Wishing Stones.
All her life she's been dreaming of only one thing. She returned to this piece of her own little heaven every night, eager to live a few more happy moments in a cute small cottage, with a beautiful woman she always called mother and a golden cat that lay by the window.
So calm and so bright were these dreams, that the girl hated waking up in the morning. Because once she opened her eyes, she was back at the Orphanage.
There she had no friends or anyone to turn to even to share her beautiful dreams. And everything turned out this way long time ago, when she first appeared in the orphanage: children were driven away by the only thing she couldn't change – a dead glass eye that she had to wear to close the empty left eye socket. Other children would have found a way to overcome this, but Ophelia was a shy and somewhat distant child, so she turned to the books for company instead. With time that made her lonesome and eager to be left alone with the stories on the pages of the books, rather than be bothered by foolish child's games and running around.
At the orphanage there was no one closer to the children than a very cold Mrs. Andrews, always watching over the children as a hawk looking out for a lamb to eat. No one liked her, but kids respected her, trying their best not to be of any trouble.
In return, Mrs. Andrews always tried to make it best for the children in any way. They were all well fed, well clothed and – very rarely, but still – they got to go out of the orphanage territory for excursions and outings.
Ophelia loved these for the brightness of the new emotions she experienced – and not in the boors, but for real. That's why she always expected the next outing with a feeling of wonder and excitement – where will they go next? Will it be a visit to a museum or a road-trip somewhere out of town?
So it was with this long expected journey that was greeted by all the children with cheers and smiles. Even Ophelia was smiling, when she heard about the trip. She was glad to go out of the four walls and see for herself some of the things she always wanted to see, but she could not share this with anyone.
It was a cloudy and cold morning, when everyone sat into an old bus and Mrs. Andrews shouted out all the names to see if there was anyone missing. Once the checking was over, she smiled to the driver.
"We set sail, Mr. Brooks. On we go!"
The driver smiled in return and they finally drove off.
The bus was a total menace - kids couldn't keep calm and shouted and laughed and talked so much! The only one silently seated was Ophelia - she sat by the window deep in the back of the bus and watched the city pass by, thinking of the place they were going to – an ancient circle of stones, left from the times when Celts were living on these lands.
She knew that once these stones were thought to be magic, and wished it could be so.
"If only magic was real…" she thought, falling asleep from the rocking of the bust on the road.
Ophelia woke up just before they were turning to the site. Mrs. Andrews was already repeating the usual list of rules, and the children were sitting silently in respect to her.
Once the formality was finished, the bus parked and the children started to get out of it to the beautiful spot that wasn't spoiled by the chilly and depressing weather.
Ophelia got off last and looked around herself, finding the surroundings somewhat mystic to her thought. Grass was still green, even though autumn has already come, and the hills around seemed very calming, heavy clouds claimed the sky with a hint to the upcoming rain, and on one of the hills nearby there stood a small, but very charming circle of stones, scorched by the weather for centuries.
The girl followed everyone towards it, feeling herself very strange – not like she used to in such trips. Something was very different this time, but she couldn't tell what it was.
Once they got to the stones, Mrs. Andrews started to read a small lecture about the history of the place, and let the children stray around to take a closer look and the stones.
Ophelia wandered off alone, to the biggest stone that was standing in the middle of the circle, and walked around it, noticing a faint reminder of the carvings it had a long time ago.
Her heart smoothed and she stopped in front of the stone, feeling calm and even happy. In a faint urge she stepped up and hugged the stone tightly, pressing her forehead against the harsh and cold stone.
"I wish..." she muttered and closed her eyes.
And – just like in her dreams – she suddenly saw a small house, with a furry golden cat guarding the kitchen window, and a beautiful woman with shimmering blond hair. A smile made its way to the girls face and she opened her eyes.
Ophelia saw the sun come out from behind the thick clouds and its rays hit the stone - it flickered with gold, making a really magical impression. The girl gasped at the sight, but almost immediately she heard Mrs. Andrews' scream.
"Ophelia! Time to go!"
"Yes, Mrs. Andrews..." the girl said, understanding that the magical moment was lost and she had to return to the dull everyday life again.
Days passed, dull as ever. Ophelia was lost in her dreams each night and her thoughts about those dreams at daytime. Even the books didn't comfort her as they used to, but she was still reading every day, whenever children went out to play in the garden.
And then one day a woman came into the orphanage for a visit to Mrs. Andrews. She was walking around the building, talking to her, when she saw a lonely sitting girl by the window, reading a book.
"Who's that?" the woman asked.
"That's Ophelia. She's a daydreamer, but a bright little girl." Mrs. Andrews answered, feeling sad for the only orphan, who's been in her care for years. Others usually didn't stay this long.
"Can I?" the woman asked with a smile.
"Of course!"
The visitor walked up to Ophelia and looked from behind her shoulder at what she was reading.
"Celtic myths… how interesting. Do you like it?" the woman asked gently.
The girl turned to look at her thoughts intruder and froze. She already knew this face, surrounded by soft blonde hair, and these kind light blue eyes.
"Yes." Ophelia mumbled feeling lost in the woman's gaze.
The young woman smiled to the child, seeing why this girl must have been left in the orphanage. A dead eye, made of glass, looked at the world without any emotion. But the other – bright green, shimmering with amusement and wonder.
"Hi." the woman sat down on the chair next to Ophelia. "My name is Rose..."
"Ophelia." the girl thought that this must be another dream and she must have fell asleep while reading.
"Pleased to meet you." the woman shook her little hand, and the girl noticed how soft and warm it was. "Tell me, little one, do you love animals?"
Ophelia couldn't make a sound, too afraid to scare off this vision, and only nodded her head.
"Would you like to meet a cat made of gold?" the woman saw how the girls eyes started glimmering with excitement.
"A golden cat?!" the girl gasped, remembering her dreams in detail.
"I have a wonderful helper around the house. He's made of liquid gold and shimmers in the sun." the woman was smiling brightly and kind.
Word by word, they started talking, as if it wasn't their first meeting, but they already knew each other a very long time.
Mrs. Andrews watched them and smiled, finding Ophelia very open and very happy – for the first time in her life at the orphanage.
When it was time to go, Ophelia suddenly felt a hint of a panic. Dreams don't end this way. But then she remembered that she was back at the orphanage and looked away – everything is right, she was daydreaming again. She almost felt like crying, when the woman named Rose said good-bye and left.
Once Rose returned to Mrs. Andrews and they closed in private in Mrs. Adrews' office, the woman immediately asked the question she wanted to ask from the first moment she met Ophelia.
"When can I take her?"
Mrs. Andrews was in a bit of a shock to hear this, but quickly gathered herself to answer:
"Well, usually we encourage a few primal visits to get to know each other..." she answered, and gave Rose a couple of pages. "But I approve, if you like her, to take her tomorrow. Everything has been approved, so I don't see any need to stop you."
"Don't tell her, please." Rose smiled gently. "I want to pick her up as a surprise."
"I do have to remind you of..." Mrs. Andrews showed at her left eye, but the woman shook her head.
"She's perfect." she smiled. "Worry not, however troubled this girl can be, I am ready to take this responsibility."
Morning came, washing away yet another beautiful dream - more detailed than ever. Ophelia even stayed in her bed until someone started dragging her out from under the blanket.
"Come on, sleepy head!" one of the kids' voices sounded. "Or do you want Mrs. Andrews to appoint you to the kitchen again?!"
"All right, all right, I'm up." Ophelia mumbled.
She heard the children run away for breakfast and started dressing up, feeling sorry for the one who had to wake her up - kids didn't like her at all. They feared her stare of the glass ball that was in her left eye socket. And because of this - they stayed away usually, just like the different people who came to pick up another adopted child.
As she walked through the hall, she suddenly felt a strange feeling of warmth and lightness. She turned around and saw the woman that came the day before. She stood there and smiled at Ophelia.
"Good morning, Ophelia!" the woman said. "Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?" the girl took a small step towards her.
"To come home, of course!" the woman bent down and opened her arms. "Trickster's been keeping me up all night, bragging of what he will play with you when you come home!"
Ophelia stumbled on another step. This can't be happening! This woman appeared out of her dreams and came to... take her home?
"Mum?!" Ophelia whispered and suddenly burst into tears.
Two warm and soft loving arms curled around her and the girl heard the woman's voice near her ear.
"Yes, honey. I've been looking for you all my life and I've finally found you!"