The Girl in the Blue dress

Jackies story

It was just a like I had always imagined it to be.   He said to her softly.  Not wanting to disturb the magic moment they had just experienced.  Lying side by side in her single university bed he stole a glance at her profile.  She must have fallen asleep as  her eyes were closed, her breath came slowly, her dark long lashes swept upwards into the curve of her eyelids – her mouth slightly open as it had been when they had first met.  Her lips were full and red, still moist,  bruised with desire of his ardor.    Her blond hair spread across the pillow  forming a fan of golden curls.

  They had met downstairs in the campus  lobby –talked and chatted all night over a bottle or two and ended up in her digs

Smothering their laughter as she smuggled him upstairs in the dark - half giggling half singing in their excitement they climbed the four flights  with whispered jokes and romped on the bed until dawn.  He had told her things he had never told another soul. 

As the sunlight hit the shades behind the door and light was reflected off the mirror spreading a shower of rainbow prisms  onto the worn pink bedspread Florent looked up to the ceiling. He thanked a God who he didn’t really believe in but thanked him anyway just in case he was wrong  … thanked whoever had organized this wonderful meeting of two people who were perhaps  meant to be with each other forever.   He was 27 years old could this be ‘her’ – the woman who was to be his future companion, wife and lover.  

He described to her his grandmother who had brought him up as her own child.   He showed her a photo that he always kept with him and she said “who is the girl in that blue dress”?    As he described his Grandmother, he was transported to the farm kitchen, the delicious smell of bread in the oven and just baked apple pie on the table.   Memories of his Granny in her  blue dress, as blue as cornflowers in August fields – dotted with tiny white flowers that she always wore.

The discussions and laughter they had together – the dogs, cats  and chickens coming in and out of the kitchen.   

He described when he had grown up on the farm and after having done his chores at 4 am each morning, milked the cows and mucked out the goats  – he studied hard and had managed to get the grades to apply for University and be accepted.  

His Granny had struggled out of bed that morning to accompany him to say goodbye and he had suddenly noticed how pale she was as she frowned In pain and struggled to bend him a kiss.

“She” listened intently and they decided to go the next holiday to meet this wonderful lady and this remarkable place.  

He hadn’t been able to tell his Granny in advance as to their arrival as her telephone seemed to be up to no good and so they set out one Saturday morning to Pembrokeshire.

As they arrived at the farm he sensed something was wrong – there was a eerie atmosphere,  chickens, goats and cats waited on the doorstep and their two farm dogs lay inert on the muddy path.    Their tongues hanging in thirst.  

There was no Granny to bustle out and greet them as he had imagined, and they opened the door with caution.    There she was sitting in her kitchen, head on her arms, her blue dress on as usual the little white flowers now faded and drooping in death.

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Paula's story

Audrey and Juliet were twin sisters, identical in every way but one. Their skin was pale, their eyes were green, and their hair was a glossy black, flowing in soft curls to their waists. They were sweet-natured, they were a help to their mother in the house, and they loved the family fish fries that had become a tradition on Friday evenings. The family didn’t have much money, but the girls didn’t notice. They were happy, good girls.

There was but one discernible difference between them: Audrey always wore red, and Juliet always wore yellow.

It was a puzzling thing that the two girls had developed such definite yet different ideas about which color set off their attributes best. Audrey, in her red dress, practically smoldered. The bright red of her dress made her eyes flash greener than ever, and her bearing became almost regal. Juliet, in her yellow dress, just sparkled. The sunshine yellow of her dress made her skin glow, and she seemed to float through the rooms of the house.

One day, their mother fell ill. It became the girls’ responsibility to take on more of the household chores, such as cooking dinner, doing the laundry, and ironing their fathers’ shirts. Their efforts, at first, were not great. But as the days went on, and their mother did not get any better, the girls did. They got better at making out grocery lists and putting ingredients together to create decent meals. They got better at understanding exactly how much soap to put into the washing machine and to take the clothes off the line if it looked like rain. They got better at figuring out how hot the iron would get, and their father got better at hiding the scorch stains on his shirts as he dressed for work.

But one fateful day, Audrey’s red dress and Juliet’s yellow dress ended up in the washing machine together. The result was two dresses, very clean and neat, but … blue.

There was nothing to do but smile bravely and put the dresses on. The family couldn’t afford to buy new clothes, and with their mother ill, there was no one to sew new dresses from red and yellow fabric.

But the hue did something to the girls. They became withdrawn, even sullen at times. In their walks around the neighborhood, they suddenly began noticing blue everywhere. The Walkers’ blue car. The Smiths’ bright blue house shutters. The blue mailbox at the curb of the Kirbys’ house. They girls looked at each other, and nodded, once.

That night, after their father kissed them goodnight, they dressed silently in their matching dresses, and crept from the house. They used their house key to scratch every surface of the blue car, then they let the air out of its tires. They squirted oil from their father’s deep-fat fryer all over the blue shutters, staining them horribly with grease. They rocked and rocked the pole that held up the mailbox until it fell, in a heap, onto the grass, where they used mud and rocks to obliterate it.

The next morning, as the girls took their usual walk, the neighborhood was in an uproar. No one could understand what had happened during the night. As the twins walked calmly, they saw a tiny beagle puppy, tethered to a tree in someone’s yard with a blue leash, leading to a bejeweled blue collar. In the blink of an eye, Audrey had clipped the leash from the tree, while a boy playing in his yard watched. Then Juliet cut the collar from the dog. Tasting freedom, the puppy jumped happily at the girls’ legs, then dashed into the street, where a huge blue pickup truck couldn’t stop in time.

The girls were horrified. They knew what they must do. They ran home, tore off their blue dresses, and threw them into the washing machine with anything dark they could find: their father’s denim jeans, the dark red throw from the back of the sofa, the ink-stained T-shirt their father wore on the weekends.

The puppy’s owners were distraught, and called the police. The boy across the street solemnly told the officers, “It was a girl in a bright blue dress.” He pointed down the street, in the direction of the girls’ house.

Later that day, a knock came at Audrey’s and Juliet’s door. The father opened it to find two police officers, who asked if they could speak to his daughter. As both girls shyly approached the door, the officers apologized, said goodbye, and turned to leave. The father looked at Audrey and Juliet in bewilderment. “Wherever did you get those purple dresses?” he asked.

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Sarah's story 
The girl in the blue dress
(10.04.2020)

She had always been pious, and good, very good, that she knew, so when the time came for Muriel to go on, she accepted it with equanimity.  She hadn't expect to go at the age of 55, but at least, she thought, she now had the assurance of being among the right sort.  There was a lot of riff-rafff down there, she reflected as she began to mount the heavenly ladder.
As she passed through the pearly gates, she cast a look around her and saw that most of the people were carrying bibles or hymn books, and some had rosaries or holy pictures, so she knew she was in the right spot.  But she was anxious to see the celebrities.
"Where's Peter?" she asked.
"Peter?"
"Saint Peter, you know," she said, a little impatiently.  It should have been obvious.
"Didn't you see him when you came through?"
"At the gate?  No, all I saw was ..."  But her gaze followed that of her guide, and she now took note of the man at the door.  "Him?"  No, she had not paid any attention to the man in a porter's uniform.  She shook her head at this error in taste, and asked, "Well, where's Paul?"
Her guide pointed him out, surrounded by a crowd of people all listening to what he had to say.  He definitely looked imposing, and his long beard and bald head were just as she had imagined him.  She would come back later and join the crowd.  But for the moment she had another agenda.
"Where's Mary?"
"She's over there.  The girl in the blue dress."
A girl.  She rather liked that.  The idea of Mary not as the old woman she must have been when she died, but as the very very young woman of the nativity scenes or the mother-and-child pictures.  She headed in the direction indicated.
In fact there were two women in blue.  She went towards the one with flowing blond hair and blue eyes.  She was certainly the best-looking of the two.
"Hello, I'm Muriel.  I take it you're Mary?"
"Mary?  No, I'm Caroline Pinkum from Watertown.  Can I help you?"  She smiled pleasantly, but Muriel shook her head impatiently and began to walk towards the other woman.  Then she turned back abruptly to her guide.
“There's some mistake,” she said.  “That can't be her, not with that dark complexion and black eyes.  She looks foreign, in fact she's Jewish.  I'm sure of it.”
“Well, she was, remember?  That's her all right.”
Muriel began to look around her more carefully.  She hadn't noticed till then how mixed the population was. 
“'Those people over there,” she said.  “They look like Arabs.”
“Yes, they were good Muslims in life and now they're here.”
“And those, they're Chinese!”
“Vietnamese, in fact.  And those others are Japanese.  Good Buddhists, all of them.”
Muriel was becoming more and more aghast.  There were Mexicans and other South Americans, why they looked like illegal immigants.  And there were even blacks.  This was much less congenial than the gated community she had left behind.  She turned and was about to head in the other direction, but her guide stopped her.
“There's no going back,” it said.  And she noted with horror that the guide was transgender. 
“No,” it repeated, “once you're here you're here.”

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Monica Brennan

Caroline and Jonathan Know (Lyn and Jonty)

Two older Children Rebecca and Michael and Baby Holly.

Lyn and Jonty, were having an unusual good morning  this particular Saturday morning, Jonty had dropped the older Children off at their usual, Saturday morning activities picking up a flyer from the paper shop advertising an Antique Fair with a section of modern day paintings, this sounds interesting  mused Jonty do hope I can persuade Lyn to come with me .

Three years ago an unbelievable tragedy happened to this ordinary middle class family it changed their whole lives three years of nightmares hell and back and back again how they had come this far is nothing short of a miracle.

Three years ago on a lovely hot idyllic sunny Sunday Jonty suggested instead of Lyn spending  all day  cooking in the kitchen the traditional Sunday roast, suggested they go for a picnic not far away  is a  National Trust property that  has given public use to a few acres of ground away from the house its self where  family's can picnic and play ball games .

Quickly Lyn went to get things organized going to the garage to sort out the picnic tables and chairs the rugs all neatly stored away  , baby Holly at her heels Holly was with out doubt the love child and she was the sweetest adorable beautiful little girl,, the whole  family loved  her.  Jonty dusted the items down and stacked them in the boot of the car already for the morning Lyn then began rading the fridge and freezer and found most things she needed for a slap up family picnic she was up early packed the picnic baskets and another cool bag for soft drinks she would have loved wine  but said to herself no one of us has to drive, all these preparations had the makings of being a happy memorable family  day and indeed it was all too soon it was time to pack up and make their way home both children and parents were tired they had played cricket rounder's and other games and the three children had had so much fun hiding Holly and finding her again.

Michael was helping his father carry the heavier things back to the car,  it would take two journeys  Lyn and the two girls were carrying some of the lighter things and walked a little way and then back for more, Suddenly this enormous dog appeared it came bonding towards them  at the same time Rebecca had called her mother to look at a patch of wild flowers she had seen, the dog stop when it saw them and just trotted to the bushes  and Holly ambled in to the bushes while mummy was looking at the wild flowers this was seconds  just seconds  Holly was no where to be seen  Rebecca and her mother put down what they were carrying and ran to the bushes no sign of Holly at all her blue dress will stand out in the darker bushes thought Lynn Blue was Holly's favroite colour she was a strong willed little girl and didt like pink dresses just blue, by this time Michael and Jonty were back  back for the rest of the the picnic things and to help carry everything Lyn was very distressed saying we cant find Holly Oh don't be sill said Jonty that little monkey is hiding from us and they all begin to crawl underneath the undergrowth  where exactly did she go asked Jonty right here  these bushes now there was more than a hint of hysteria in Lyn's voice  the next half an hour was a living nightmare straggling picnickers started to help  search the police were called the park was completely sealed off helicopters circling over head, to this day none of them knew how they got home they do remember a police escort, and that was the begging of the three year nightmare still on going and Holly would now be six and a half .

Lots of police organizations for missing lost and stolen children were involved as well as Interpool some chairtiable organizions, a women police lission officer was assigned to them and sheee the whole family on regalie lots of councilling and physiatrists were involved and most of these orgggggggggziations are still workin with the family, one can only imagine trying to live any sort of normal life with athese organzations involved and also trying to normalise life for the two older children.

Lynn threw herself in to here Career Jonty not so much so he now does consultancy work at home and is there for the children school runs parents days

The on going grief is unimaginable but this family have clung together and to outward appearance's are coping well the hardest time's are family events, birthdays Christmas Easters and family holidays which they just dont do anymore.

Jonty arrived home to find Lyn tidying up the two older children's rooms Holly's is just like she left it , showing her the flyer he had picked up, much to his surprise and delighted she said yes lets go we have a couple of hours before we need to pick up the children.

They looked around with semi interest still not in the mood to buy luxury  for the home they moved upstairs to where the paintings both old and modern, suddenly Jonty looked at Lynn she had gone so white he thought she was about to faint,he looked up to see what she was staring at so intently a little girl in a blue dress painted in the south of France unsigned.

This was not their imagination, it was their own baby Holly now age six in the painting, they quickly got them selves together enough to buy the painting Jonty and Lyn walked to the car par but the painting in the boot sat for a little while in the car and then locking the car went back to the stall holder by now Lyn was in floods of tears and Jonty just about holding  himself together  they asked if the could speak to here privately so in a corner of the cafe they told her the story, they asked her if she would mind as they would like to inform the police and all the other departments that were working with them she assured them through her own tears she would cooperated with them fully and any one of the organizations that would want to interview her through tears and hugs and good luck messages they all shock hands and in shock they drove home.They decided not to say a word to the older children so hiding the paintings went to pick up the children , if the children notice the strange mood their parents were in over that weekend they said nothing.

Monday they both took a week from work and then when the children were safely at school  began getting in touch with all the organizations working with them and for them , This began weeks and months of painstaking detective work world wide, not made any easier by discovering the artist was Russian, and now lives in America, he had been in the south of France all that summer doing painting classes and workshops, when he wast working he would just walk to the beech, or the local town  and paint what caught his eye , and this still beautiful little girl did catch his eye being one of his random paintings .

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