The heather in their winter brownest colours across the moors in the evening sun lighting up the flowers and small scrubs that you could tear your petit coats on as easily as if they were a spiders web. I looked down at my black and white border collie and scratched her behind the ear. Regretting that we would have to go home, back into the real world of the hunger and disease. That would continue to kill parents and children across the land. I wish I could stay on the moors forever with Becky and the flowers. Just being a kid, and not having to worry about the fields or if the bread would rise.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it Becky” I said to the dog whilst dreamily looking into the distance of the moors. The sun light up the distance fields where my home was over the moor and the white spots of sheep and cattle.
“Come on Beck we want get back before dark now don’t we.” I said to the ever curious dog with a touch of a Scottish accent that I had made over the years of living in Scotland.
Bang!
I screamed at the sudden clap of thunder and Beck curled up at my side tucking her tail between her legs. Another clap of thunder realised a burst of rain that socked my hair and petit coat. I looked up at the darkening clouds and scrambled to my feet and started running across the hills towards my house. Tripping over the dame dress that I had to wear I fell into a pile of mud that had became even muddier from the down poor of rain.
“Why does the Scottish weather have to be so rainy Beck.” I complained to the running dog at my side keeping pace with me even though she could easily bound ahead. I smiled and started running a bite faster through the rain being careful to avoid the rabbit holes and bushes. You had to be careful going across the moors because they were fielded with hundreds of rabbit holes that could twist your ankle and break your leg if you weren’t careful. The heather was beautiful but it was easy to trip over and scrape your knee which was exactly what I did next. Coursing from tripping again I looked at my bare knee that was bleeding and saw. Clucting my hands to my knee I got up and gave up on running and decided to walk instead. The white and black Border collie looked at me as if to say are you crazy and slowed to a walk at my side. Lost in fought of, I decided that I wanted to help people in my life and I knew just the job that I could do that didn’t have anything to do with farming or cattle like my family was already into the business of. But I wasn’t sure if my parents would approve of my idea, for my future. I knew what my mum would say already to this idea of mine. “Oh Elizabeth the crazy ideas of yours, you’ll never become that there’s too much study and education in the job that we can’t afford!” yes that would be exactly what she would say and in the end properly something like this “Why don’t you just contion on the farm, I mean you are so great with animals and the plants seem to grow with ever word you whisper to them, Elizabeth. Putting you to work on the farm was properly the best thing that your father could have done for this whole family.”
“Oh Beck Mother will never let me do what I want to do in my life” I said angrily kicking up the mud in front of me. “But I will become what I want to do some day, just some day when I can afford the education” I sighed letting go of my breath.
“You don’t have to stay with me Beck you’ll catch a cold.” With these words the Border collie looked at me as if to say and so will you.
“ELIZBETH come out of the rain my fear” the voice of my father shouted over the noise of thunder and rain.
“Coming father. It is just very difficult to run on the moors when they are so wet.”
“Hurry my dear we don’t want you catching a cold with the previous condition of the family.”
“Yes father!” I shouted throw the rain.
Picking up my dress I started to run with a yapping Becky at my side having a splendid time in the mud.
“You’re going to need a bath if you continue like this Beck, you dirty thing.” I laughed at the ever filthy Becky as we were running across the moors.
Reaching the house my father pushed me inside into my mother’s wide open arms. The dim lightening made it hard to see but I could tell by the rough way that my mother was handling me that she was worried. My mother wordlessly started to brush the mud off my dress and I squizzed out my hair.
“Oh Elizabeth what are we going to do with you? Look at your dress it’s totally ruined!”
“I’m sorry mother, the rain came down so quickly. And I was all the way on the other side of the fields.” I took a deep breath and burst out before my mother could say another word. “I want to be a doctor mother, father. Cause I want to help people in my life and with the sickness that is going around were going to need a few good doctors. I know that we could never afford the education but maybe if we got a good teacher who was willing to teach me. It could just happen.”
My mother and father looked at each other and my mother was the first to talk out.
“You’ll never be a doctor Elizabeth, you’re a girl no one will ever let you heal them and examine them. I mean why don’t you just continue to work on the fields, you’re so good with animals and the plants just grow with every word you whisper to them.”
Ashamed I looked down at my feet and noticed now muddy and filthy my shoes had become from the rain and mud. Knocking my feet together to get of most of the mud I pull off my shoes and dropped then near to the door.
“Oh what are you doing Elizabeth, you’ll ruin the floor if you knock off all the mud in hear.”
It wouldn’t make a big difference how filthy the floor was anyway. It was already covered in mud from everybody walking in and out. But no she tells me off for getting a little bit of mud on the floor just because I’m a girl not a boy like the rest of my siblings.
