The Cinder Bullies (6)

"My life is so different now," Cindy said to herself, several weeks after leaving home. "For me, everything has changed for the better."

Cindy had been astounded when she realized that not all families live the same way. Her new life as the person attending the rose garden on the estate, was completely different than it had been as a scullery maid, but she still missed her family, mostly because she had never been away from home before.

Rosa, the seamstress, Nadia, the welcoming cook and Millie, the young women who Rosa had helped in the past, quickly became her new, extended family.

"Families are so different!" thought Cindy, as she trimmed the rose bushes, carefully. There were many different kinds of rose bushes on the estate. This was a full time job for her now, but very pleasant work and the stipend she was to receive each month would be an added bonus. The owners of the estate were away on vacation, so Cindy did not meet them, but she had a whole new realm to explore and the time to enjoy it thoroughly, too.

"I had no idea our world could be so beautiful!" she said aloud, early one morning, as she watched the sun come up over the rose garden. In contrast, her scullery had been a small, dark, dingy corner where there was never any sunlight. She had to get up early every morning to begin her day's work, but it was only when she went into the garden that she saw any sunlight. Thus, Cindy was quite pale.

Nadia knew that would be rectified when she spent time outdoors, but insisted that Cindy wear the sun bonnet Millie had made for her, at least at first. It would protect her from the sun. Cindy obviously enjoyed being outdoors and her time was her own now, something she could not even imagine previously, as she had always been at everyone's beck and call at home.

She loved spending time in the rose garden with all of its sweet fragrances. A new rose or several buds, would appear each day and to her, tending the rose bushes was a total delight. So, she cared for them lovingly and talked to them, as she worked. The birds, chirping in the background added to her delight and she spoke to them, too.

Nadia, the cook was delighted to hear Cindy singing in the rose garden. She had a very sweet sounding voice, even though Nadia could always detect a note of sadness. Rosa had told her that Cindy spent time in the garden at home in order to break free of the cruelty of her mother, sisters and their friends. Nadia thought that assigning her to work in the rose garden seemed like an excellent role for her on the estate. Rosa agreed with her. They knew that the owners would love her immediately and enjoy having her as their employee, because she was a pleasant person and a good worker.

There was a small gazebo in the heart of the rose garden where Cindy could sit and relax, any time. But, she was used to working long hours and not accustomed to relaxing and at first, felt quite guilty when she took breaks. Nadia quickly assured her that no one would be upset if she had a cup of tea there, or entertained her friends, like Rosa or Millie.

At first, Cindy was almost afraid to wear her leather garden boots in the garden, too. She had never owned a pair of boots before, only old sandals her sisters had worn previously. Nadia gently insisted that she wear boots when she was working in the rose garden, because of the many different kinds of thorns on the rose bushes. There was only one rose bush that did not have any thorns.

"I had no idea that a rose bush could be free from thorns," Cindy said to Nadia, who brought her a freshly baked loaf of bread for lunch one day.

"Only the rose bushes that don't feel threatened have no thorns, and there are very few of those kinds of rose bushes," Nadia replied. "The thorns are there to protect the blossoms, and if you look closely, you will see that they never harm the blossoms either."

"Amazing!" thought Cindy, smiling at Nadia's words. "Here on the estate, I am protected too, so I don't need thorns either."