Greenbriar Manor

Fern's Grown in Shadow

Fern kept looking at the piece of paper in her pocket. Her mother was not well, and the wracking coughing she had developed filled their tiny house with noise. She had brought her over brewed tea and a muffin from the bakery across the street, but she was not much for eating today. The work washing and ironing and delivering things had kept her away longer than usual. She kept thinking about the invitation she had found and how appropriate it was two days before her birthday. She would finally have a friend to tell her mother about instead of animals and books. Maybe one day she could even bring her here to meet Mother.

Marisol was waiting in the treehouse at dusk. She was hoping that the girl who found the letter would show up sometime soon. She needed a friend. Her doll and her cousin had been gone so very long. She liked that the girl was named Fern. Like the doll she owned. Her brother never let her keep her for more than a few minutes lately. She felt like he had become jealous recently with his two friends. But soon that would change.

Fern wandered into the manor with linens and set them on the service porch. She left and wandered down to the tree at the edge of the yard just in time to spot three boys throwing a baseball. She smiled at them, but they didn't approach her. She kept walking into the thicket and up ahead she saw it. The tiny treehouse she had been shown. She scaled the tree ladder and stepped inside to find a doll with bright green eyes and a blue tea set.

She heard rustling on the other side of the house a tiny girl appeared smiling but something in her demeanor was off-putting. She introduced herself as Marri. The teacakes looked oily, but the music lulled her into a peaceful dreamy state...she wanted to be her friend more than anything she had ever desired in her life.