Sarah was often alone
And out to all hours of the night
Spending most of her time outdoors
In the park under the oak tree where she rested her head
and never spoke to anyone
Her two sisters found her a bit silly
They didn’t understand her.
Sarah had skin of porcelain and eyes of brown
Her innocence shined through her long wavy blonde hair
At the tender age of 16, she should be socializing
But she only immersed herself in books filled with utopian fantasies
Her two sisters, Jane and Annie, were always the talk of the town
Jane, average height and with long curly brown hair was the eldest sister
and Annie with long straight red hair, was taller was the second eldest
Sarah also has two brothers who came right after them, Sarah was the baby of the family
Sarah was very honest and although she loved her sisters and
They were not the greatest influences on her
Sarah keeping herself to her books would eventually meet bystanders
In the park asking what she was reading
Local vendors would walk by and offering food or drink
Sarah declined each time.
She would not accept offers from anyone
Her parents always warned her to never appear to seem needy
Jane and Annie walked frequently by Sarah and asked her to join their walk around town
Sarah refused. Shy and quiet-- she didn’t like attention
One quiet and dark afternoon, Sarah sat beside her oak tree in the park
Reading another fantasy
When approached by a handsome young man
Dark black hair and crystal blue eyes
A smile so wide, Sarah couldn’t help herself to smile too
He asked why she was alone
It was too dangerous for a woman to be alone in the park in bad weather
Sarah replied that she was fine, she’s not scared of a storm
The mysterious man, who declined his name offered to bring her home
Sarah knew she shouldn’t except, but there was something about him she didn’t understand
She couldn’t resist his offer
She walked side by side with this man she’s never seen before, quietly
He turned to her --
They stared deeply into each other’s eyes
But Sarah turned her head quickly
As she hears her sisters talking loudly about how crazy she is
Jane and Annie look strangely at the man
They demand to be introduced
Sarah stumbles through her words
And as she does the man storms off on his horse
Her sisters shake their heads
“You must be careful Sarah! If he hasn’t told you his name,
something is wrong,”Jane warned.
Annie adds, “you’ve done a good job not talking to anyone this far-- so don’t start now. Especially with those you don’t recognize!”
Sarah agrees with her sisters, but she’s still confused
She looks up at the sky, now blue and bright
This man, something’s wrong, because he darkens the sky
Still she is eager to understand who that man is--
The next day is clear with the sky cloudless
The birds chirping all around -- it was a beautiful day
Sarah goes out to her usually spot in the park underneath the oak tree
Book in hand as always about to let her imagination run wild
A few hours pass by, as Sarah snacks on her shiny red apple
Indulging in all the illusions her book offers -- an escape from reality
The dark handsome man returns and grabs Sarah’s hand
As her body shivers
She didn’t know what she was feeling
But the man knew
“Let’s go away”
“No, I can’t”
Neither of them felt the passion that raged inside them before
For the innocent Sarah, who hardly ever spoke to a man
Was scared and confused, not knowing what to do
Her sisters warned her of things like this
She should go home, but at the same time She wanted him
His eyes never moved away from her
He wanted her too
Sarah went with the man
Excited and out of her element
She knew she was in the right place
The wind grew older as the leaves began to fall from the trees
One landing on her nose--
Sarah awakes-- confused, she didn’t realize she was dreaming
Of one of the stories from her book
She smiles to herself, wishing the dream was real
She stands and composes herself to go home
And sees a man riding down the path on a horse…..