Heart of the Dawn

Heart of the Dawn – The twin gardens tale.

Princess Anna…she stands before him, in the days of old. Mr. Conner (Prince Stephen) smiles and takes her hand in his, and once again, their hearts unite. There is no length of time that can ever separate true love. Prince Stephen has only ever loved Princess Anna. He smiles at the beauty of her heart, and that hasn’t changed in all this time. He looks into her eyes; all the universe becomes Princess Anna. If it weren’t such a dream come true, he would wonder how they came to be in this place, together. Looking around, he tries to see where and what place they have found.

Furthermore, how had they come to be in this place, together? Although he doesn’t really feel too curious about the details of how they got here. She is here. With him. And that is all that matters for his heart. He looks back into her eyes and freezes. All the color has gone from her face. Her eyes are wide and she stares at him in horror. Prince Stephen (Mr. Conner) feels her hand tighten on his, and he looks down to see what has caused Princess Anna such alarm and horror. The red stains on the front of his shirt grow larger right before his eyes. His eyes snap back to Anna’s and she reaches for him and he for her. Darkness falls.

Butterflies. If Mary hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have ever believed it. Not only her yard, but also Miss Garrett’s yard, were filled with butterflies. And the large garden behind Miss Garrett’s house was equally filled with deer. Wesley stands beside her as they watch the once in a lifetime standoff between the heart of Mother Nature, and the nature of a demented town council. Additionally, the heavy equipment operators had long since given up. In fact, they currently sit in their personal trucks and vehicles. Mary suspects they are on the phone with the culprit behind this miscarriage of justice.

She tries to imagine what they might be saying. How does one describe a large herd of deer and a swarm of butterflies? Much less explain how they have formed a united front to stop the destruction of a beautiful and harmless garden? She can’t help smiling at the thought. Serves them right for trying to intimidate the elderly. As she watches the butterflies, she notices that more and more of them are moving toward the garden. Miss Garrett isn’t outside yet, but Mary can’t imagine this spectacle has gone unnoticed.

As if they have a prearranged choreographed routine, the deer begin moving out of the garden, and more into the front of the property. As they leave the garden, more and more butterflies fill the garden. All the fluttering wings make the land appear to be alive and moving. The transfer of positioning is real and Mary hears Wesley let out an exclamation of heart felt wonder. She has to admit, it’s so unusual it is breathtaking. Then Wesley’s phone rings. Later, when they have the chance to talk about it, they will agree that this is where the world turned upside down.

The Twin Gardens

She stands at the window watching the butterflies swarm the heavy equipment operators, and their equipment. Smiling she notices the deer next. Now Miss Garrett (Princess Anna) lets out a delightful little laugh. What a marvelous touch! In fact, she wonders if Mr. Conner has anything to do with this. That kind of surprise is just like him. Strange that after all these years they should encounter that horrible creature again. The bulldozers and the swaying of the town council, is her work. Although she calls herself Miss Anderson in this day and age, both Anna and Stephen, know who and what they are dealing with.

Miss Garrett feels a measure of relief. For a moment there it looked like the garden would be destroyed. Although it would break her heart they couldn’t afford to let anyone get into harm’s way. The heavy equipment just outside her front door is a testament to how far Miss Anderson is willing to go. She shudders in revulsion when she thinks about the last time. It almost cost them an entire kingdom. And if it were only senseless mayhem, that would be one thing.

However, the creature that has the name Miss Anderson has a much darker endgame in mind. And, as if triggered by the thought, Miss Garrett has a horrible vision of Mr. Conner. Suddenly she feels the room sway and knows throughout her being that Prince Stephen is in mortal peril. She nearly falls to the floor. Her grip on the edge of the door frame saves her, and she opens the door with numb hands to go outside. Her vision of Mr. Conner has left her weak in the knees and she turns toward Mary’s house, as she steps outside.

Heart of the Dawn

Wesley ends the call and turns toward Mary. His face is ashen and she sees him sway on his feet just a bit. From the look on his face, she knows something bad has happened. “Wesley, what’s wrong?” She tries to keep panic from her voice. He appears to be lost in thought about something too horrible to speak of. Then he speaks, but quietly. Almost like he’s in shock, and the feeling of dread begins to grow inside Mary’s heart.

“It’s Mr. Conner” Wesley pauses, searching for words, “He’s been shot, and it’s bad”. He begins to explain that they are rushing Mr. Conner to the hospital, but fails to finish his sentence. He is staring at Miss Garrett’s front porch with a look of great concern. Mary turns in time to see Miss Garrett take a few steps toward them. The look on the older woman’s face is one of pure anguish and Mary watches in horror as Miss Garrett loses consciousness and falls to the floor of the porch. Wesley is off like a shot running straight toward Miss Garrett. Mary is right on his heels.

Thank you for reading! Like, follow and share The Frog Journal on X @1finja1 – and on The Frog Journal Facebook page click here. Subscribe to the free newsletter to stay up to date on new content and updates.