Folksburywoods

“The poor thing, she’s a lost soul,” Mrs. Abercome remarked as Silvi was on her way to the forest.

“Can’t be helped. The child was born in the house of the seventh moon, which says it all,” said Miss Bloomfield.

“Some say she can see ghosts and talk to the dead; just look at how she dresses. Black, always black, as if she were on her way to a funeral,” hissed Mrs. Cromwell, the parson’s wife.

Silvi paid no attention to whispers, smerks, or gossip. She never cared what others thought of her. Before her stepmother sent her to live with her aunt, Silvi enjoyed spending time in the family’s gardens, talking with all the animals there.

As a child, Silvi knew she was different. She knew what the cat or dog said when they meowed or barked.

At first, her mother would play along, but later, when the dog told Silvi that her mother had consumption and would die soon, her family grew frightened and turned cold toward the child.

After her mother’s funeral, her father met a widow and felt that someone to care for the child while he was away was necessary, so he married her.

The woman grew to hate the child, feeling she was a demon sent to torment her with her trickery. Silvi always knew things, secrets that the animals would share with her.

Finally, her father was torn between his wife and daughter, so it was decided that she should be sent to live with her mother’s sister, a single woman living in Buckmenshire near the sea.

Silvi and her aunt Neetha got along famously, and the two behaved more like sisters than aunt and niece.

Silvi loves the sea and the forest between it and her home. She walks to the sea each morning to gather shells and watch the waves.

While in the woods, the animals, sensing her ability, follow her or tell her stories about the local folk. The animals have grown to cherish her visits and often bring gifts of fruit or flowers.

Tristan, the weed rat, is her favorite. The beast constantly bothers her for attention and is also her guardian angel.

Tristan listens to the village folk’s gossip. If someone speaks ill of Silvi, he rushes to tell her. Once, two local boys planned to throw rotten eggs at her but were attacked by ravens who used the eggs on the boys themselves.

Neetha says they will leave soon and travel the world as part of her mother’s wish. Silvi is sad about leaving her friends but promises to bring them all back a gift from the lands across the sea.

Until then, the time she spends on the beach and among the trees is a dream come true for the girl who can talk to the animals.