wis·dom
/ˈwizdəm/
noun
the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.
Narnia had always been a free country, until she came along. Jadis was the devil in disguise, and she brought to the kingdom an eternal...
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"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt
England, 1940
In an old house lived a child.
Not any child. Olivia Kirke Olmore was a 13-year-old English girl with the energy of a cheetah, the bravery of a lion, and the imagination of 200 children. She lived in an old mansion in the countryside with her grandfather, Professor Digory Kirke. He was the father of her deceased mother, and he would always tell stories to his granddaughter.
Even though she lived in the regular world, her mind had always been elsewhere. She was creative and imaginative and a devoted reader. She could easily dig deep into her mind and forget what happened around the world. The war. Germany taking over Europe. Every life wasted in vain. The world was brutal to cope with. Ever since 1939, the world was beginning to collapse with the rise of Nazi Germany.
But she felt secure. Living in the countryside was one of the safest options to live at the moment; not only that, but she felt like her grandfather was the most courageous person in the world. With him, she always felt safe.
It was May 30th, the day after Olivia's birthday. She stood in the kitchen, making tea and grabbing five little cups. Her grandfather was currently busy with work and, unfortunately, stayed locked in his office.
Olivia was getting ready for today; four children were about to arrive. Apparently, they were all siblings, and their mother was an old friend of Digory Kirke. With the Macready, the bat-looking housemaid, Olivia would pick them up at the nearby station. Of course, Olivia had never gotten along well with people, which made her very nervous about this encounter.
When she finished making tea, she realised her mistake. By the time she got home, the tea would already be cold. She made the tea too early. Perhaps, she could bring it with her to greet the siblings at the station? Or, what if they did not like tea? But what kind of British person did not enjoy tea? Wait, were they British? Olivia felt her palms sweat. Overthinking never did her good, she would keep telling herself.
"We are going to be late, missy!" Spoke a plummy voice from behind Olivia. She turned to find the old housemaid, the Macready, standing in the doorway. The older woman looked annoyed and agitated. She held a small clock in her hands, like always.
That small clock was the cause of Olivia's nightmares; the Macready always had it in her hands, checking the time Olivia would take to do something or reminding her of failures. "You're two minutes late." or "You should have taken five seconds to hit the ball, not seven." It was a constant reminder of her imperfections; something would bug her until she was finally doing it perfectly by the Macready's impossible standards.
"What do I do with the tea, then?" The Macready looked behind Olivia, where she saw a full, boiling Kettle and five cups on the table. The woman looked at the little clock in her hands and signed.
