The Secret Garden of Ravenwood

Chapter 6: The Unexpected Visitors

Avery woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and ready to continue her exploration of Ravenwood, she still had so many questions she wanted to have answered. At the top of her list was the missing Ravenwood girl. She grabbed her notebook and flipped to the page she was last on where she had a list of places that she wanted to visit and town people that she wanted to talk to.

She quickly got herself showered and dressed before slipping on her shoes and heading out the door. The drive into town went quickly today, the unanswered questions buzzing in her mind kept her occupied throughout the drive.

She quickly parked the car on the main street and jumped out, looking around. The town was even more beautiful in the morning light, the trees rustled gently in the breeze and the birds chirped happily up in their high houses. Avery smiled softly as she made her way down the sidewalk, taking in her surroundings.

As she walked down the street, a car drove slowly up toward her. Her anxiety immediately went into overdrive, freezing as she watched the car pull up next to her on the road. The window rolled down to reveal a woman that she didn't recognize, but the woman obviously recognized her. She appeared to be about thirty, with pretty brown hair and comforting brown eyes.

"Excuse me, are you Avery?"

Avery was surprised that the woman knew her name, but she slowly nodded her head. She figured that if the woman was from town, she would know her name through the others or the town hall meeting last night. It was her plan to talk to people, so she would take the opportunity to see what the woman said.

"My name is Violet." The woman said softly with a warm smile. "I am a very distant relative of your father and Grandmother Jane. I heard that you were in town and wanted to come to say hello."

Avery was taken aback, she had never heard of a woman named Violet before that was related to her. Avery stood in stunned silence, not knowing how to respond to this woman.

Violent saw her hesitation and quickly added, "I know it's strange to meet a distant relative out of the blue like this, but I've been researching our family tree for years. Your father and I share a great-great-grandfather, and I thought it would be nice to meet you and share what I've learned. I have been hearing around that you want to know about the town and our family."

Avery started to feel a small glimmer of hope. This lady named Violet could help her uncover more about her family's past and maybe even about the garden.

"Sure," Avery said with a smile, "I would love to talk to you more about our family history."

Violet smiled, "I will be right back." She parked her car in a parking spot before getting out and walking over to Avery. She gave her a warm smile, "How about I take you to get some ice cream while we talk?"

As they started to walk to the ice cream shop, Violet told her about her research and showed her photos and documents she had collected over the years. Avery nodded and listened intently, taking in everything that the woman knew about their family.

Avery learned about a distant relative who had also been a well-known botanist in the early 1900s. Avery had smiled a bit when she learned about that, even joking that it must have run in the family. But she also learned that this relative had visited Ravenwood and had been intrigued by the garden, which was known for its unique and rare plants.

Violet also shared stories of her own childhood, spending summers in Ravenwood with her grandparents, who had known Avery's grandfather well. She told Avery with a smile about how her grandmother had always been shy and reserved, never leaving the house much. She had tried so hard to help her father too and was so sad when he left. The grief nearly killed her, and she was rarely seen in town after that.