Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Issue 68

Autumn's
Light
Anne Hodges had been
coming to the Wenallt since
she was a youngster. It
was late afternoon as her wellies
crunched through the leaves on the
winding path. Scattered across the
forest floor were shiny conkers and
plump, pregnant berries. Broken
twigs, torn from the branches
during the great storm that had
passed through the previous week,
lay littered along the sides of the
path.
The carefree memories of summer
had now faded and the late
afternoon sunshine filtered through
the golden leaves. As Anne wound
her way through the generations
of trees, she took a big lungful of
fresh autumn air. Up ahead, her
two grandchildren were scurrying
about, leaping through the mud and
leaves.
Anne liked to reminisce as she
walked, but her thoughts were
suddenly cut short.
"Hello!" came a small voice from
behind her. Anne spun around to
see a young girl, maybe 12 years of
age, standing a few metres away
down the path. Anne recognised
her instantly. “It’s me!” called the girl.
"Oh, hello again," said Anne. "How
are you today?"
The girl began walking up the
incline towards Anne. "I'm doing just
fine. What are you up to today?"
Anne smiled. She enjoyed
chatting to the girl. She reminded
her of herself. "I'm out with the
grandchildren today," Anne replied.
"They're off school, I'm doing some
babysitting, so I thought I'd give
them some fresh air."
"It's gorgeous up here, isn't it?" said
the girl as she approached Anne.
Anne hadn't seen the girl for a
40
while. Every time she saw her, she
looked the same - a rather tall,
lanky girl with red hair like Anne's.
She wore a simple green dress and
her hair in plaits. Her large pair of
wellies rode up to her knees.
"Aren't you cold?" asked Anne.
"I don't feel the cold," replied the
girl as she arrived at Anne.
"I like coming here throughout the
year," said Anne. "It's nice to be able
to see all the different seasons and
everything changing. Do you want
to walk with me?"
"That'd be lovely," said the girl. "I
promise not to go on about boys
this time though."
Anne chuckled. "You can talk
about whatever you want. I love
being reminded about what you've
been up to. My memory's not what
it used to be!"
The pair began walking, their
feet crunching the bronze leaves
underfoot. The amber autumn sun
carved through the trees and lit the
path in front of them.
Up ahead, just off the forest
path, Anne's grandchildren were
exploring the forest bed.
"What are their names?" asked the
girl.
"Violet and Barney," said Anne.
"Lovely names."
"They're good kids. I remember
doing the exact same thing up here
when I was their age."
The girl smiled. "Yes. Me too. I
was up here with Mum...". The girl
stopped smiling and looked down
at the forest floor. She went quiet
and Anne felt something wasn't
quite right.
"Are you OK?" asked Anne.
"I'm fine."
Anne stopped in her tracks and
looked at the girl. She was still
looking at the floor.
"What's up?"
"Nothing. I'm fine."
Anna sighed. "I know that face. I've
seen it before. What's bothering
you?"
The girl looked up at Anne.
"Promise not to tell anyone?"
"Of course."
"It's Mum. I'm worried about her."
"What are you worried about?"
"Since Dad's gone, she's been
trying to be both parents. She's
trying to work and look after us
and there's no one helping her.
I'm worried for her." The girl's gaze
wandered into the forest.
Anne smiled a tight smile. "I
understand. It must be hard."
"She gets so stressed, trying to do
it all. And sometimes it feels that
she doesn't have the time to be her
true self."
"Look at me," Anne ordered gently.
The girl looked back at Anne.
Anne smiled a wide smile.
"Everything's going to be OK. I know
it doesn't look like it right now, but I
promise you, it'll all be OK."
The girl didn't look convinced.
Anne continued.
"Do you remember when I was
going through a bad patch and
you once told me that everything
was going to be OK? Do you
remember?"
The girl nodded.
"Well. Look at me now. Here
I am, able to walk through the
woods with my two beautiful
grandchildren."
Their moment was broken by a call
up ahead.
"Nan! Come on! Who are you
talking to?" called Barney. Violet
stood next to him, both waiting for
Anne's response.