a cottage secret

betty's interlude

The beginning of it all smelled like cookies and fresh coffee. Betty was just so excited to finally be able to speak to Florence. That city girl was so intoxicating, Betty felt like she would drown easily in her scent – and she didn't mind. She could die in her arms and she'd die happy.

Florence was a bit difficult to read so her neighbor didn't know exactly what were her feelings. Betty wanted to get to know her completely, to understand her mind and soul, but she was always so far off. The only times she felt like that girl's heart was open was when she was playing the piano, or drawing her new friend. Sometimes, she felt like she could sense her heart had skipped a beat whenever she touched her hand.

So that was enough. All of that was more happiness than the redheaded girl had ever imagined feeling. Whenever they were together, Betty felt like she could fly. The world was only a little place and she was a giant, ready to conquer it all.

It was a big difference, from feeling little and invisible every day to be seen. Being known. Suddenly meaning something.

The day after their picnic in the woods, Betty went home feeling like flowers had grown out of her chest. Her parents couldn't understand it, but they were happy for her. She finally had a friend, after all! She wasn't weird or antisocial, after all!

They couldn't see that love was growing inside of her, and she grew with it. Her hair got wilder, her eyes got brighter. She was becoming her own person, and they were too blind to realize it.

But they loved her anyhow. Sometimes the people who love us the most are too blind by their own expectations to truly see us, and that's what happened with them.

Even though she couldn't confess her feelings to any person in that house, she still had her orange cat. Oliver sometimes disappeared in the middle of the night and came back with prey in his fangs, but he meant well. He was there waiting for her when she got back home.

She started to take off her clothes to take a long shower. There were leaves and little branches stuck in her clothes and her red hair. Oliver couldn't stop meowing, longing for a pet, but as soon as she walked into the bathroom he decided to wait outside.

She came out smelling like summer. She put on her pajamas and sat on her bed. She didn't know how to tell the world how her heart was glowing, so she took her guitar out of its case and started to play it. The cat was her only fan, but that was enough.

Suddenly living in that little cottage in the middle of an empty countryside wasn't so bad, because it led her to get to know Florence. It led that girl to her. And maybe that girl was the beginning of everything changing.

Oliver stayed there on her lap, waiting for her to fall asleep. It was hard for her to close her eyes and rest because reality finally seemed better than any of her dreams.

She wished she could tell her neighbor goodnight, but she felt content in opening her window and playing the guitar, hoping she could hear it.

The wind came in through the window and blew her away.