Sally still had no idea what this place was, or why she had been brought here. She had left with Lisa and Sally early in the morning and headed down the street. Then they had climbed into a black car with a man that Sally hadn’t seen before. Then Sally had fallen asleep. Now she was wishing she hadn’t. She had no idea how long the drive had been or how far away they were from the city. This was a new and unfamiliar place. She had every reason to feel uneasy and frightened. Yet she felt perfectly at home in this beautiful and new world.
Maybe it was because Riley didn’t seem the least bit worried. Sally knew that she could trust Riley. Riley seemed to trust Lisa, so Sally knew that she could also trust Lisa. Lisa seemed to trust this new man, so Sally could trust him too. Yes, Sally had nothing to be afraid of. She was safe here. Besides, this house was much prettier than the other one.
Every day, Sally would wake up in a soft, warm bed next to her sister. Breakfast would actually taste good in this new place. But the best part of the house was the garden. It was small and cozy, but lovely and full of flowers. Surrounded by a brick wall, it was a peaceful little spot for Sally to relax in. But each time she entered, she found herself wondering why the flowers were still in bloom. They must be tough enough to make it through all the freezes. But there were sunflowers and lilies and all kinds of summertime flowers in bloom. It didn’t make any sense for them to be alive and well this early in the year.
But Sally didn’t really care. She was just happy to sit in the soft grass, under the shade of an apple blossom tree and watch the flower petals as they fell like snowflakes. She tried time and time again to choose a favorite flower, but it changed every time she visited the garden. At first her favorite had been the crimson roses that covered the brick wall with a deep ruby-red. Then her favorite became the little round tulips that bobbed with the wind. Currently her favorite was the fragrant lavender bushes. The more time Sally spent in the garden, the more she got to know each plant and its unique charms. There were even strange flowers that Sally had never seen before. There were black roses, purple daisies and sunflowers painted with all the colors of the rainbow. Some of the flowers came in magical, unearthly colors that Sally couldn’t even find the words to describe. But the best days were the days when Riley and Lisa would come out to play with her under the apple blossom tree.
The trio would spend many long mornings in the little garden. Sally’s favorite thing to do was pick flowers with her sister while Lisa sat in the shade, reading or simply watching them. One evening, Sally was resting in the garden alone. She had looked around but had been unable to find any sand. There was no way for her to practice here. That realization had left her feeling a little disheartened. Now, she was trying to cheer herself up by focusing on the brightly colored butterflies as they gracefully darted this way and that way. At first, she didn’t hear Lisa approaching. It was only when Sally felt a gentle hand on her shoulder that she noticed Lisa. Sally nestled up close to her as Lisa sat down. Lisa greeted her with a warm smile as she opened the book she was holding. Sally leaned over her shoulder, hoping that this book would have some nice pictures for her to look at. To her disappointment, it didn’t. Nothing but words. How boring. Sally didn’t bother to see what the words said. She just turned back to the butterflies. Then something happened that Sally had been totally unprepared for. Lisa spoke. There was nothing shocking about that on its own. The thing that made Sally gasp was that she could understand her.
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“Can you hear me, Sally?” Lisa spoke very slowly. Her voice trembled slightly, and she kept her eyes on the book.Sally could only nod. How was this happening? She had only ever been able to understand a handful of words that Lisa had said to her. This was amazing! Lisa’s eyes lit up.
“Good. Your sister said that you spent most of your life in Mexico, right?” Lisa asked. Sally nodded again.
“I can’t really speak Spanish very well. This is the best I can do. I have only been studying it for a little while. So, I wanted to make sure that you could understand me.” Sally nodded again. She wished that she could talk back and thank Lisa for all the wonderful things that she had done for her. She wanted to scream and shout and tell her how excited she was, but she couldn’t. All that she could do was nod. “Riley has been studying it too. Hopefully, you can understand her as well,” Lisa added.
A soft squeak of happiness escaped Sally. She would finally be able to speak to her sister! That was a dream come true. At last, she would be able to understand the things she said and the person she was. Soon everything Riley did would make sense to her. If only she could tell the world how happy she was. Sally wanted every living being on the planet to know this good news. But that wasn’t going to happen. Sally couldn’t even thank Lisa. So instead, she did the next best thing.
She gave Lisa a tight hug as tears of joy filled her eyes. Things could be explained now. The world around her would no longer be a place of mystery. Maybe things would start to make sense. She wouldn’t feel lost or afraid anymore. Sally’s arms clung to Lisa as if she were her whole world. Sally didn’t need to understand English perfectly to know that this woman had saved her life and changed everything for her. Lisa sat there, holding Sally and gently stroking her hair. Then she lifted her up softly. Sally rested her head on Lisa’s shoulder and closed her eyes as pure bliss filled her little heart.