short story
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The Cardinal in the Tree, Part 3
Returning to the story, we see Blanche back in her room, pondering the news from her last visit with sweet Kathy. In the days that followed, Blanche began spending more time in her room alone. She even refused to go to the Day Room when the girls’ club came on Friday. She couldn’t bear to see the group without Kathy’s smiling face among them. She sat in her chair looking out at the Maple and at the cardinal pinned to her curtains. Even the activity of birds at the feeder didn’t amuse her. “God,” she finally broke the silence. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve even wanted to…
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The Cardinal in the Tree, Part 2
Let's pick up where we left off in Part 1 of The Cardinal in the Tree. Blanche has finally settled into a chair, ready to listen to a group of young girls sing. She scanned the faces then stopped on a small-boned wisp of a girl in the front row, who had short red hair in loose curls and steel-rimmed glasses. The girl was looking around the room when her eyes passed Blanche, then came back again. She beamed a smile. “That’s just like my Penny,” Blanche thought. “Hello. My name is Janet Worthington,” the girls’ leader began. “We’re here from Calvary Chapel, in Smedley, and we’d like to sing…
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The Cardinal in the Tree, Part 1
Blanche sat in a faded, floral wingback chair facing the window in her room. Her head was bowed and eyes closed, her hands folded in her lap as though in prayer. Nearly white brows knit together and even whiter hair was pulled loosely back in a bun; her lower lip protruded slightly as she exhaled soft puffs of air. The puffs became more pronounced, rousing Blanche from her catnap. She gazed out of the window, waiting for her eyes to focus on the Maple which comprised most of her view. It was a grey day. The tree limbs seemed bolder rather than shrouded by the mid-morning mist. Buds were beginning…