Home is Where You Hang Your Heart

Anne sat at the table and helped Marilla Cuthbert peel potatoes for supper. The dark skins curled in a pile on the table slowly creating a growing mound for the compost heap in the garden. It had been a week since Anne had came to live with Marilla and her brother, Matthew. Mrs. Hammond's kin from Wisner took her and the children in, but they couldn't keep Anne. Things were already tight and the burden of four more children and one woman were really pushing the family's limits. Anne's mind understood the reasoning, but her heart ached. Mrs. Hammond was basically her mother and the children were her siblings. Marilla and Matthew had decided last week to take Anne in on that fateful day when it became clear what Mrs. Hammond had conspired.

Anne didn't know what to do with herself during the long lonely days. There were no children to tend or a tremendous amount of laundry to scrub. Matthew had given Anne a few chores around the farm, but collecting eggs and feeding the pigs weren't extremely time consuming. She often found herself wandering around, walking in tree groves or chasing kittens. It was a rather lovely farm compared to most now days.

They had a lovely white house with two gables. The trim and porch were painted green. Anne mused that it probably was the only house in the county with the paint still on it. Marilla had planted beautiful flowers around the edge of the house, but drying green stems were the only remnants for now. Several large Maple trees, whose leaveswere now beginning to turn yellow, had been planted to shade the house and chicken coop. Thegolden carpet of fallen leaves covered the large vegetable garden and yard. It truly was a special hamlet to live.

"Anne please watch your fingers with that paring knife," said Marilla and then teased, "I don't want any blood in with the potatoes."

"Sorry Marilla," sighed Anne.

She had been caught up in her thoughts again. She counted the peeled potatoes and tried to figure out how many more she needed. Marilla told her the rule of thumb was to plan on two potatoes per person, then add a few more to the pot if you were going to mash them. Anne marveled at all the "rules" Marilla knew. There seemed to be a rule for everything here. Laughter rose from her throat and broke the silence in the kitchen.

"Is there something you find amusing, dear?", questioned a concerned Marilla who was rolling out the biscuit dough with a floured pin.

"I ... I was just thinking about the rule not to wear white shoesafter Labor Day," sheepishly replied Anne.

"It's just a guide which you have to obey or else Rachel Lynde and the ladies at church might talk. I had never thought of it as funny, Anne," smiled Marilla as she used a glass dipped in flour to cut the biscuits from the thick dough.

"Neither had I, until I imagined President Roosevelt signing the law in his oval office," giggled Anne.

"The history books would definetly highlight that moment and its importance to our great nation," laughed Marilla.

The two ladies enjoyed the crazy notion and shared their laughter. Marilla secretly appreciated Anne's company. There hadn't been laughter at this farm in years. It was a nice departure from the quiet that used to surrounded her. It had to have been providence that brought Anne to this farm, and to think that she was born just a mile or two down the road.

"Oh, Anne, I forgot to tell Matthew about dinner. Could you please go find him?", asked Marilla.

"Yes m'am," replied Anne. "Do you want me to put the potatoes in a pan of water first?"

"That will be great, but hurry. It takes a few minutes to walk down to the pasture."

Anne nodded and quickly rinsed the potatoes. The clinking of the raw wedges echoed in the metal pan as she dumped them into the metal tub. Effortlessly, she poured just enough cold water in the panto cover the tops of the potatoes and added a pinch of salt. She sat the pan down on the counter and grabbed her coat hanging near the back door. The creaking of the doors announced Anne's presence outside and into the crisp autumn air.

Anne shuffled and kicked her feet through the yellow leaves creating a small trail following her. The wet leaves left their imprints on the small sidewalk leading to the lane. Anne admired the perfect dark gray outlines adorning the walk. She felt good to be outside, breathing the cool air in her lungs and her eyes marveling in the Autumn's glory.

A few clouds sifted across the sky in tiny rows, promising fair weather. She walked under the old curved arbor covered in a red vine of leaves. Anne couldn't wait for Spring, she would finally be able to see what amazing flowers and plants Marilla grew. All she had right now was her imagination.

The gravel from the lane crunched under her feet as she made her way to the back of the barn. An old red "putt putt" tractor, as Birdie always called them, sat in a patch of weeds near the wood pile. Several barrels full of oil or gas sat a few yards away in a small grove of trees used to shield the yard from the fierce prairie winds known to chase across the land. Anne grabbed a long wavy stick from off the ground and rapped it against the red wall of the barn as she mosied her way to the barbed wire fence that framed the North pasture. She hoisted her skirt up and stepped on the bottom wire of the fence making sure she placed her foot between the small barbs. Using little effort, Anne squeezed through the opening, ducking her head down low so her hair wouldn't get tangled in the poky spurs.

Hills of dry brown grass greeted her on the other side. Anne could hear the few head of cattle mooing nearby. Hopefully, Matthew wasn't too far away. She skipped through the tall grasses, trying to keep them from scratching her exposed knees, toward the sounds. After a few yards, she stopped bluntly and looked down on an old empty farmhouse. It was a house that someone had once called home. The peeled paint and caved in roof let her know that it had been vacant for many years. Anne was drawn to the dying house, it seemed to call out to her.

"Anne?" said Matthew as he crested the hilltop.

"Oh! Matthew, Marilla has sent me to fetch you," rushed Anne while she gazed down at the sad house.

"Tell her I will be along in a few," said Matthew as he tsked at one of the older calves.

"Yes sir," answered a distant Anne.

"Is everything okay?" asked a concerned Matthew who was trying to read the young lady's facial expressions.

"I am just heart broken about that lonely old house," stated a melancholic Anne, "What happened there?"

Matthew, an elderly bachelor, was unsure of how to answer the girl. She was so vivid with her thoughts and speech, while he would rather nod or sit back and listen. He didn't want to scar her with the real story of the Shirley's- her story.

"That was once home to a couple and their new baby. It is a rather sad story," said Matthew toward Anne, "It has been vacant for about 15 or 16 years now."

"I hope it was a happy home, Matthew. One full of love and laughter. A truly wonderful home."

"Anne, home is where you hang your heart," stated Matthew, unsure of what to say to the dreamer before him.

The faint ringing of the dinner bell saved him from further comments. He would tell Anne someday, but now was not the right time. She had been through enough already with the Hammonds. The pair made their way back over the hills and inside for dinner.

A Bird in the Grass

That night Anne sat in her bed looking at the full harvest moon shining outside of her second story window. The first time she saw the reddish orange moon it frightened her as a young girl. She was sure it was a sign from God warning of the Apocolypse to come, now she knew it was only just a phase the moon went through around harvest. Anne hoped that Marilla and Matthew were not just a phase. She was really starting to like it here and Marilla had decided Anne could start school next week.

Anne had never been to a real school before. Mrs. Hammond had taught her during the children's naps at home when there was time. Anne was worried and excited at the same time. She knew several of the girls and boys that were her age from church, but she had never really formed friendships or talked with any of them- except Gilbert. Gilbert looked a few years older than she was, he probably was finished with school or decided to stay home with his father. Anne's stomach rolled in anticipation of the prospect of school as she laid down on her bed and rolled on to her side. Her eyes slowly fluttered shut allowing her to drift to sleep.

The next few days whisked by as she helped the Cuthberts with the butchering of a pig and two cows for the winter. A butcher came out to each farm in the fall and helped the farmers with the gruesome task. He had a truck full of saws and pulleys. Anne hated butchering time, but it had to be done if they were going to make it through the winter. She stayed away for the first part when the butcher would either hit the cow on the head with a mallet or slit it's throat with his knife. It was too much sadness for her to handle, she would help Marilla inside making sausage and canning the meat for stews and soup. Matthew would smoke the rest of the meat or salt it to keep it good for the winter. Atleast she was being kept busy keeping her mind off of starting school.

Monday finally arrived cloaked in a heavy fog. Anne rushed through her breakfast of oatmeal and molasses while Marilla weaved her hair in two long braids down her back. She wore the special white dress Mrs. Hammond had made for her and a pair of new boots that the Cuthberts had given her. Matthew was going to give her a ride two miles to the school house on his way to town, but she would have to walk on her own any other time.

Matthew honked the horn out in his truck. Anne put her bowl in the sink and grabbed her coat and lunch pail. Marilla stood at the sink waving through the window out at the man and child. Anne waved back and hopped into the old black truck.

The two rode in silence all the way to the school. Anne didn't know what to say, she was so nervous. It was not like her to be so quiet and reserved. Matthew focused on the haze in front of him as they pulled next to the one room red school house. A small tire swing hung from an old tree that was a neighbor with a teeter totter. A small outhouse was hidden in the back surrounded by small shrubs. This was her school, District 21.

A small group of children huddled near each other on the front steps waiting for class to begin. A few boys were battling their wooden spin tops on the ground. Every now and then a loud cheer would erupt from them as a top lay in defeat. Anne quietly walked up to the school unnoticed and leaned against the wooden door.

Voices coming from the West side of the school caught Anne's attention. The older boys were discussing current events and the recent German invasion of Poland. They casually were recounting news stories they had heard on the radio, but others were only repeating what they had overheard their father's saying. War was on their minds. Anne gulped hard, she hadn't heard any of this talk. The tragedy surrounding the Hammond's had consumed all her energy, so much so,that she was oblivious to the new turn of the world. A sense of fear and foreboding crept into her heart, she felt like a pheasant startled in the grass. She wished she could fly away and find somewhere safe to land until all the talk of danger had passed.

The bell rang and all the students rushed toward Anne. They stormed into the little school house and deposited their coats and lunch pails along the wall near the door. She stood amidst the chaos and looked for a friendly face. She recognised Diana Barry who was carefully hanging up her hat and coat. Diana smiled, her blue eyes gleamed against her perfect skin, and waved Anne over to her.

"Hi Anne. Marilla told me you were starting school today. You can hang your coat beside mine," kindly said Diana.

"Thank you. I wasn't sure what I should do," replied Anne.

"Don't worry, I will show you the ropes," laughed Diana.

"Girls!" yelled Miss Stacey at the dwadling twosome.

"Sorry, Miss Stacey," apologized Diana, "I was helping Anne."

"Alright class, we have a new student today. Anne Shirley. Would you please come forward and introduce yourself?" prodded Miss Stacey.

Anne enjoyed her first morning of school. Diana's tutelage made her feel welcome and relaxed, by the time lunch rolled around they were already good friends. With pails in tow, the two found a hidden spot in the tall grasses near the school yard. They stomped a small circle with their boots and sat concealed from the other students. Diana munched on her cheese sandwich and listened intently to Anne's tale of her time with the Hammond's.

Sparrows

Low dark clouds appeared on the horizon as Miss Stacey stood on the steps and rang her little brass bell to call the children inside. Gilbert stoicly held the door open for everyone as the clambered in. Distant rumbles of thunder were muted as the laughing children stomped into the classroom. Within seconds the classroom was quiet and each child had found their seat. Miss Stacey smiled kindly and pulled out an old worn book to read a loud. In a clear voice she began reading a chapter from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. The children were enraptured by the tale of Toad drving around wrecklessly in his automobile that nobody noticed the gentle rain falling outside. Rain twice in a month was reason to celebrate, hopefully all the dust would soon be gone.

Diana nudged Anne with her elbow and motioned with her head of dark braids towards the window sill. Sitting outside near the glass was a line of five or six puffed sparrows huddling together and sheltering under the eaves of the old school. Anne smiled and imagined the darling birds were listening to the story. A couple of older boys had also noticed the birds, but they had developed an offbeat idea in great contrast to Anne's silly notion. Gilbert joined in on the planning and whispered to a red headed boy everyone called Moody. Anne glanced their way, but soon forgot about their hushed voices focusing her attention on Miss Stacey's adventurous tale.

The afternoon slowly became brighter as the rain and fog burned away in the heat of the sun. Light edged it's way into the shadowy classroom, refreshing the dismal atmosphere. Anne had been carefully working over her sums, playing with equations trying to figure out what X could equal. She didn't realize that Gilbert had left the classroom earlier to "use the outhouse" or that her coat was missing.

The old clock on the wall finally showed the three o'clock hour and Miss Stacey clapped her hands to gain everybody's attention, "Children, It's time to go home. Please pick up your desks and get your coats on."

A hubbub of energetic activity exploded onto the quiet room. Children lined up in front of the door, dressed in their coats and carrying their pails, waiting for Miss Stacey to open the door and dismiss them for the day. Anne was besides herself looking for her missing coat. She had hung it next to Diana's just after lunch. Marilla would be furious if she lost her coat. Anne gave up her futile search and stood in line next to Diana. Atleast it was warmer now that the sun had came out from behind the clouds.

Miss Stacey opened the door and unknowingly released a flurry of wings and beaks into the classroom. Sparrows fluttered about, swooping and squawking, scaring the young children and girls. Screams of surprise and fear bellowed out of the classroom to a smiling Gilbert's awaiting ears. Moody and another boy, named Charlie, stood in the corner and laughed at the chaotic sight they had created.

One by one, the little children filed out leaving a handful of the older children to help Miss Stacey chase the poor creatures back out into the wild. Anne opened a side window and noticed Gilbert hiding around the corner of the school. He had her coat clutched in his grip and a huge smirk plastered on his devilish face. A free spirited laugh escaped from her throat when her mind put together the pieces of the puzzle.

Ten minutes late the last little bird flew out the front door of the school. Miss Stacey thanked all her helpers and waved them goodbye. Anne walked down the lane with Diana, they could walk a mile in the same direction before they needed to split. The smell of the fresh rain and warmth radiating from the sun made it a wonderful day for a walk. The girls turned from the school and followed the gravel road leading North.

"Hey Anne!" yelled Gilbert as he ran up behind them.

"Gilbert, Is something wrong?" asked Anne.

"You forgot your coat back at the school house," lied Gilbert in between deep breathes as he bent over, resting his hands upon his knees.

"I see I did," stressed a knowing Anne.

"Gil, Where were you when school let out?" questioned a concerned Diana.

"Oh Diana, you are probably better off not knowing what he and his feathered friends were up to during his absence," replied Anne.

"Gil, you didn't?" came from a baffled Diana.

"I am guilty," said a calmer Gil, "Moody, Charlie, and I got the idea right after lunch."

"How did you catch the unfortunate sparrows?" asked a suspicious Anne.

"I borrowed your coat when I went out back, I used it like a net and swooped up the wet birds and held the coat shut like a little sack. Then I released the birds inside the screen door and shut it quickly before they could fly away. All I had to do was wait for Miss Stacey to open the inside door and let them in," gloated Gilbert.

"You amaze me," said an impressed Diana.

Anne just looked at her coat, realizing that wet birds had been held hostage inside it. "Well Gil, Are you going to wash my coat so I don't get lice from your darling little friends?"

"Sure Anne, but I don't know the first thing about laundry," teased Gilbert as he turned back towards the school, "I have to get home to check on my father!"

Anne leaned close to Diana and they both shared a laugh as they meandered down the out stretched road ahead of them.