“Oh, what a lovely maidin it is,” Anna Lee O’Donovan proclaims as she walks through the pasture on her parents’ farm in the wee town of Killarney. This is a fishing town, but her Da is a farmer by choice. Anna Lee is a bright thirteen- year old girl with a mind of her own. The stubbornness she got from her Da and the blazing red curls she got from her Mamai (pronounced Mah-mee). She stands with her hands on her hips at the cross roads between the lush, green farmland and the high cliffs of the coastal fishing village. She is faced with a choice that she has to make. Sure it’s not today, but the day draws near, and she ponders which way to go. “Ah,” she says with a sigh, “I’m just a young one, I got time.” And off she ran toward the farm with her long red curls bobbing behind her.
“Mamai, where are you now? I’m needin’ to talk to you.”
“Darling girl, I’m here in the pantry putting up some pears that fell this morning. It will be good eating this winter. What can I do for my wee lass?”
“Mamai, I’m perplexed in my mind. You and Da have made a life for us here and it is grand, but I know that there is more to life.”
“Anna Lee, my child, those thoughts you must save for another day. You have so much to learn about love, life, and yourself.”
Anna Lee dropped her head, walked out the door as it slammed loudly behind her. This made Mamai look up to see what was wrong, but all she could see was the blaze of long red curls bobbing behind her.
Anna Lee has always had a secret hiding place, where she goes to contemplate life. It is in a cove near the sea. Settling in to her patchwork comfort, she breaths in deeply to fill her lungs with the salty mist. She thinks that the mist has magical powers to clear her mind and set her heart at ease. The melodious clash of the waves puts Anna Lee at rest and she fell fast asleep.
Suddenly a loud crash of thunder frightened Anna Lee from her slumber. She rubbed her eyes and focused outward to the sea where she saw a storm rolling in. This was one of her favorite things to experience. A bright streak of lightening stretched across the sky and the thunder rolled so loud that she shuttered at the loudness of the storm. She quickly realized that this wasn’t going to be just another summer rain. This was going to be a really bad storm. She wrapped her patchwork comfort around her and started running toward home. However, the wind was blowing wildly and very strong. The comfort was nearly blown away, but she held on tight. She tried running straight, but had to bend in toward the wind just to take a step. Her long blazing red curls weren’t bobbing behind her this time. They were flying high behind her.
This is an excerpt from a story I am currently working on. Enjoy!
LaDonna Fridenmaker~Writer 