old continued to cry. Praying for strength, Kitty softly began to sing.
Baby sleep, gently sleep
Life is long and love is deep
Time will be, sweet for thee
All the world to see
Time to look about and know
How the shadows come and go
How the breeze stirs the trees
How the blossoms grow.
Ivy sat up and hugged her sister and for some time they sat like that and cried together.
After that Ivy and Kitty had always sung that song to each other when they were sad or frightened. Ivy sang it to Kitty when Lucius denied her, and Kitty again sang it to Ivy when Lucius was wounded just yesterday.
No one was there with Ivy to sing to her and she was both sad and frightened. So with her hands still over her ears, Ivy began to sing to herself in a shaky voice.
Baby sleep, gently sleep
Life is long and love is deep
Time will be sweet for thee
All the world to see
Time to look about and know
How the shadows come and go
How the breeze stirs the trees
How the blossoms grow.
A/N - This is one of the first fanfictions I ever wrote. I really loved this song that Ivy sings so I made a story around it. Please tell me if you like it!