Lavender

“If walls could talk,” Well some do. Only if you are willing to listen. We could tell tales of extraordinary events. Things that could prevent or provoke war.

I myself am ancient. Built by an old man, in the middle of the woods. I am a secret room, behind a bookcase in the man’s bedroom. Over the years the man lived in isolation. It finally drove him out of his mind. He killed himself in a tree, out by his gate. It was almost two years before he was found. He sent the neighbors screaming. Police came and the news spread. The house automatically went to the bank. It was cleaned and refurnished. No one ever came into my room. Or no one ever found it.

Finally two-three years later, realtors bought the house and put it up for sale. They came in and took pictures. But never found my room. It was a few weeks later when a car pulled in the drive. Someone had bought the house. A family of four. The eldest little girl ran about the house checking every room. Her little feet pounded up the stairs and into the man’s old room. She marveled at the room. It had been decorated for her. She laid on the bed and rolled around on the carpet. Then she saw her bookcase. It was full of art supplies, coloring books, etc. She ran her fingers across the architecture. Then she froze on a piece that felt loose.

She pulled the piece and the entire bookcase clicked. It slowly opened to my room. She was the first person in a long time who ever entered my room. Dust covered the floor which made it smell musty and old. Her tiny fingers tickled as she felt along the side wall.” Wow…” she gasped as she took it all in. She closed the case and sat on her bed. Her mother appeared in the doorway. “Is this room alright for you?” She asked with a smile. The girl smiled back.” Yes it’s amazing!” She jumped up and threw herself at her mom. She giggled as she gave her a big hug. She was three years old judging by her size. And her name was Lavender Berk.

Year Four,

The Berks arrived towards the end of summer. This meant school was starting soon. It was the first time ever for Lavender to go to school. She was bound to be nervous. She pulled on the piece and hid in my room when her father began looking for her. She sat in the corner as tears welled in her eyes. “I will be ok.” I said. She froze. When I talked it sounded like millions of little whispers. Some people might take me for a ghost. Most people can’t hear me.. but she could. “Who’s there?” She said between sniffing. “I am the room. I am talking to you.” She stood up and placed a hand on the wall.” Really?” She whispered.” Yes and it seems like you need a friend.” I continued. She started to smile.” Go to school, and you can come tell me all about it.” The whispers almost seemed to echo.

She smiled big and said.” Ok I will.” With that she pushed on the indoor handle, and ran to her dad.” There you are! I thought I lost you. Come on your gonna be late for school.” She took his hand and they left to school.

She came back that evening and we talked about her day. Then we talked about ourselves. She named me Iris. Iris and Lavender. We were both named after a purple plant. I told her I am neither male nor female but she named me Iris. They had moved here from the city. She liked the open air and the view. I told her about how she was the first person in my room in six years. She went wide eyed. It was nice having some to talk to.

Year Five,

Lavender recently turned five and moved up to kindergarten. She said it was much better then Pre-k. She had started making friends. Chris, Diana, and Bethany. She told me how they were gonna be best friends forever. I had my doubts. I’ve learned that nothing lasts forever.

Year Six,

It was fall and after a long struggle, Mr. and Mrs. Berk finally found new jobs. They were both full time and for big companies. If they were gone all day and all night then they would need to hire someone to watch Lavender and Billy, her four year old little brother. Miss Hailey was ok according to Lavender. She just made them eat their vegetables.Over time, Miss Hailey moved in and became there housemaid.

Year Seven,

Lavender was having trouble. Diana was her only friend now because she didn’t have a birthday party that year. Her parents had even forgotten her birthday. So Billy and her had a small party in her room. Her parents were always gone. She never saw them anymore. On the weekend her parents would shut themselves up into the study and work on their computers, or they would sleep for hours on end. Lavender spent a lot more time in my room. I told her that even though she felt like this, imagine how her little brother felt. I told her she needed to be there for him. She smiled and said she would try.

Year Eight,

Lavender,Billy,Miss Hailey,and Mr. and Mrs. Berk, left tomorrow. There was a big event and both companies were sponsoring. They all had to leave.” Think of it as a vacation!” Miss Hailey told Lavender. Lavender was having the worst time out of them all. She did not want to leave. I told her we haven’t had much to talk about recently so when she got back we could talk all night and day. She frowned and said “Fine.” And that was the last time I saw her for the entire year.

Year Nine,

It was a cold winter night when Lavender returned. She went straight to her bed and slept. Odd. It the morning she grabbed a few things and came into my room. She asked if I was there? I replied yes and I missed having someone to talk to. She told me about her trip. Her parents were still distant and Billy tried to ignore her. She said she would stay up at night thinking about me. I asked about what she brought into the room. She told me about wanting to learn more about her passions. She tried writing and drawing and reading. She was great in doing all three. But she just doubted herself.

Then she opened the bookcase and brought in a broom. She swept up the dust and dirt. Then she brought in a rug, a small table, and a chair. She also grabbed her beanbag so she could sleep in my room. She asked me if it was alright to light a candle for the smell. I told her to make sure it was in the center of the room. She did as I said and to tie it all together, she hung fairy lights across the top with tape. I will admit that the tape felt weird. She stacked her books onto the table and sorted her art supplies. It was an amazing transformation. I will miss the dust bunnies though. She sat on the beanbag and slept.

Year Ten,

“Lavender what’s wrong?” Miss Hailey demanded from downstairs. Lavender just slammed the door and disappeared into my room. She tried to slam the bookcase but I stopped it from crashing. She wasn’t paying attention. As I eased it shut, she kicked off her shoes and they hit the wall. It stung enough for me to notice. She buried her face in the beanbag and screamed. She then began punching the beanbag until tears started forming. Then she curled up and sobbed for a long while. Eventually it was quiet. She just laid there in her thoughts. “Are you ok?” She asked. “How do you mean?” I replied.” I threw my shoes and slammed the bookcase.” Her voice cracked.”Yes I am fine. Are you ok?” Silence. She placed a hand on the wall.” Katie Pier was making fun of my glasses.” Bullies. I looked her over.

Her blonde hair hung loose at her shoulders, and behind her glasses, shone two beautiful turquoise eyes.”I can’t see a single reason why she would make fun of you. Unless she was jealous.” Lavender looked up. She was smiling.”Thanks Iris.”

Year Eleven,

Trouble with the bullies continued but Lavender put that all behind her. What she was always doing was playing on her phone. She would get upset when she remembered that my room didn’t have a plug-in to charge her phone on. She was always on Roblox, TikTok and YouTube. She had phases were she wasn’t sleeping. Then she watched a video about kids who are always on their phones. She watched the video over and over again until she put her phone away. She had realized what the phone was doing to her. So she sat at the table and started drawing.

Year Twelve,

Lavender was getting mood swings. Me and her would talk for hours. She would cry, yell, laugh, and whisper. I felt like a therapist. She never hung out with Billy anymore and felt incredibly guilty about it. She was angry at her parents for never being around. She felt pity for Miss Hailey for having to do everything around the house. She felt jealous of the other girls at school. She was so full of emotion I thought she might pop. I told her you have control over some of those things. She just sat in her beanbag and waited for me to continue.

I told her, you can try to hang out with your brother and if he doesn’t want to then at least you tried. You can help Miss Hailey around the house anytime you like. As for your parents there’s not much I can say, and lastly ignore the bullies and make some friends. She just sat thinking. She thought for a long while. The she stood up and went to leave. I asked where are you going? And she said to go help Miss Hailey with dinner.

Year Thirteen,

One day during school, Miss Hailey got a call on the phone. She immediately got in the car and drove off. I wondered what had happened. It was about an hour later when she came back. She had gone to the school to go get Lavender. I heard voices and footsteps. Lavender came in and sat on her bed. She sat there for a long while until Miss Hailey came in. “You ok?” She asked. ”The nurse already told me.” Lavender mumbled. Miss Hailey sat beside her on the bed. ”Do you want to talk about it?” Lavender just stared at the floor.” Not really but thank you.” Miss Hailed looked shocked.

I guess Lavender had never said anything nice to Miss Hailey that either of them could remember. When Miss Hailey left, Lavender came into my room. She sat on the beanbag.”Everything alright?” I asked. She was so quiet I could barely call it a whisper. “My body is changing.” I understood then the events that occurred. I said,” Did you try to hang out with Billy?” But Lavender couldn’t hear me. She was asleep.

Year Fourteen,

Lavender was excited. She was going to a summer camp. While she was packing she left the bookcase open so I could hear her talking. She went on and on about how excited she was to go swimming and hiking and fishing and… the list seemed to go on forever. Early the next morning she said goodbye and ran downstairs. It was a few minutes before I heard the bus.

When Lavender came back she told me everything. I don’t think she left out a single detail. Then she told me about her new friends, Addison and Jaden. I didn’t think I could see her be happier.

Year fifteen,

It was lavenders fifteenth birthday and mostly everyone celebrated. Billy was now thirteen and had fun teasing Lavender. Miss Hailey baked lavender a cake with purple frosting. Addison and Jaden both came over for a sleepover. They played together on their devices and smuggled candy into the room. Then they started talking about boys.”Who was the cutest boy from camp?” Addison asked with a smirk.” Oh totally Jason Oakley.” said Jaden in a dreamy voice.”Nuh uh!” Protested Addison.”Stanley Robertson was cuter.” They both looked at Lavender. “Who do you think Lav?” Said Jaden. She thought for a moment. “Felix Trove.” She announced proudly. All the girls exploded into a giggle fest.

“We should totally give you lavender stripes in your hair Lav for your birthday!” Said Jaden. Lavender said,” Are you sure you know what your doing?” Jaden rolled her eyes.” Of course! My mom is a Hairstylist. I know what I’m doing.” Lavender came out of the bathroom with several pieces of tin foil in her hair. “Wow so shiny!” Teased Addison. Lavender knew she looked ridiculous.” Shut up Addy!” Of course Lavender didn’t mean it. They stared at each other before drowning in endless giggles. In the morning Jaden took out the strips of foil and washed Lavenders hair. After blow drying and styling, Lavender looked at the finished product.” Tada!” Yelled Jaden. Lavender squealed.” Oh thank you so much J.J!”

Year Sixteen,

Lavender got a job and would borrow Miss Haileys car everyday. She kept the stripes and would re-dye them when they started to fade. She had a boyfriend named Felix Trove. They got together last summer. Lavender hardly spent anytime in my room anymore. We would talk sometimes when she came in to put her paycheck into a jar she hid behind the beanbag. Lately her parents had been arguing. Billy would come into her room and they would listen to music or watch a movie.

Addison and Jaden both got jobs and sometimes would invite Billy and Lavender to stay the night at their house. I felt bad sometimes. I wished I could be there to comfort lavender. But.. I couldn’t.

Year Seventeen,

Lavender rolled into a state of depression. It felt like her friends, and boyfriend, were busy all the time. She was fired from her job and her parents were working through a divorce. She would lay in the beanbag all day long. I talked to her about before she had moved in. I told her about the bank and the realtors. When I mentioned realtors, lavender sat up. She went over to her computer and began typing. She pulled out her savings jar and counted. She told me her plan.

When she was done with organizing everything, which took her about three weeks, she called Addison, Jaden, and Felix. When she was done she called for her brother and explained to him as well. They all seemed to agree. I was alright with the idea but.. sad.

Year Eighteen,

The plan was put into action. Miss Hailey stopped both Mr. and Miss Berk as they came through the door. Lavender and Billy waited in the dining room with their suitcases packed. Their parents sat down and waited. Lavender explained how she turned eighteen and was leaving. She bought a small house where her, Billy, and Felix were all going to live together. Addison and Jaden both were going to help by providing transport that afternoon. She just wanted to say goodbye. Mr. Berk sighed and Mrs. Berk sniffed. They passed around hugs and Mr. and Mrs. Berk said it was probably for the best.

As the sun set they waved as Lavender and Billy pulled away. I watched them go. I kept telling myself I was alone for six years, and that I could do that again. But.. as she pulled away. A piece of me went with her.

Year Nineteen,Twenty-one,two,and three.

Four years. For four years, Mr. Berk lived alone. Mrs. Berk moved out a week after Lavender. For four years I had lived in isolation. Mrs. Hailey moved out once she married. So it was just Mr. Berk and his thoughts. When things couldn’t get worse, Mr. Berk left. He drove away and never came back. I was left to rot. I finally knew what despair and grief felt like. I knew then exactly how the old man felt, twenty-five years ago.

Year Three?

As I watched the dust bunnies float around the floor I couldn’t help but to feel angry. I had once missed them and now here I had them… with no Lavender. I finally excepted that she wasn’t coming back. Until… I heard a car. Had Mr. Berk sold the house? I heard little footsteps on the stairs. A little girl examined the room. It was covered in dust and had all of Lavenders things still in it. Two sets of bigger footsteps followed the little girl in. Then someone pulled on the piece. A blonde little girl entered the room. Her eyes were a bright brown. The little girl giggled as her mother stepped in.” Hello? Are you there?” It was Lavender.

Year Twenty-four and Forevermore,

“Yes I’m still here.” I replied. The little girl jump back. “Mommy who said that?” She smiled and kneeled down.” This is Iris, Iris meet Hailey.” The little girl felt the wall. “Mommy is this the room you could talk to?” Lavender nodded. Felix came in behind them both.”Daddy! This is the room from mommy’s stories!” He smiled. “Hailey, could you come help me unpack?” “Yes daddy!” She ran downstairs, followed by Felix. Lavender stood alone in the room. She stepped up the the wall. Her voice started to break.” I’m sorry Iris.” She sobbed.” I never said thank you.” Lavender fell forward and leaned against the wall.

My spirit took form and embraced Lavender. Lavender looked at the lost girl, age of twelve, in front of her. Her eyes were older than the body.” Lavender stuttered,” I-Iris?” “Thank you Lavender.” Said the girl.” You have freed my soul. It is time for me to move on.” Lavender got on her knees and hugged the girl again.” Thank you so much Iris.” “No, Lavender.” Lavender looked up into the girls face. “Thank you.” In a bright light, the girl faded away until Lavender was alone in the room. She smiled as she turned around and shut the bookcase.