My Favorite Things
Summary- How Maria came up with "My Favorite Things"
A/N: This story is AU. In this AU Maria was orphaned as a baby and left at the Abbey's doorstep. So, Maria has been living at the Abbey since she was a baby.
Maria is an average 12-year-old girl. She was in her beginning year of secondary school, a 7th grader. She did her homework; she listened to her elders at Nonberg Abbey; she followed their life style as well as a 12-year-old could.
But like all 12-year-olds, Maria got ill from time to time. Maria's body was very strong and not even the time she had influenza when she was nine had knocked her out of commission for too long. Although Maria swore she was sick for a week, the Nuns know she was only ill for two days.
The Nuns at Nonberg knew something was up when Maria didn't sing at Evening Mass. Or when she only ate a fraction of her dinner that night. And they defiantly knew something was up when Maria go to Mother Abbess's room to pray with her before bed, a tradition they had since Maria was two.
Mother Abbess went up to Maria's cubicle-like dormitory. It was small and dark like all the other Nuns and Postulants had. They only thing differnet was Maria's room had a small purple blanket, the one she was left on the doorstep in.
When Mother Abbess went into the small room, Maria was in bed fast asleep with the blanket clutched tight to her chest. Mother Abbess stroked her hand across Maria's forehead before realising the poor girl was much warmer than normal. The Revend Mother just thought Maria had just caught a mild cold and would feel better in the morning.
The next morning, Maria did not feel better. She had a red rash on the side of her neck and informed her elders of a sore throat. All of the Nuns and Postuants knew what this meant. Maria had the diease that killed her father, Scarlet Fever.
Within 3 days of feeling ill, Maria was absolutely miserable. And there was nothing more the Nuns could do to make her feel better. They kept a cool cloth to her forehead and prayed for her recovery over and over again. But that was all they could do.
At Day 3, one of the younger nuns, Sister Kylie, can into the ailing preteen's dormitory and sat for a little while. "Kylie, why do I still feel bad? I haven't been this sick since I was nine," she said fighting her very sore throat.
"Scarlet Fever takes a lot out of you, Ria. When I had it, I was about your age; and I was ill for two weeks."
"Two weeks!" she semi-shouted.
"But there was something my mother told me that made me feel better. Just think about your favorite things. What do you like, Maria?"
"Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, white dress with blue satin sashes."
"Keep going."
Maria listed and listed until her throat hurt to bad to keep talking. And just before she fell asleep she thought "With my favorite things, I don't feel so bad."