Willow, 6/30/98 – 10/27/11

Dear Alix –

You won’t believe how incredible it is here!  There were lots of people to greet me when I arrived, although I don’t quite know how I got here.  It was a strange and sudden sensation – but felt very natural.  They had a party just for me, with all my favorite foods – even the ones you always said were disgusting.  I got presents too:  a pair of goggles and a white silk scarf to wear for kayaking, and also a Power Ranger Suit, like the one Thea has, except mine is turquoise!  I love it, even though the weather is so beautiful here that I don’t really need it.

But BEST of all, when it was time for bed that first night, there was an even bigger surprise for me.  I almost fainted with excitement, because there was Belle, standing right in front of me!  I could hardly believe my eyes.  She looked SO beautiful, just as I remember her.  I cried and cried with joy because I hadn’t seen her in so long and had missed her so very much!  Now I don’t let her out of my sight.  My bed is right next to hers, but usually I crawl onto hers and we snuggle a lot – just like old times.  And guess what!  Delbert, Lian, and Arnold are here too, and it’s wonderful seeing them!  Delbert still yips when he runs in the woods, and Lian still chases us, although now he pretends we’re too fast and he can’t catch us!  Isn’t that totally silly?  And Arnold has both his eyes – I barely remember him that way!  Belle still stops to smell every single flower, just like always, and still tells us all to slow down so we won’t miss stuff.  And sometimes she calls me Cousin Charlotte, just like in the old days.  Oh, how I missed that!  It’s so much fun being together again.  We go for lots of walks and we talk and talk.

There’s a magic pond next to a huge tree that Belle says is called a Willow tree.  I’m sure it was named for me!  The pond is like a mirror, except you wish for what you want to see.  So when I look in the pond, I see you instead of me.  I miss you all, but I’m trying hard to let you know that it’s beautiful here, that I’m comfortable and happy to be with my old best friends.  I feel young and strong again.  So please don’t worry about me.  You seem really sad, and I hope it’s not because of me.  I know you sense me sometimes because I can tell.  So listen very carefully and you will hear me.  Maybe then we won’t miss each other so much.

Love, Willow