Her Name is Alice

Prolouge

"Alice, darling, what are you up to?" 

The guilty little girl froze, keeping her hands well hidden behind her back. A shy grin stretched her blackberry stained lips; she had been sneaking into the pantry again while her mother wasn't looking. 

"I was just heading outside to climb the tree before we leave, Momma."

Her mother narrowed her gaze at her daughter, knowing full well that she wasn't telling the whole truth. Alice never lied to her mother but she wouldn't always reveal all of the details. She understood very early on that her momma wasn't capable of accepting the truth if it didn't quite fit into her carefully knit world. Alice swore to never lie to her face therefore, more often than not, she just kept her mouth shut.

"Alright, but you best not ruin your dress ; I don't have time to mend it before we leave for Father Johnathan's sermon. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes so no dawdling when I call for you."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Alice wasted no time rushing past her mother and through the peeling white door to their vegetable garden and looming apple tree behind their little cottage. She was careful to not let the old wooden door slam behind her; it was always bad luck to be scolded before Mass. She was careful not to squash the precious berries as she dumped the juicy handful into her pocket and scurried up the rough bark of the apple tree she knew better than her own skin.

She often spent the better part of her days resting in the crook of the highest branch on the tree with one of her favorite books in her lap, doodling in the margins what she imagined the story was telling her. It drove her momma mad when she'd buy Alice a book once a month only to find it vandalized with drawings of birds and foxes and trolls. Alice was often scolded for such messy habits but she never could find a way to break it.

She inched along the thick branch as far as she could and poked her head through the spring green leaves where the morning sun smiled warmly. Inhaling the fresh gust of wind, Alice retrieved a single berry from her pocket and was just about to plop it into her mouth when she heard a pitiful sort of chirp come from another branch somewhere.

Curious, Alice crouched low on her branch and scoured the crisscrossing twigs in search of the source of the sound. After another chirp, she spotted a sad excuse for a nest a couple feet from her left hand. There was mold growing within the soggy leaves and twigs and a number of tiny insects breeding amongst the mess. She reached inside the nest and scooped out a frightened little sparrow with a crooked wing.

"Poor little thing, how did this happen?"

The tiny sparrow tried flapping its other wing to escape from her cupped hands until Alice was able to soothe it by delicately stroking its head. Slowly, it began to calm down and release only the occasional sound of pain. She fed it a couple berries until the little bird was distracted enough for Alice to touch its broken wing.

She carefully caressed the wounded creature in her hands, crooning softly when the lingering breeze adjusted its painfully crooked wing. The tiny bird's terrified tweet sounded the beginning of the sweet song sung beneath the delicate breath of the sky. Its melody hummed through the earth, halting time for a moment as almost every soul in the village aware enough to feel the strangely familiar song stopped and let the earworm (informal definition) thread their hearts. 

Alice's fair-skinned hands throbbed with a soft blue evening light that wrapped itself around the broken wing like a flickering bandage. The calm light grew warmer and brighter as she finished the beautiful song. She pulled apart her cupped palms and smiled kindly at the confused bird as it tested its newly mended wing.

Giving off an excited whistle, the little brown creature leapt from her fingers into the perfectly blue sky that seemed slightly less impossible and more like an adventure calling to the root of one's being.

"Good luck, little one. Fly high," Alice whispered.