Parker Legacy: Poems and Stars
In an effort to distract Olive from the sadness of having to live at school with her sister gone, Ada and Lottie concocted a plan: Lottie would write her a book of poems and Ada would sneak her out past dark to go stargazing. They knew nothing could take away her pain, but they had to try.
Lottie got to work on writing her book for Olive. She knew Olive was a fan of her romance stories, but she was a bit worried about how she’d feel about her poems. My poetry isn’t very good, Lottie thought. How can I expect to write something good enough to cheer up Olive? I’ve gotten myself in quite a bind. Despite her worries, Lottie finished her book and wrapped it in pretty paper to give to Olive later that night.
Meanwhile, Ada was trying to convince Olive of the merits of stargazing.
“C’mon, Olive! It’ll be fun, I promise,” Ada pleaded.
“Don't you think Miss Parker will be cross with us for going out after dark?”
“She’ll never know! You know how she likes her sleep. Besides, what’s the worst that can happen? We’ll only be out by the garden.”
“Okay...yes, I suppose you’re right. Let’s do it.”
So the girls waited until Miss Parker had gone to bed and then crept out to the garden. They then found a perfect spot and began to point out stars to each other.
“Wow.” Olive was speechless. Thirteen years on this earth and she had never noticed how beautiful the night sky was. The wonder she felt looking at the constellations above...it was indescribable. She couldn’t focus on anything Ada was saying to her, but she felt a wave of gratitude come over her thinking about how hard Ada was trying to cheer her up. And since she didn’t have the words to say it quite yet, she simply held Ada’s hand and squeezed it tight. Ada squeezed her hand right back, and they both knew how the other was feeling without having to say a word.
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