Part 3 The Journey of Rosemarie Alcott

I was back at the corn field again..Running and looking behind me in desperation. When suddenly unseen hands were pulling me down and ripping my clothes off. I woke up screaming and instantly Tabitha was beside me.

"Your OK..your OK..It was just a nightmare." She spoke soothingly while she patted my shaking hands, only stopping long enough to pull the grungy tan hospital chair close to my bed.

I fell back on the hard pillow and sighed deeply. I wanted to remember what had happened. But only bits and pieces were coming back.

"Rosemarie, I don't know why, but I haven't asked you if you have any family. Do you have somewhere to go when you are released tomorrow?" Tabitha asked.

I closed my eyes ashamed of the response I was about to give, even though it was true.

"I don't have any family. My real parents died in a car wreck when I was little and I have been moved around from foster home to foster home since I was two.
I have a small apartment in town, but I feel scared to stay there alone until they catch whoever did this to me." I was looking at my fingernails as I talked. Sad that they were broken and blood stained.

"Then you are coming home with me." Tabitha beamed.

"Are you sure? I asked hesitantly. "You don't even know me?"

"You're right, I don't know you and you don't know me but you need someone to help you right now. And I need help on my farm. How would you like to learn to run a farm?" She was smiling a hopeful smile.

"I would love to. I always wanted to live on a farm since I was little." I hope I hadn't answered too quickly.


The first thing I noticed as we pulled into her driveway, was the sprawling pink rosebushes that lined each side of it. I had never saw roses so beautiful. When I opened the car door the fragrance of the roses washed over me. I felt a lump in my throat and willed it to go down.

I looked to my left and saw the most amazing vegetable garden I have ever seen. There were 4 rows of tee pees covered in green beans. Every kind of tomato you could imagine was planted in neat weed free rows. There was so many more vegetables planted, but I didn't recognize them.

Behind the vegetable garden was the biggest flower garden I had ever seen. Rows and rows of Zinnias and Cosmos. I knew about flowers because of my 3rd foster Mom. She liked to plant flowers in the Summer while she downed her Margaritas. It was a bittersweet memory.

Tabitha saw me taking it all in and just smiled. "I use everything on my farm to make a living. And it is rewarding work. I am up in the mornings watering and weeding. And I put dinner in the oven or in the crock pot before I begin. We will have fresh salads every night with dinner. I will teach you how to pick the greens."


I smiled at her and in my heart I knew I was home.


to be continued....

by Nita Barrow Zimmerman