The Faeries In Central Park ~ 3
Third Installment:
Anna’s family had originally booked passage on the brand new White Star Line ship, The Titanic, whose maiden voyage was to depart in mid April. The first night after they arrived for what was to be a short final visit to the farm, Aunt Grace saw the ship sinking alongside the icebergs in the Atlantic in a dream. Anna’s father, Frank, knew better than to ignore his sister’s premonitions, even if he wanted to, so they changed their plans for a sailing on the Cedric their tickets in early May. Anna was disappointed by the delay but she consoled herself with the fact that she really was having a good time at the farm. Anna and Nell passed the days with chores and trips to the wood, where Daphne entertained them with stories of the Fae, giants, unicorns and other magical creatures that lived in the wood a long time ago. They had to be careful not to be late returning home. Time passed so quickly whenever they were with Daphne! Most days she let them know when it was approaching time to leave, but every now and then her mischievous side took over and they’d be late again.
Anna didn’t really mind the days when they had to remain at the farm. Whenever they had extra chores, the house faery, Simone would peek around corners and let them catch a glimpse of her. She never allowed more than that, but sometimes at night they would find trinkets in their beds, as if to say she was sorry that Daphne had caused them trouble. Most of the time she left odd bits of things that had been discarded, but one time she left Anna a silver locket, missing its chain. Inside the locket were photos of a man and woman. Anna didn’t recognize the couple but spent hours looking at them, imagining who they were, how they met and that they were happily in love with each other and their life together. Sometimes, she dreamed that the handsome young man and beautiful young woman were on a ship in the middle of the ocean, strolling arm and arm around the deck in the sunshine.
One afternoon, a few weeks before they were to leave, Da sent Anna (and of course, Nell!) to the cobbler’s shop in the neighboring village of Inch to have his boots repaired. “The cobbler in Wexford will charge twice as much for half the job” he grumbled as he gave Anna the boots and money for the repair. Aunt Grace also gave Anna a list of things to pick up at the market. Anna and Nell were overjoyed at the opportunity to go into the village.
As a reward for the errand they were each given a sixpence to spend at the candy maker’s shop. Anna held on to Nell’s share, about which Nell protested loudly but relented at the threat of being left behind.
They set out in the mid-morning sunshine on the dirt road that ran past the farm and into the village. Along either side of the road the bluebells and other colorful flowers were heavy with bees collecting their nectar. Butterflies fluttered lazily along the tops of the blooms. Every now and then they heard the rustle of a field mouse, scurrying along in the underbrush.
When they arrived at the village Nell was adamant that they stop at Mrs. Kavanagh’s candy shop first. “Please, Annie, please! Can’t we get our sweets first?” She first pleaded, then sat down on the step outside the door to the shop.
“No Nell. We have to drop Da’s boots off first so Mr. Byrne will have them ready for us to take home today. Boots first, then candy.”
Mrs. Kavanagh heard the commotion outside her shop. She appeared in the doorway just as Anna was lifting Nell from the steps and pulling her in the direction of the cobbler’s workshop.
“Oh there,” said Mrs. Kavanagh “leave her with me while you take care of your father’s boots. It won’t take long and Nellie can keep me company.” She winked at Nell.
“Thank you, Mrs. Kavanagh.” Said Anna with a grateful sigh. “I’ll hurry, I promise.” Anna walked quickly to the cobbler’s while Mrs. Kavanagh led Nell inside.
Nell was surveying the jars of colorful sweets, trying to decide what to buy with her money, while munching the handful of gumdrops Mrs. Kavanagh had already given her, when she spotted a jar of large, yellow gumballs.
“That’s what I’m going to buy!” Nell shrieked excitedly, pointing at the jar. “Yellow gumballs for Daphne!”
“And now, who is Daphne?” asked Mrs. Kavanagh while polishing the already spotless glass counter top.
“She’s my faery. She lives in the woods by the meadow on Auntie Grace’s farm. She knows Auntie Grace. All the faeries do!” Nell chattered away, telling Mrs. Kavanagh all about Daphne and Simone.
“Well then, that’s quite a story Nell.” Said Mrs Kavanagh, patting the top of Nell’s head. “I’m sure Daphne would like that very much.”
“Have you ever seen a faery?” asked Nell as she put the last gumdrop in her mouth.
“I have, but only for a moment and then it was gone. You’re a very lucky girl, Nellie. Faeries don’t like to be seen by us very often.” Mrs. Kavanagh folded her cleaning rag and put it on a shelf under the counter. “Oh look, here comes your sister.”
Anna and Nell selected their sweets, as many gumballs as a sixpence would buy for Nell but for Anna, one precious square of chocolate. Anna would rather have one small bite of her favorite thing, than a whole mouthful of anything else. Then they went to Mr. Kinsella’s market to get the items on Aunt Grace’s list. Afterward, they picked up Da’s boots and made their way back to the farm.
The house was strangely quiet when Anna and Nell came through the back door. Ma and Aunt Grace should have been in the kitchen cooking supper and Anna realized she hadn’t seen Da or the boys anywhere in the yard or the fields as they came past.
They found the whole family sitting somberly in the front room. The shutters were closed and the room was very dark. Ma’s teacup clinked as she set it nervously in its saucer.
“Ma? Aunt Grace?” Anna knew something was very wrong and was unsure of whether to go to her mother or her father for an explanation. Even Nell was abnormally quiet and still.
“Anna, Nellie, sit down here.” Grace motioned. “Something terrible has happened. The ship that left for America this week has gone down. Almost everyone aboard drowned, including Mr. Kinsella’s oldest boy. He was going to work with his uncle in Boston.”
“Isn’t that the ship we were supposed to take? The one you told Ma we shouldn’t sail on? You knew something bad would happen. You knew it would sink!” Anna stared at her aunt, wide-eyed and stunned.
“I didn’t know exactly what was wrong, I only knew it didn’t feel right for you to go yet.” Grace actually had ‘seen’ the great ship strike the iceberg, but there was no need to frighten the young girls. If either of them had the family ‘gift’, or sometimes, curse, it would become evident soon enough.
Da finally spoke, “Boys. Come with me. Ship or no ship, the sheep need tending.”
Ma followed suit, “Annie, Nell. Supper won’t make itself.” Obediently, they followed her into the kitchen.
Supper was quiet and somber and no one ate very much. They talked about the livestock, the vegetable garden and the pleasant early springtime weather. They did not speak of the Titanic again.
The last remaining weeks passed quickly and finally it was night before they left for America. Aunt Grace read Ma’s tea leaves, just to put everyone's minds to rest, and determined it was safe for them to travel. Daphne visited a few times after the house was asleep, finalizing her own preparations with Anna. Tonight she appeared, tiny bag in hand, just after Nell had finally drifted off.
“I thought she’d never go to sleep and I was going to have to stay here.” Daphne complained, setting her bag on the stool. “I had to resort to a little magic or she would have been up all night.”
Anna picked up Daphne’s tiny case. “Daphne, what’s in here?”
“Nothing, really. I just thought it felt festive to carry a bag. We are taking a trip, after all.”
Anna smiled. Although they’d been plotting for weeks, she was still nervous about smuggling Daphne on the ship to America. She’d carefully constructed a small compartment in her case for Daphne, lined with moss to make it soft and comfortable and had drilled two tiny holes to let in light. It was agreed Daphne would be allowed out whenever possible, hiding in the pocket of Anna’s pinafore. No magic and no trickery were Daphne’s end of the bargain. Whether or not she could keep it remained to be seen.
The next morning they loaded into the wagon before dawn. The trip to the Harbor at Queenstown was long and quiet and very dull. If any of them were thinking about the great ship sinking a few weeks earlier, they kept it to themselves.
The quiet country ride was replaced by the bustle and noise of the docks. Anna held Nell's arm tightly to keep her from getting lost in the crushing crowd. They navigated through the gangway onto the deck and they made their way to the two tiny cabins they would share near the bottom of the ship. Ma and the girls would share one, Da and the boys were in the other. The cabins were very small and sparse and clean enough, but had no windows. The claustrophobic feeling meant that most of their time would be spent on the outer decks and Anna hoped it wouldn’t be too cold. They secured their belongings, then the family went to the upper decks to wave goodbye to Ireland as the ship pulled away from the port.
They were finally on their way to America.