The Magical Stone Cottage

Chapter 1

The young woman was engrossed in her thoughts as she walked along the narrow street on the outskirts of the village where she had lived all her life. The past week had been very unsettling and her heart felt bruised and battered. Her mother was in the final days of her life as she battled the disease that was stripping her of the beauty and dignity that had always been a part of her. As Anna walked along the dusty, narrow street, losing the one person who meant the most to her was a searing, ripping pain that threatened to tear her heart from her body. This was the first time that she had left her mother’s side in a week, as she had even slept on a pallet on the hard, cold floor in order to be near in case she was needed. Today, her mother’s sister had come for a visit and asked Anna for some time with her sister so that they could speak of private things. Anna had nowhere in particular to go, but it was a beautiful sunny day with just a hint of chill in the air, so she just began walking aimlessly and thinking about the life she had shared with her mother.

Anna was an only child, and her father had died when she was too young to really remember much about him. All she had were vague recollections of feeling safe when he held her in his arms and the smell of animals, tobacco and outdoors on his coat that she loved to snuggle her face into. As the young woman thought back over the years, she realized how difficult it must have been for her mother to provide for the two of them, but she had made it seem easy because she had always been happy and loving when they were together. The thought of never seeing that smile again caused a physical pain in her chest, and she wanted to cry out against the injustice. Tears streamed down her cheeks in a torrent but they did nothing to ease the unbearable agony in her heart.

She had no idea how long she had walked when she looked around and realized she didn’t recognize anything. She had roamed the countryside since she was a young child and was familiar with everything for many miles around, but she had never seen this area before. Just ahead she saw a lovely stone cottage and decided to inquire within for help finding her way home. She paused at the gate and stood looking in wonder at the beautiful little house. It sat in a forest of flowers and trees that seemed to hold it in their embrace. As she walked up the cobbled path she caught glimpses of movement out of the corner of her eyes but when she turned to look, nothing was there. Everything felt strange and yet as she walked up the path a deep feeling of comfort seemed to seep into her and she felt a peace she had never experienced before. The flowers and trees were a riot of color more deep and vibrant than anything she had ever seen before, and they seemed to be alive in a way that she could never have imagined. It was as though they were communicating with her on some level, and as she stopped to look at one small, vibrant violet bloom, she thought for a moment it had looked up at her and smiled. She stepped back in surprise and chided herself for having such fanciful thoughts.

The path to the door seemed much longer than she had thought, and when she looked back she could no longer see the road. She finally reached the door and knocked lightly. The door opened to reveal a very small, strange looking little man with a large, bulbous nose smiling at her as though they were old friends. He beckoned to her to enter, and she stepped through the door onto the smooth stone floor to find herself in a small room that somehow felt familiar and welcoming. Light streamed through large open windows and danced on the floor making patterns that appeared to be alive, and the air was filled with the heady scent of many flowers. She turned to ask the little man for directions only to find that he had disappeared, which was very strange, as there didn’t appear to be any way out of the room except through the door that she was standing in. This should have been frightening, but instead of fear she felt a peace and joy that was totally unreasonable under the circumstances. She glanced around and felt as though she was trespassing with no right to be here, but she just could not bring herself to turn and walk out.

As she continued to look around, she noticed a table in the center of the room that she was sure had not been there when she first entered. It seemed as if the room and its furnishings changed each time she looked. This struck her as very odd, but still she felt no fear. There was a book on the table, and she walked over to take a look at it thinking that perhaps it would explain things. As she looked down at the cover of the book, her breath caught in her throat for the title of the book was Anna’s Life. She reached tentatively and opened it to the first page. There was no introduction, table of contents or any of the things normally found in books. The story began on the first page with the birth of a baby girl to very proud, loving parents.

There was one chair at the table and Anna sat down and began to read the book. As she read, she was suddenly able to recall memories of events that happened even when she was an infant. She realized that she had been a very lucky girl because of the depth of love she had known from her first moment of life. She felt again the comfort and safety that she had always felt in the arms of her father and mother. As the story continued and she grew older, there were memories of hurts and disappointments as well as the happy memories. The greatest of the hurtful memories was the loss of her father. Perhaps because she had been too young to understand what death was, she had felt the loss more deeply than anyone could have imagined. She felt again the confusion and remembered wondering if he had left because she had been bad and he no longer loved her as hot, salty tears rolled down her cheeks.

She continued to read and at times smile or weep as the memories came flooding back. Finally she came to the day that her mother’s sister came to visit her very ill mother, and her hand trembled as she reached to turn the page. She hesitated for a moment and then turned the page only to find that the rest of the book was blank. Anna sat in stunned silence not knowing whether she was relieved or angry. Everything in the cottage had seemed so perfect, and she realized that she had expected to learn that her mother was going to get well and everything would be wonderful the way it had always been before. It seemed that the book had served no real purpose at all. There were many pages left in the book, but they were all blank, and she felt betrayed.

As Anna sat lost in thought, she heard a small voice telling her that the book had been placed there to help her recall memories to bring her comfort. The voice explained that the rest of the pages had not yet been written because it was up to her to make what she would of the rest of her life. Anna looked around to see where the voice had come from, but there was no one else in the cottage. This was, indeed, a very strange place, and she was surprised once again that she felt no fear. She marveled at the fact that she could accept all that was happening with wonder and joy rather than fear. She sat for a long time thinking back over her life and wishing that she had been more helpful to her mother.

Suddenly, Anna glanced up as she sensed movement across the room and saw the figure of a man standing in the shaft of sunlight that poured into the room through one of the windows. Though she could not see his features clearly, he seemed very familiar and suddenly she knew that he was her father. He began to speak to her about life and what it is really all about. He told her that he had never left her but only stepped through a thin veil that separates the physical world from the world of spirit and that he had always been there watching over her and her mother. He explained that the time had come for her mother to join him on the other side of the veil, but he wanted her to know that they would both be with her always. He explained that life was not just a single event but rather a continuous journey of birth, death and rebirth until each soul managed to make its way back to the source through growth and learning. She sat in silence as he talked and felt a stirring deep within her being and a feeling of something opening. Finally, he told her it was time for her to go back the way she had come and return to her mother’s side.

She rose from the chair and took one last look around. As she walked to the door, she saw several small figures moving around the room and some flying through the air. She was amazed that she had not been able to see them before and realized that she was seeing on a different level than she had ever seen before. She stepped through the door and saw that there were many more small figures working tending the plants. She moved along the path reluctant to have this magical time come to an end. Suddenly she found herself back on a familiar road and looked around in confusion. There was no sign of the cottage, and she turned to hurry home. So much had happened that it seemed she must have been gone for a long time, but as she entered the house and looked at the clock she realized that she had only been gone for about 30 minutes.

Anna’s aunt called out to her from the room where her mother lay and she hurried to her mother’s side. There was a look of peace on her mother’s face as she smiled up at Anna and Anna realized that somehow she knew what had happened. She felt a bond that was much deeper than any she had ever felt before and knew that the time had come to say goodbye and let her mother move away from the pain and suffering she was experiencing. She bent and kissed the beloved forehead and whispered, I love you, go in peace. With one last smile, Anna’s mother let out a long breath and slipped gently away. As the breath ended, the figure she had seen earlier in the cottage appeared in the corner of the room and was joined by the figure of her mother that rose from the now empty body lying on the bed.

Anna turned to comfort her aunt with a heart at once heavy with grieve and at the same time a joy beyond anything she had ever known. She was unable to explain to anyone why in the weeks and years that followed she never grieved the way that most people did over the death of those they loved.

Chapter 2

Anna awoke to the sound of birds singing and the sun pouring through the window onto her bed. She sat up and saw that it was a beautiful spring day and then felt a lump come into her throat as she remembered this was to be the day of her mother’s funeral and her last day in the only home she had known her entire life. Anna and her Aunt Helen had talked in the three days since her mother’s passing about Anna’s plans for the future. Her mother had worked hard just to provide essentials and there had never been anything to put aside. However, after Anna had finished school the previous summer and began working at whatever jobs she could get locally, her mother had insisted she save whatever she made, so she had managed to save a small amount. Anna realized now that her mother had known she would need this money very soon and once again felt gratitude for the very special woman who had been her mother. She had already tried to find work here and knew that there were no jobs in this small village. She knew she would have to go somewhere else, but she had never lived anywhere else, and the idea of leaving this safe haven and going to a strange town was very frightening. She was very relieved when Aunt Helen suggested she come stay with her until she could get established in a job and find a place of her own. She had visited Aunt Helen once when she was very small, but she had missed her mother so badly that she would never go again. The only thing she could remember about the town where her aunt lived was that it had seemed very big and noisy and people were always in a hurry and never smiled at each other. Anna knew that she would have to find something for herself soon because the house where her aunt lived was very small and three of her cousins were still living there.

Anna and Helen had gone through the few possessions she and her mother had and packed those things she was to take with her. As she looked at the small pile of belongings, Anna wondered how so little could be left from an entire lifetime, but she heard a small voice whisper that what her mother had given her were things of the heart and not worldly possessions. It still surprised Anna when this voice whispered to her, but she was becoming more accustomed to it, and it seemed somehow comforting. She no longer looked for the source as she had before because she knew that there was nothing to be seen.

Anna had made a point of going away from others out into nature for a while each day since she had come upon the stone cottage in hopes of seeing her mother and father. Though she had not seen them, she still retained the ability to see the nature spirits, and when she was among them she felt the peace and joy that she had felt in the cottage. She was even beginning to be able to see some of the spirits in town, especially in the home she had shared with her mother, but it seemed they were not as happy there. She wondered how she was going to manage to keep in touch with this when she got to the town where her aunt lived with all of the noise and bustle. However, whenever she thought about this, she heard the small voice telling her not to worry because everything was as it should be.

The day after the funeral Anna gathered her meager belongings and gave the key to the little house where she had been so happy to the lady next door. She and Aunt Helen walked to the train station and boarded the train that would take her to her new life. Anna was young, and with the resilience of youth she began to feel a hint of excitement mixed with the apprehension of leaving everything that was familiar and stepping into the unknown. Aunt Helen fell asleep shortly after telling Anna she should get some rest, but Anna’s emotions were much too unsettled for her to be able to sleep. As the countryside changed from the familiar to the unfamiliar, Anna began to feel lonely for the first time and realized how truly blessed she had been having lived around people she had known all her life.

The train sped across the landscape all day, and it was after dark before they arrived at the station in the town where Aunt Helen lived. Anna had fallen asleep for short periods of time, but she was tired and very glad to leave the train and be able to move around. As they stepped off the train, a man approached and kissed Aunt Helen on the cheek and gave Anna a hug. This was obviously her Uncle Ted, and Anna was relieved to be welcomed so warmly. She did not remember Uncle Ted from her visit many years ago and had wondered if he would resent having her come stay with them. Aunt Helen and Uncle Ted talked about the everyday things that had occurred while she had been gone and Anna found this somehow comforting. They talked about how he had coped with the children in her absence and had a few laughs at his descriptions of the mishaps he had encountered in trying to do those things that Aunt Helen made look so simple. It was obvious that they were very glad to be together again, and Anna thought about how happy her own parents must be now that they were together.

When they arrived at Aunt Helen’s and Uncle Ted’s, her cousins all gathered around Aunt