text: Albany, New York. 2018 “Now you’re sure you want to give up the house, Mr. Butler?” The older man smiled at the question and nodded. “None of my siblings are around anymore and the kids don’t want it. I can’t take care of it anymore, I know mom and dad would want it to go to a nice couple like you. Especially with your baby on the way.” I smiled as I shook his hand and he handed me the keys to the house. The farmhouse was a gorgeous yellow color with grey accents. The house was surrounded by beautiful trees, though one stood out to me. “That tree looks younger than the others,” Noah commented. My husband was an expert on all things nature, especially trees. “There’s something else about it. I just don’t know yet.” He shrugged as he carried our things into the house. The inside had been recently redone to look more modern, but Mr. Butler left some older paintings on the wall. “Isn’t it crazy, Evie? The man said that four generations of his family have grown up here,” My husband asked me. I nodded, thinking of all the stories that must’ve happened here. Noah started to put things up inside, while I looked around outside. I looked up at the tree I had noticed before and it felt like it was calling to me. I examined it carefully when I spotted a sliver of gold inside a crevice high in the tree. Determined, I started to scale it, reaching for whatever was there. I grabbed a hold of it and pulled it out to discover a very weathered book. I opened it up to discover the name Alice Rioux written within, the Rioux was crossed out and Butler was underneath. I smiled to myself, realising it must belong to Mr. Butler’s mother. I turned the page to see a journal entry with the date, ‘April 5th, 1939.’ I sat there, reading through the pages until my husband called for me then returned it to its resting place. “You won’t believe what I found, Noah. He smirked, “What?” I told him about the journal I had found. “I guess that tree was special.” After we had unpacked everything and had takeout, I returned to the tree and continued reading. “You shouldn’t climb like that when pregnant,” Noah called out from the kitchen window. I just shook my head and kept reading. I had already read halfway through the journal from sitting there for only half an hour. I had learned that she lived her entire life in France, before moving to America when she was 21 and marrying her husband. She had a sister who lived in America as well, though she didn’t seem too fond of her. I also found out that the tree I sat in was the tree they planted together, and I couldn’t help but feel connected to her. As I continued to read, I found out that she got pregnant at twenty-two, the same age as me, and had a daughter, Violet. She had a total of four children, Mr. Butler was the youngest of them. Everything about her intrigued me, and she just felt so special to me. I was interrupted from my thoughts by my husband shouting my name. This time I brought the journal with me so I wouldn’t have to climb. “You enjoy your day of reading,” He chuckled as he kissed me on the cheek. I nodded and handed him the journal. “I’ve been thinking about names,” I stated confidently. “And what are you thinking, love?” “I want to name her Alice, Noah.” He smiled and nodded, “I like that name. Alice.” Albany, New York. 1939 “Not what you expected, Ms. Alice,” A local farm boy chuckled behind me. I sighed. The breeze hit my face harshly as I walked up to the falling apart farmhouse. “Edith called it a fixer upper but I would be better just tearing it down and building it up again,” I muttered. A good portion of the roof had caved in and the porch looked like it was rotting. I looked back at the boy, smiling like a fool, before I finally decided to enter the house. The inside was just as bad. Mold and rot were everywhere. There was a couch, which I guessed was older than me, falling through the floor. “So where are you staying till this place is fixed?” I took a deep breath, since Edith didn’t mention the state of the house I had planned on moving in immediately. “I have no idea,” I told him. I was starting to tear up, realizing how lost I was. Edith would never let me stay with her. She probably planned this out as a way to make me go back to France and leave her alone. “Hey, don’t cry, you can stay with me on my farm,” The boy piped up. I looked at him in confusion, this kid looked sixteen, he must’ve meant his family’s farm. Noticing my confusion he spoke up,” I’m not that young. I’m eighteen and I inherited it when my parents died.” I thought about it before realizing how insane it was. This boy was a stranger, and I hate the outdoors so why would I want to live on a farm. However, I didn’t have many other options. “What’s your name?” He smiled at me, “My name is Mickey. Mickey Butler.” “Well, Mickey, we should head home, “ I grinned at him and opened the door of my car for him. He seemed starstruck for a second after entering the car. “This is pretty fancy, Ms. Alice.” I chuckled. “Thank you and please just call me Alice.” He gave directions to his farm, which was only a mile away from the house. His house stood on a top of a hill, surrounded by trees with fields below it. It was painted a faint yellow with white accents and was in much better condition than the home I just left. As the two of us left the car, I could hear barking as three dogs ambushed us. “You three quit it, we got guests,” Mick scolded them. He ushered me towards the door, shooing the dogs away. The house was decorated beautifully, with rose colored walls and paintings I would expect to find on display in France. All the furniture had intricate carvings, and everything was cleaned perfectly. “Everything here is beautiful,” I exclaimed. I could see Mickey getting red from the compliment. “My mama brought everything with her when she moved here from France.” I smiled, “Your mother was French.” He nodded as he took my bags upstairs. I followed him to a small room with a twin sized bed and couch. It was simple but I couldn’t complain since he offered me his home for no few. I got all my things settled into my new room, and once I was happy with my new setup, I headed downstairs. “Hey, I’m making dinner. Are scrambled eggs alright with you?” I nodded before taking a seat at the table. “Oh, over on the counter there’s a seed for you.” I stood up, thinking I misheard him, and walked over to discover there in fact was a seed. “Why is there a seed for me,” I puzzled. He served dinner and replied, “Papa said you should plant a seed when you have new beginnings. Thought you could plant it on your new land.” I thanked him before eating my dinner. After we ate dinner, I went straight to bed since I had a long day ahead of me. I woke up with the sun and packed my day bag. I went downstairs to find Mickey already awake. “Good morning,” he greeted me as he headed out to the fields. I followed him, letting him know I would be gone for the day before driving off to where my sister lived. She shared a small apartment intown with an older man, who she said was never home. She seemed almost a little shocked when she opened the door and I was there. “I thought you got on the first boat back to France, Ali.” I smirked, “After discovering the ‘perfect’ house in ruins, a local boy agreed to let me stay with him till I have things together.” She rolled her eyes and groaned, “It’ll take months to fix up that place. You’re better off in France.” “Well, I’ll hire people to take care of it and I’ll get a job to help pay for it and pay Mickey back for letting me stay with him.” She laughed, “No job you get is going to pay for all that and you told mom and dad you didn’t need your money.” I could feel myself getting angry and decided to leave. I got even angrier when I realized that she was right. I decided to return defeated to Mickey’s farm. He waved from the fields as I drove up, and it made me feel a small bit better. I would miss him when I went back to France. Edith was right, I couldn’t live here, I had no idea how she managed to live here without our parent’s help. “Is everything okay, Alice?” I hadn’t even noticed him come up to me. “I’m afraid not. I can’t afford to get the house repaired or live anywhere else so I’m going to sell it and go back home. He looked shocked. “Absolutely not. You could’ve just asked, I’ll help you fix up the house.” I shook my head, “You’ve done too much already without me paying you.” He thought for a second, “ You can help around the farm. That’ll be your payment to me.” I knew he wasn’t going to let it go so I agreed. So this is how Mickey and I worked for the next six months. I would tend to the farm while he worked on the house. He made me dinner every night when he got back, and we repeated this everyday except for Sundays, when he wouldn’t let either of us work. He started taking me to farmers markets to sell produce and we would go out to eat using some of our earnings afterwards. We got very close over this time, so close that he proposed to me. I said yes and we got married soon after. We sold the old farmhouse, and used the money to renovate the house. I found the seed in one of my bags one time and remembered what Mick had said. I feel like the seed really did represent new beginnings, and I thanked it for the fortunate turn of events. Mickey and I planted it together next to the house, in the midst of the other trees. “It's a dogwood tree,” he told me as he planted it, “They’re beautiful in the spring.” He rubbed a bit of dirt on my face as I swatted away his muddy hands. “I love you, Mick.” “Love you too, Alice.”