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Hello, friends, and welcome to sleep

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Tight Stories. Every

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week we celebrate our supporters

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through shout outs and personal birthday

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messages. We think

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this is also a fun way for us to

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hear about all the amazing places

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that you our listeners come

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from.

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I'd like to say hello to Ira Colehil,

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who is ten years old and in fourth

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grade. A

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special Happy belated birthday to

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Olivia, who turned six on

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February twenty seventh. Mom

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and Dad love you very much and are very

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proud of you. Happy

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belated birthday to Evy, who turned

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seven on March twenty ninth. You

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are the best. Love Mom, Dad,

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and Lucy from Mill Valley, California.

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Related birthday to Wesley in Spokane,

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Washington, who turned nine on April

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third, from Mom, Kevin,

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brother Tuf, the dogs Molly

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and Bruce, and the cats Sandra,

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Edward and Chicken. Happy

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belated birthday to Blaze, who

1:17

turned six on April third. You

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make Mommy and Daddy so proud.

1:21

Happy birthday, sweet girl. Happy

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belated birthday to Wren in Westfield,

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New Jersey, who turned eight on April

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sixth. Mom, Dad, Izzy

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and Midnight love you very much and

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are so proud of you. Happy

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belated birthday to Emma, who had a birthday

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on April seventh. We are

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so proud of you and we love you so

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much. Love Mama, Daddy,

1:46

Christian, Aubrey and Luna.

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Happy belated Golden Birthday

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to Stella in Rogers, Minnesota,

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who had a birthday on April seventh.

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Love Mom, Dad, Hayes and Boone.

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They are so proud of all that you

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do. Happy

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birthday to Stella Athena, who has

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a birthday on April eighth. Mama,

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Papa and Penelope are so proud

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of what a smart, strong and kind

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girl and sister you are. Happy

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birthday to Amina Fall from New York,

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who is turning nine Aisa,

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Mom and dad love you dearly. Happy

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birthday to Eveline and Octavia from

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Romania who just turned eight and five

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years old. Alaxa wishes

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you happy birthday and a great holiday

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with us. Happy

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fifth birthday to Elise on April

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ninth. Mom and Dad love you so

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much and know this year ahead will

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be incredible. You are so brave

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and funny. And

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Happy birthday to Sophia, who

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is turning eight on April tenth.

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Your mother and father love you very much.

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And are very proud of you to

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reserve your space. Shall shout out Please

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visit sleeptightstories dot org slash

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support. We can't wait to

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celebrate with you. Now

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onto our story.

3:18

Nicole cannot believe that her

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garden has grown so much

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overnight. When

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she is in the garden, she notices

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that the plants and flowers seem to

3:30

react to her voice.

3:33

Is it just her imagination or

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can they really hear her? Nicole

3:43

in the Box in the Barn Part

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four. By

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late morning, the sun was high

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in the sky, shining brightly

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over Nichole's garden. The

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light made everything look extra

4:00

colorful and happy, though

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Nichole wasn't sure if that was just

4:05

the effect of her favorite breakfast

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or maybe the influence of her better

4:10

mood. But despite

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the only effort being her presence,

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the garden was full of life,

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with bees buzzing around and

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butterflies flitting from flower

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to flower. The

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grass felt warm under Nikole's feet,

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and the air smelled like a mix of

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all the sweet flowers around her.

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Nichole could see some of the surrounding

4:40

countryside from her vantage point

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in the garden, and Prince

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Edward Island looked Beautiful

4:48

fields of bright green stretched

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out as far as her eyes could see,

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dotted with colorful wild flowers

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that swayed in the gentle breeze.

5:00

In the distance, rolling

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hills rose and fell like waves,

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leading to the ocean, sparkling

5:07

blue water that could be barely

5:09

seen in the distance. Here

5:14

and there, clusters of trees

5:16

stood tall, their branches

5:19

and leaves rustling softly. With

5:23

its battered old barn and fences

5:25

that had seen better days, the

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farm sat quietly amidst

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this beauty. Even

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though the farm was old and a bit forgotten,

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it had a charm similar to what she

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had read about before she arrived.

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Her mother had given her a couple of books

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to read, one of which was

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about a young girl like herself who

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also moved to the island. As

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Nichole sat talking to her flowers

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and plants, they seemed to

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listen to her. The more

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she talked, the brighter the flowers

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looked, and some of the plants

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even started to grow taller

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right before her eyes. It

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was like the garden was playing a game with

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her, growing and changing

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with her words. The

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whole place felt magical.

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How else could she explain a pack of old

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seeds that, when planted, grew

6:26

overnight into a garden unlike

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any Nicholl had ever seen. So

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I have told you I missed my friends and

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just moved here. But have I told

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you my name? I

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don't really know how I am supposed

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to talk to flowers, bushes, and plants,

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Nicholl said to a rose bush.

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The rose bush responded by producing

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more buds. Maybe

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I am going crazy. If

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I tell my mom, she will first

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take my temper to make sure I don't

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have a fever. She said.

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Once when we were traveling, I

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had a fever so bad that I was mumbling

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silly things to her. I

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do have a great imagination, so

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that might be an influence. If

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she checks and I don't have a fever, I

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am not sure what she will do.

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Do you think I should tell her that when I talk

7:25

in this garden, you all grow brighter

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and taller and just grow more, Nicole

7:31

said to a nearby group of paeonies.

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The paeonies seemed to expand

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in size and response, so

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Nicole kept talking. I'm

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not sure if you agree, so it's probably

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best if I wait to tell my mom. I

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may wake up in the morning and realize

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this has all been a dream. So

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my name is Nicole, and I just

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moved here from a place called Montreal.

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I didn't want to move here, but

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my mother said it was a good place for me

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to grow up or something. I

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miss my friends. I think

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I told you that already six times.

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What makes it worse is that there is no

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Wi Fi, Internet or

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any kind of modern communication

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here. It's like we have gone back

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in time or something. So I can't

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even talk to my friends except

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by sending them green bubbles, which

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isn't as fun as sending pictures. Nicole

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noticed some strawberries in the distance,

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getting fatter and juicier looking,

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which caused her mouth to water. Normally,

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she would eat all strawberries

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on site, but she hesitated

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since they might be her friends

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now and that might not be polite.

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The pond on the other side of the gardens

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seemed to have fish jumping out of the water.

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This is one special garden,

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Nicole whispered to herself. Anyway,

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it's just my mother and I. My

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daddy isn't with us anymore, Nichole

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said, looking down at the blades of

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grass. A flower seemed

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to wither beside her. It's

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Okay, I'm not sad. It

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was when I was really young. Afterwards,

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my mother took me traveling all

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over the world. I don't

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remember much about those days except

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for the pictures, but I went

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to elementary school in Japan and

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Taiwan for a while. My

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mother has pictures of her and me hiking

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in the mountains, riding elephants,

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and canoeing in these crazy

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fast rivers. Eventually,

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my mother got tired of traveling,

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so we moved to Montreal, where she grew

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up. My dad is from here

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on the O Island, which is I

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guess why we are here. This

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farm used to be in his family or something,

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but no one has lived here for a long time.

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Nicole said, her mouth getting dry

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from talking so much. I

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haven't talked this much since I had

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a sleepover with my bestest friend Michelle,

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even though we weren't allowed. We

10:22

would stay up super late talking

10:24

about all kinds of things. We

10:27

would also eat too many chips and cookies.

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I miss Michelle, and she says she

10:33

misses me too. How

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long have I been sitting here? Anyway? Time

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certainly goes by quickly when you are talking

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to sunflowers, roses and

10:44

peonies. Nichole said with a laugh.

10:47

Nichole sat on the grass for a while,

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quietly, watching the garden grow

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before her eyes. She

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started to feel a bit sleepy, and

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the grass felt pretty comfy, so

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she lay down and stared

11:02

up at the fluffy clouds that seemed

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to always be present in the sky.

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They looked a little like cotton candy, or

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maybe ice cream. Ice

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cream was her absolute favorite

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treat. As

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she was just about to drift off to

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sleep, something caught her eye.

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In a corner of the garden, surrounded

11:26

by trees, tall bushes, and

11:28

flowering plants, was a

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doorway. It

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was made of wood, with vines

11:35

curling around it, almost like

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the garden was trying to keep it a secret.

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The door looked like it belonged to

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a story book, and it seemed

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very mysterious.

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Nicholl couldn't believe she hadn't seen it

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before. What could

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be on the other side of that door? Where

11:55

could it possibly lead? Nicholet

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up and walked the short distance to the door.

12:03

She couldn't see around it. The

12:05

trees and bushes stopped her, and

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the area just beyond the door seemed

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shrouded in the same fog that

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the garden was shrouded in when seen from

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a distance, this

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is strange, Nicole said to herself.

12:20

Why would you have a door at the edge

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of your garden? Was there an

12:25

old shed there at one time? Nichole

12:29

walked closer. The door

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was old, with a rustic look

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that made it seem like it had been there for

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hundreds of years. It

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was simple in design, with sturdy

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planks held together by iron hinges

12:43

that had rusted over time. Small

12:47

intricate carvings around the edge

12:50

looked like the same patterns she had seen

12:52

on the box in the barn. Well.

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I guess the only way to discover what is

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beyond the door is to open,

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Nichole said, looking at a rose

13:02

bush to the door side. She

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laughed at how quickly she became comfortable

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talking to the plants in the garden. She

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turned the doorknob and pulled. It

13:16

was locked, she laughed.

13:19

A locked door that doesn't seem to

13:21

lead anywhere, at the edge of

13:23

a garden that grew overnight, where

13:26

the plants respond to my voice.

13:29

That sounds about right. Seems

13:31

like something from the series Howl's Moving

13:33

Castle that Michelle used to read

13:36

with me, she said, as she gave

13:38

the door another poll. It

13:40

still didn't open. Niicole

13:43

noticed there was a small keyhole under

13:45

the handle. The

13:48

possibility of finding the key that

13:50

opens this door after all this time,

13:54

unless that is

13:56

what the key in the box opens, Nicole

13:59

said to the surrounding the door,

14:02

which responded by growing ever so

14:04

slightly. Just

14:07

then, her mom called out Nicole,

14:10

time for lunch, but Nichole

14:13

barely heard her. All

14:15

she could think about was the hidden doorway

14:18

and what might be on the other side.

14:21

She crouched down and tried looking

14:23

through the keyhole, but saw nothing

14:25

but the green of bushes. Maybe

14:29

on the other side is a magical field

14:31

of potatoes where they grow already

14:34

baked with sour cream and cheese

14:36

inside. She laughed. The

14:38

thought of baked potatoes reminded

14:41

her that she might be hungry, so

14:43

Nicole called back, I'll be

14:45

right there, Mom. Lunch

14:48

wouldn't take too long, and afterwards

14:50

she could go and get the key from the barn.

14:54

If the key opened the door, she

14:56

would have all afternoon to explore

14:58

what was on the other side.

15:02

Nicole hurried back to the house, ran

15:05

through the back entrance, kicked

15:07

off her now well stained sneakers, and

15:10

walked into the kitchen. Well

15:13

don't you look nice, all fresh and

15:15

rosy, her mother said. I

15:17

told you that the fresh salt air

15:19

of the island was the greatest

15:21

healer. Normally,

15:24

Nicole would argue with her mother, but

15:27

she felt more content now than

15:29

she had since this move was announced

15:31

a few months ago. She

15:33

and her mother had had daily arguments.

15:36

Since it is a nice

15:38

day out there, Nicole said, and

15:41

my garden looks pretty magical. Nichole's

15:46

mother looked out the window and saw only

15:48

the same weird fog around the

15:50

plot of land. Everything

15:53

else was weeds and old fallen down

15:55

fences. Not wanting

15:57

to argue with her daughter, she replied, you

16:00

always had away with plants, sweetie. I

16:04

made us some crusty sandwiches for lunch,

16:07

just like we used to always have. And

16:09

I made a magical potato salad with cheese.

16:13

It looks delicious, mom, Nichole

16:15

said, thinking again that a magical

16:18

potato field might be behind

16:20

the door. Nichole ate her

16:22

lunch faster than ever before, excited

16:25

to go outside again and see what was

16:27

on the other side of the door. I

16:30

need your help this afternoon, her mother said,

16:33

I need to go to town, and I thought you could

16:35

come with me. I need your help

16:37

carrying some of the stuff we need to the car.

16:40

And I thought we could stop for ice cream at

16:42

that place downtown. You

16:44

have been asking for ice cream for a

16:46

while, and there is a place we could sit,

16:49

which I bet would have wi fi. Nichole

16:53

had wanted to have some of that ice cream

16:55

since they arrived, but her mother

16:58

had been too busy trying to make the old,

17:00

old rickety house fit for them to live

17:02

in to spend too much time in the

17:04

city. But

17:06

Nichole was more interested in seeing what

17:08

was behind the door than ice cream. Nichole's

17:12

mother sensed her hesitation. It

17:15

is a beautiful day, but why

17:17

don't we spend time together downtown, sweetie?

17:20

It will be fun, and think of the

17:22

trees. Nicole

17:26

thought for a moment, perhaps

17:28

discovering what was behind the door could

17:30

wait until later. It might

17:32

be nice to spend some time with her mother when

17:34

they weren't covered in paint or

17:37

dust from working in this house or

17:39

arguing while packing boxes for the move.

17:42

And ice cream would be great.

17:45

Okay, Mom, I guess I should put

17:47

on jeans that don't have grass and mudstains.

17:50

I'll just go get changed and come right back

17:53

down. Wearing

17:56

clean jeans, a T shirt, and

17:58

her now dirty sneakers, Nichole

18:00

climbed into their suv and as

18:03

they laughed, looked into the

18:05

distance at the garden, whose

18:07

plants, swaying in the breeze, seemed

18:10

to be waving to her. And

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that is the end of this part. Good

18:21

night, sleep

18:24

tight,