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| The peace of forgiveness http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7056 |
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| Author: | Sugar [ Wed Dec 16, 2009 7:36 am ] |
| Post subject: | The peace of forgiveness |
First part here She stood looking out of the large window, at the parkland in front of her tiny cottage lost in thought. It had been over a year since she had received that letter. It had not surprised her, only in that it had taken so many years to arrive but like Betty had never forgotten her she had never forgotten Betty. Elizabeth and Betty. She smiled as she thought of the mischief they had caused first in the Tyrol, with that silly rooftop play and then when they had to perform it to the School as punishment her knicker elastic gave out, and then in the Armishire countryside by dressing their gardening kit up with awful headscarves and pilar box read lipstick. She smiled thinking of the look on the Abbess’s face when she saw them. What an awful sight they must have been. Hardly the advertisement for genteel ladies but it was a bit of a lark! School had been a lark, til Betty started acting oddly, claiming she had a pash on Miss Linton, the kindergarten mistress of all things when actually all Liz did was respect her. But poor Betty really struggled and things went from bad to worse when she got hold of some old map of a random Scottish Island where some of the juniors lived and was caught passing it into the wrong hands. She wasn’t really sure of the whys and wherefore’s she just remembered an awful row and Betty being sent away in disgrace. Poor kid but it seemed she had overcome it. She wondered about the details of Betty’s life. There were no details in the letter she had received but she glanced at it as if to check, not that she needed to. She knew the letter so well she could have recited it verbatim if requested and it had become fragile at the folds from being reread so many times. But Elizabeth had never replied because she didn’t know what to say. She knew what she wanted to say. She just couldn’t articulate it in a letter for fear that her words might further damage a shattered relationship if such a thing were possible. She had tried many times and thought about trying many more but the words didn’t come. Maybe she could just write that she did indeed remember Betty fondly and she forgave her. But Betty deserved more than that. Setting her mind she settled at the table again, uncapped her pen and sucked the end of it, hoping it might help her think. Picking up the shoe box which housed her collection of Christmas cards she rifled through the mismatched ones from years gone by to find a suitable one. Discarding snowmen and reindeer as childish she discounted bells and robins as old fashioned and grannyfied miraculously forgetting her age as potentially granny fied she settled on a red embossed card with the words Merry Christmas on a raised shape surrounded by baubles emblazoned in pillar box red. Apt she thought to herself as she searched through the box for a vaguely similar sized envelope whilst promising she’d match the box up one day and knowing she never would. She wrote the inside. Betty, With love Elizabeth and set it aside to write the note. Glancing at the clock she realised she had to hurry if she wanted to catch the post. Just get on with it woman she chided herself as she wrote the address on the envelope to procrastinate further. Dear Betty, Thank you for your letter. I’m very sorry it has taken me over a year to reply. You must have thought I didn't care. I tried so many times but I couldn’t get my brain to say what my heart wanted it to. Of course I forgive you. That is to say I forgive you for being an awful beast to me at the Chalet School. We were girls growing up, we were bound to fall out at some point or other! I’m not sure I can forgive you for your utter stupidity with that map, mainly because I can see the consequences it might have had for all of us but you were a kid so I’ll try to forgive but I don’t think I’ll forget. You were a first class idiot but it’s water under the bridge as they say. You aren’t the only one who started many letters and never posted them. I wanted to write to you desperately afterwards but I thought maybe you had moved on, that you had a new life, a better life after the Chalet School and perhaps you wouldn’t want to know me or maybe life hadn’t been so kind to you after the situation with that map and I was conscious of upsetting you. I didn’t know what to do for the best and I’m sorry. Some friend I turned out to be. You said in the letter that you were jealous of me. I wasn’t anyone to be jealous of. I just matured a bit faster that was all. My home life might have helped, I wanted my brother to think I was a proper grown up when he came back from his school and not treat me like a kid and I’m older than you too, only a few months I know but those sorts of things matter in development sometimes. I ’m sorry you felt overshadowed or as if you weren’t good enough for me. You were my best friend. Remember some of the scraps we got into! I can’t see a post box these days without grinning like a loon so I’m glad it’s not just me! I’m surprised we didn’t turn Miss Annerseley’s hair as white as Miss Wilsons that day! Anyway, it was never a case of not being good enough. If you hadn’t been good enough I’d have ditched you whilst we were still with the fawn at St Margaret’s you daft thing. I wasn’t one for friending people for the sake of it. If you were my friend it was because I wanted you to be and I liked something about you. Not that I can remember now what it was! Oh yes, your loyalty, your sense of humour, the tricks we got up to, the fact you stood up for yourself. You were a great friend and I have missed you. You said in the letter all you wanted was the peace of knowing you had been forgiven. You have been. I wonder if we could make 2010 a new chapter in the story of Elizabeth and Betty? Please keep in touch With love, Elizabeth x |
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| Author: | Alison H [ Wed Dec 16, 2009 7:58 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The peace of forgiveness |
How sad that it's taken so long, but I'm glad they've got there in the end. It's the time of year for it, after all. |
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| Author: | cestina [ Wed Dec 16, 2009 10:16 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The peace of forgiveness |
Thank you Sugar, that's very seasonal - and particularly thanks for so clearly linking "First part here" at the top. If there is one thing that drives me mad on the CBB it is trying to search for earlier drabble parts  Senior memory syndrome means I keep forgetting the instructions of where to look......  (and where the instructions are.... )
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| Author: | PaulineS [ Wed Dec 16, 2009 11:17 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The peace of forgiveness |
Thank you Sugar. I hope we get Betty's response. |
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| Author: | shazwales [ Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:12 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The peace of forgiveness |
Thank you Sugar,really enjoyed reading the link first then the reply letter. |
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| Author: | ChubbyMonkey [ Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:15 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The peace of forgiveness |
Thanks, Sugar, that was lovely. |
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| Author: | Abi [ Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:37 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The peace of forgiveness |
That was a lovely response from Elizabeth, and I liked that she was so honest about her feelings. Thanks Sugar. |
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| Author: | laurelbay [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:21 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The peace of forgiveness |
Thanks Sugar! This is lovely-It's a shame we don't here how Betty got on later in the CS series. |
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| Author: | Carolyn P [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:26 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The peace of forgiveness |
That was lovely. |
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| Author: | Lesley [ Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:37 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The peace of forgiveness |
Thanks Sugar - please Elizabeth was able to reply. |
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| Author: | JS [ Wed Dec 23, 2009 1:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The peace of forgiveness |
I don't think I'll be able to look at a pillar box without smiling now too. Thanks Sugar. |
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| Author: | abbeybufo [ Wed Dec 23, 2009 1:09 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The peace of forgiveness |
Thanks Sugar - that would have been a hard letter to write - though no more than the one it was replying to. Do you know [yet] if there will be any further correspondence? |
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