text: It had been twenty-four years since she had last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. Josephine stood in front of the little cottage that had featured in all of her fairytale dreams, the rolling hills, and the surrounding forest. That had been the happiest summer of her life. She’d wanted it to last forever. She’d been warned that day that it was only a temporary stay, but she had so hoped that things would be different that time. The woman who had greeted her, Mrs. O’Brady, had rosy cheeks and such a warm smile and her husband had such a jolly laugh that Josephine wondered if she was staying the summer with Santa Claus. Walking slowly up the slight incline that had seemed so much steeper all those years ago, she came to rest at the base of the large walnut tree. Its branches spread wide and twisting, creating a canopy of leaves for shelter. Sitting at the base as she often had as a child, Josephine let herself breathe deeply as she took in the sight before her. The cottage was white with blue shutters on the windows, a yellow front door, and the dormered window reminded her of rainy days playing dolls in the attic bedroom. She hadn’t been that only little girl here that summer. There had been two sisters, Tabitha and Janie, that had been there for a few weeks already. She had worried that she would not be welcome, but oh how wrong she had been. They had been adamant about her joining all of their games and nicknamed her Josy. After the first couple days it was as if they had always been together. Tabby was a blonde cherub and Janie was a redheaded hellion, she with her dark hair and solemn attitude had completed the set. With them she had learned to smile. Shaking herself from these thoughts, she headed back down and around the house to her car. As she unloaded her things, she was reminded of the day she left. A new foster family had been found and they wanted her settled before the new school year began. She had known that the O’Brady’s couldn’t keep her, but it had broken her heart all the same. The girls and Mrs. O’Brady had tearfully hugged her goodbye, while Mr. O’Brady solemnly promised that he was only a phone call away. The heartache she felt that day was soothed as she prepared to enter the house for the first time as the homeowner. Unbuckling the carseat she lifted her son as gently as she could, hoping the little one would continue sleeping peacefully. She entered the house and let herself drink it in for a moment before heading up the stairs. The moving truck had left just over an hour before, after unpacking and setting up the bigger pieces of furniture. In that attic bedroom she remembered so fondly there was now a toddler bed and boxes full of dinosaurs and trucks. Laying her baby down, she smoothed his hair before kissing his forehead and heading back downstairs to continue unpacking. Life had not been easy since that fairytale summer. Experience had taught her that believing in fairytales was not always a safe thing to do. She spent so long believing that if she just wished for it hard enough, eventually all her dreams would come true. This way of thinking eventually brought her to a dead end and she found herself needing to start over, though luckily, she was not starting over with nothing. Wanting to give herself a good start she found herself looking at the one place that she had been truly happy. She found a local job and while taking a drive one Sunday afternoon she was amazed to come across her dream house and find it had a for sale sign by the driveway. Unable to help herself, she had knocked on the front door. Mrs. O’Brady had been as rosy cheeked as ever and tears came to Josy’s eyes as she was remembered and given a motherly hug. She had been welcomed in for cookies and tea and she found herself telling the kind woman everything that had happened in the long years since they had seen each other last. When she had finished, she was enveloped in another hug and was amazed at the relief and joy it brought. Mrs. O’Brady then took her turn, explaining that she was just too far from everything she needed at her age but confessed that she was worried that her home would go to someone who wouldn’t love it as she and her husband had. Their visits became a weekly thing and the next month she was able to tell Mrs. O’Brady that she was the person buying the house. Josy’s gaze fell on the tea set that Mrs. O’Brady had given her as a housewarming gift. It was a delicate china set with pink roses. She smiled thinking of past and future tea parties. She had been ecstatic when she discovered that Tabby lived just a few moments away and Janie came to visit regularly. Tabby had found her happily ever after with a local farmer and was having the time of her life raising their children while Janie, now going by her full name of Jacinda, was climbing the corporate ladder in Denver. They already had plans to get together the next time they were all in town. From the kitchen window she had a perfect vantage point of the walnut tree. Her mind already filled with plans for a tree house and a rope swing. For her son, she dreamed of long summers watching her son play pirates, colorful falls with leaf piles and pumpkins, and winters full of snowmen and cocoa. For herself, she dreamed of springtime filled with flowers. She felt her heart could beat out of her chest with joy. Maybe dreams don’t come true exactly the way you expect, and they don’t happen immediately, but maybe, just maybe, if you believe in them strong enough and work for them hard enough you eventually find what you are looking for. After so many years, she could happily say that this is what she had been looking for. She had found her happily ever after where she will be able to give her son the things she always dreamed about and that was all that mattered.