Rowena Potter

The Vacation

     I started at the letter for a while and smiled.  I knew this day would come.  I also knew that they assumed I was still at the Dursley's and that manipulative old coot wouldn't expect otherwise.  I wrote a quick reply, saying yes and my family would be going with me to Diagon but we were leaving on vacation so it would be best not to come by.  I put the letter in an envelope and gave it to the school owl before going to bed.
     The next morning I got up around six and got ready.  I made breakfast before getting the kids up.  By eight they were ready to go.  We took the bus to the train station and boarded our train.  The train pulled out of the station at nine and we were off.  For three hours we played I spy, read to books, and listened to music.  The kids were getting antsy.  At noon, we ate lunch and took a nap.  We arrived at the station at two and got onto a bus to a small tribal area on the east coast.  It took an hour to get there.
     When we got there, we got off the bus and went to where we were staying, Beltane grounds, bungalow number seventeen.  It cost a hundred dollars to rent for the week.  We went into the bungalow, which had three bedrooms, and put our luggage in our rooms, with Maddie and Austin in one room, the twins in the next room, and Jasmine and I in the last room.  Once all the luggage was put away I called all of the kids and told them to get all their bathing suits on.
     Once we were all changed, we grabbed towels and headed towards the shoreline. We spent the next two hours playing in the waves and on the sand, but making sure to go go out very far.  At five o'clock we went back to the bungalow and got changed and ready to go to dinner in the village square.  Today was a party to celebrate Mother Earth and all of her children.  In the village square the kids chased each other around and I participated in a dance, spinning around a fire and from partner to partner.
     When it was time to eat, we all gave thanks to Mother Earth and separated off into families.  The village orphans joined our family in our circle, happy to have family for the evening.  The administrator of the orphanage tried to apologize for them bothering us but I told her it wasn't a big deal.  We talked about the orphanage and I said " Once I come into my inheritance, I shall send some money for the orphanage but I shall come with gifts at the end of the week."
We spent the week in the waves and the sand. After dinner every night I would work on wood carvings and use some paints which I got rather good at. I made an owl, twin snakes, a bear, a lion, and three tigers. I also painted a portrait of what the orphans looked like at the gathering, together and happy. On the last whole day we spent our time playing amongst the village children and orphans. I talked to the parents and elders some but spent most of my time speaking with the administrator, Elizabeth.
The kids and I ate dinner with the orphans again that night and I handed out the gifts giving the four year old twins the snakes and the two year old triplets the tigers. When I was done handing them their gifts I turned to Elizabeth. " I have something for you as well. These kids had pure joy on their face by that fire and I know that when you're a parent, no matter what kind, you strive for that look. So I give you this painting, so that when this job gets tough, you can see what you're job means, letting these kids get a childhood that some don't get to experience."
And with that I handed her the painting. When she looked at it, she burst into tears and thanked me repeatedly. I just smiled and told it was nothing. Then I turned to the kids and said " My family and need to get going but I promise to come here on Christmas break, just promise me to help Elizabeth when you can, can you do that?" They all nodded and ran to clean up their dinner mess and gave Elizabeth a kiss on the cheek. I told them goodbye and told Elizabeth I would write with my owl before talking my kids back to the bungalow to get some sleep.
When we got to the bungalow, we packed up and went to bed. That night, I dreamt of this place but I was older and surrounded by children and even a couple of grandchildren. The next day I woke up at seven and did a last run through. At nine the kids were up and ready to leave. We went to the bus stop and boarded the bus at nine thirty and waved good by to the village. We got back to our house at three thirty. We put everything up and the kids sat down in the living room while I cooked dinner. We talked about the trip until eight and I read the kids a book before we all went up to bed. I would miss the village but I was glad to be home.
I read a few chapters of a book called tiger's curse before shutting out the lights. As I closed my eyes I had only one thought, it was good to be home.