The last chapter might not have made sense to some of my readers… pray do forgive me for that. The way Holmes has describe his clues is somehow the way I talk when I start going scientific, and did not realize I might have been boring some until I reread it few days later. But I hope you fully understood and enjoyed the little details the case had to offer, and by now had created your own theory of this case. Our little yet dramatic trip to Windsor is indeed coming to an end, but I pray that you will be with us until the last word of this story.
Pray do enjoy the latest chapter!
Chapter 11: Queen of the meadow (part I)
Six little feet briskly ran through the green meadow, snapping branches and kicking pebbles along the way. They giggled as they pushed and pulled each other, falling to the soft grass every now and then. The sun was up high, the sky was blue, and the birds sang in the trees nearby.
The golden locks glistened as the wind gently tickled the girl, making her hold unto her lovely hair. Two pairs of light brown tresses bobbed up and down, as they wrestled each other over the little yellow posy they had picked. They both wished to present it to the lovely girl, who just stood nearby, giggling at the two. Finally, one was able to snatch it free, and quickly gave it to their little "queen", before the other had a chance to steal it back. Once the flower was in her hands, she beamed with joy and gave a little kiss to both. Timid and shy they were for their cheeks blushed red and their eyes drifted off to the woods nearby.
Tender days it was for them, young and innocent, sheltered from the cruel, harsh world with love and care. Many days would she promise her hand in marriage to both, and several times they ought to take her home. They all wished a family of three, consisting of her and the twins. Little did they know that one day she would have to choose one of the twins, and that life does not go was simply as they wished.
As the sun bids the meadows goodbye with a bright show of red and orange lights, two ladies will call their children home. Unhappily will they toddle to their mothers, disappointed how fast the day had ended. To their warm house, they each made their way, the little ones glancing back to their playground every now and then. Comforted their guardian how fast tomorrow will come, and how they can go back to play. All three will eagerly wait for the sun to rise again, imagining the day the sun rays will bring.
Soon the sun of their childhood had set, and moonlit night of their adolescences came. But little did they wish for the sun to rise again, and they soon forgot how warm the rays were. The boys were sent to town to study, and before long their promise had had been disregard. Slowly they forgotten their little princess, and in time she was a stranger to them. The girl too, had her own world to live in, and she had not dwelled in the past. She soon forgot the days they had ran through the envy coloured meadow, and her childhood playmates seldom crossed her mind. Only the meadows were the wild flowers grew, missed the laughter and giggle they had once heard.
Every now and then will the brothers remember the golden glisten of her hair; but its owner they failed to recall, even if it has not been so long. Laugh, they will, of the golden days, as their caramel eyes twinkled in their funned memories. Yet the promise never came back to them, still hidden deep in the past.
In the rare days when the girl sees a yellow flower, once presented to her, will she give a little smile. Slowly seeped in the forgotten days of laughter in the meadow, the caramel coloured eyes, and the soft grass they tumbled on. But other than that always remained dark to her, and before her promise will be remembered again, she will abandon the topic in her thoughts. She will drift back to reality, forgetting once more the days that the insignificant posy had help recall.
Their days past fats, and soon it has become years. All of them had meet a lover at least once in their short life as a young adult, some leaving them quickly, others staying a bit. But none of them truly filled the empty hole in their hearts, for it was promised in the days of their early childhood. Even if their memories had forgot, their hearts still remembered who they truly belong with.
Unsure why they all felt so empty, longing for something unknown to them, they grew up to be fine adults. The sun had finally began showing its lights, and it was not long before the gentle rays were to warm their lives again. The older of the twins pressured to study about living things, his love for nature and life still burning hot just as he was a child. An honor student he was, he soon graduated with sponsor to aid him in his life. In his time of success, he never remembered his hometown, and never once visited the place of his birth. He was out in the world, happy yet lonely, busy drowning in the knowledge he wish to gain.
The younger one in the other hand made his way to the world through business. He had always admired the structure and official looking man the major town had to offer. He stayed behind while his brother went off, and soon opened his own shop with whatever little he had. But as a gentle and naïve young lad he was he found the job hard and demanding and his business soon failed. Devastated by the turn of fate, he returned to the place of his childhood for the first time after he had left. It had not changed much since then, and once the train had stopped into the familiar scenery, memories rushed back into the young man. He soon found himself thinking of only one thing; the owner of the lovely golden locks, their little princess, the forgotten link in his life; Annalisa.
Instead of rushing back to his parents, he found his way easily through the curves and grassy path and stopped in front of a two story house with a garden of wild yellow flowers in the front. Unsure what he is to do next, he just ended up lingering near, walking back and forth the path way to the said house. Unsure if the person he is looking for still lives in the place, he argued to himself if he is to knock on the door, or just turn back. Unable to have the courage to look for the girl, he turned around to leave for his own home.
"Joseph? Is that you!" screamed a lovely young lady from the door of the house, as she too finally remembered all the details of her days in the meadow. How she craved the twins, especially the older of the two, whom she was always secretly more funned of. She could vividly remember the eager yet gentle shine on their eyes, and she hoped to stare back at it once more.
"Annalisa? I did not recognize you! And no, this is not Joseph, but James." Said the man with a voice mixed with excitement, doubt, joy and pain. The girl, now a stunning lady, calling out his brother's name rather than his had indeed hurt him more than he imagined it to have. But the joy of seeing her after all these years over-came whatever downbeat emotions he had at the moment.
Despite the fact that the man in front of her was the younger of the two, she still beamed with joy and ran straight into his arms, giving him a hug. This had sent the man to a bit of panic, but seconds later, he too returned the hug, and the two stood there, connected by the simple gesture of affection.
"Not a single letter, James! It been years, and I must be honest, I forgot about you and your brother after some times. But how much I missed you both deep inside, how much I hoped to see you again! I am two and twenty already, and you must be five and twenty. What took you so long to come back to your place of birth!" cried she with excitement and joy, not bothering to hide the over-whelming emotions inside her.
"It is a long story Ann." said he using the nickname they had called her as a child. After all these years of emptiness and loneliness, he finally felt at home and ease, contented and happy to be alive and breathing. "We too have forgotten you for a short while, only being able to remember these forever lovely locks of yours. But how empty our hearts were without you dear, our little princess, our queen of the green meadows."
"Oh please James, we are not kids anymore." She said with a joyous giggle as they let go of each other. She gave a little peck in his cheeks, but this time, instead of blushing and looking away, he returned it with his own. But still innocent at heart, she took it as a sign of friendship even after all the years of separation. What she had not realize is that the boy in front of her was no longer a boy but a fine young lad who was determine to keep his promise of wedding her.
Rushed the lady into the house with the man of her childhood, and she begged for him to tell her of his life. Unable to go out of her country-side town, she wished to know and hear all about the world outside. Several days will he come back and talk to her about his life and his journey, and she too will fill in the details of the town, the gossip, the lives and events of the town he had missed. She would frequently inquire about his brother, but he too would not be able to provide much for it has been years since they parted ways and not much of him was heard.
Without anyone realizing, the two started to fall for each other. By the time it had been a year since he has came back, they were engaged, their promises years and years ago about to be full-filled. He asked her to go to the bigger town with him, to start a business, and build a family in a place where they could give good education. But too attached to her home town she was, she refused and begged him to stay with her. But to the bigger towns he belongs, after their wedding, he asked her to wait for him, promised her to be back soon, and left to start something new to support him and his wife.
Queen of the meadow (part II) to be continued in chapter twelve….