☾☀︎︎☽❤︎ 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜 ꧂☕︎︎✍︎︎❦
Marilyn March is the middle sister of the March family. Everyone likes her, but often forgotten as most middle children are. When she meets Laurie, she automatically loves him. But no one really gets a happy endin...
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Christmas Day, noon. All of the "proper" people of Concord are entering the local church, serving God in the traditional manner. We walk by, actually doing the Christ-like thing, instead of performing our faith. I have nothing against those people. I just hate how they say "they're true Christians because they go to church." But when presented the opportunity to help others, they become snooty. We make our way through the woods and finally find the outside of a shack that is so old, it is hardly standing. This is the Hummel house. We enter the house, tentative at first around such wretched poverty. Mrs. Hummel is barely older than we are, and frighteningly thin. She's so frail. Marmee shows no hesitation, immediately taking the infant into her arms. We all follow her lead. "Ach, mein Gott! It is good angels come to us!" Mrs. Hummel says, looking at all of us. "I'm back! We brought food and blankets and sweaters. And we brought some medicine. These are my girls!" She introduces us to the family. We all set about making the room less wretched, more home-like. Marmee comforts the baby, Meg takes two children into her lap, Amy cleans and straightens, Beth and I cover the other children with blankets, Jo sets up the food. "Have you guys ever played thumb war?" I ask the kids. They shake their head, no. I look down and quickly look back up, not to show my sadness. "Here, I'll teach you." I tell them. Beth goes and helps Jo as I teach them the game. ————————— The girls enter the house while I look over at Dore's house. I haven't talked to him since our fight. That was a few days ago. I enter the house and immediately see Hannah has arranged an unimaginable feast, with candy and ice cream and cakes. Hannah pulls Marmee outside while we marvel at the feast. It's so beautifully delicious and all I wanna do is sit and eat. "Is it fairies?" Asks Amy. "Santa Claus?" Guesses Beth "No, it's old Aunt March!" Jo says like it's obvious. "Mr. Laurence sent it." Hannah tells us when she comes back inside. "The Laurence boy's grandfather? Why?" Meg says surprised. "He saw you giving your Christmas breakfast away and wanted you to enjoy the day." Hannah explains. They all run to the window to look. I look at the feast. Now I feel bad for getting mad. Hannah looks at me and hands me a letter, "It's from your Laurie." I blush quickly put it under my skirt. "But I thought he was a mean old man!" Amy exclaims. "That's so generous of him." I say quietly. "His grandson,Laurie, put the idea into his head! I know he did. We should make friends with him." Jo suggests. "I'm pretty sure some of us already have." Amy comments. I slowly look up and see they're all staring at me. "Boys scare me. And that big old house scares me." Beth says, taking the attention off of me. Amy gorges on the sweets, "Jenny Snow says that Mr. Laurence disowned his son after he went off with an Italian woman, and now his grandson is an orphan and he spends all of his time in that house locked up with his tutor." "He is a very kind man who lost his little girl when she was only a child, and now his son as well." Marmee says sharply. "His daughter died? That's so sad." Beth says sympathetically. "But doesn't Laurie just seem so romantic? He's half Italian." Amy admires. "What do you know? You've never spoken to him." Jo says to her and turns to me."In fact, only one of us has become extremely close to him." "How is 'Dore', Mari?" Meg asks with a smirk. I look down and clear my throat,"I wouldn't know. We haven't talked in awhile." They all look at me with pity before Marmee addresses them, "I am not responsible for this feast, but I have got a surprise." She holds out a letter. We all go in hysterics before calming down. We gather around Marmee, looking away from her and making her comfortable. "Don't I wish I could go.." Jo sighs. "Jo, if you went then Mary would follow. We can't give up our only brothers!" Beth teases. "It must be very disagreeable to sleep in a tent." Amy says. Jo sits behind Marmee in the chair. "Jo sits in the back so we can't see her cry." Amy snickers. Jo smacks Amy's head, "so what if I do?" Beth speaks up from mothers lap,"When will he come home?" "He will stay and do his work faithfully as long as he can, and we won't ask for him back a minute sooner than he can be spared." Marmee states. She looks at the letter and begins reading,"Give them all my dear love and a kiss. Tell them I think of them by day, pray for them by night and find my best comfort in their affection at all times...A year seems a very long time to wait before I see them but remind them that while we wait we may all work, so that these hard days need not be wasted.......I know they will be loving children to you, do their duty faithfully, fight their enemies bravely and conquer themselves so beautifully that when I come back to them I may be fonder and prouder than ever of my little women." I look down to cover my tears. It's going to be okay...... I hope. ———————————- We finally put on the play we had been rehearsing. With Marmee and Hannah cheering us on, we perform for the neighborhood children. The children are entranced as Jo, dressed as Hugo, with a black beard, a mysterious cloak, boots and a sword, calls out,"What ho! Minion! I need thee!" Meg enters as Hagar, the horrible old witch. A smoke effect and a well done homemade costume make the audience gasp,"Born of roses, fed on dew, What charms and potions canst thou brew?" Jo and I mouth the words along with her. Amy, as the Sprite, appears on top of a poorly constructed "tree," to give the illusion of 'flying' ,"Hither I come, from my airy home,afar in the silver moo - AHHHHH!" In mid-speech and gesture, Amy falls with a loud crash. Jo breaks character," Don't laugh! Act like it's all right! Just keep going! Beth play! Mary, dance and sing." Beth and I are revealed, trying to keep a straight face, while the others scramble to keep the performance going. Princess Zara (Amy) and Roderigo (Meg) kneel before Don Pedro (Jo), as he pronounces them man and wife. I sing in French and hold out the last note until Beth plays the final triumphant chords. "Brava! Brava!" Marmee cheers. The audience claps as the sisters bow - Jo gentlemanly, Meg demurely, Mary with a big smile, Amy the diva, and Beth's small quiet curtsy. One woman rises to her feet with her applause and shouts. ——————————— Once I get back to the attic, I read Laurie's letter. Dear my lovely lyn, Only 4 words in and he's already got me laughing. I am sincerely sorry. I never meant to get mad. I don't even know why I did. My grandfather tells me that I push people away. When I have the chance to be happy, brilliant, and useful. I choose to be lazy, selfish ,and miserable. I wish you could see how I was after you stopped talking to me. You made me realize that I can't just go through life by myself. Before I met you, I had no one and I was lonely. Then I met your crazy and merry family and just like you, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I wouldn't trade you for the world. Love, your Dore. I laugh with tears in my eyes. How could he be even more charming over letter? And I guess that breakfast was a 'I'm sorry' breakfast. The words I wouldn't trade you for the world repeats in my mind. They slowly lull me to sleep. The last thing I see is Teddy and I in the snow, joking around. I fall asleep with a smile on my face. —————————— We are all walking, bundled against the cold. The streets are more bustling, the atmosphere cozier. It is how childhood always is in memory -- brighter and better. We are back to the daily task of making a living, sadly. "It's so hard to go back to work after such good times." Meg says, upset. "I wish it was Christmas every day." Beth wishes. "Or New Year's, wouldn't that be exciting?" Amy agrees with Beth. "We're a bunch of ungrateful minxes!" Jo exclaims with a laugh. "You can say that again." I laugh. "Don't use such dreadful expressions!" Meg scolds. "I like good strong words that mean something." Jo shrugs. "Well I have to go to school and I don't have any limes." Amy mumbles. "Limes?" Asks Jo. "The other girls are all trading pickled limes. I'm in debt. I owe ever so many limes." Sighs Amy. Meg digs a quarter out of her pocket and gives it to Amy,"Will that do?" "What did you do that for?" Its Jo's turn to scold Meg. "I know what it is to want little things and feel less than other girls." Amy looks at the quarters,"Between that and the drawings, I should wipe out my debt." "What drawings?" I question. "Nothing!" Amy says defensively. Beth shudders," I'm just glad that mother doesn't make me go to that school with all those girls..." Then I remember, "Beth, after your shopping, I need you to work your way through the new sums and spelling and Jo will check it all when we get home." Meg looks at the sun, and speeds up,"Hurry! I'll be late!" We break apart from each other at the fork in the road, Beth and Meg going one direction and Amy and Jo and me in another. ———————————
