THE TALE OF LILLIAN  FLOWERPETAL

The other day I was driving down Route 44, heading towards the beach and saw an exit sign for Southampton, Virginia. This reminded me of a story that my grandmother told us one
Thanksgiving, a long time ago. It took place in Southampton, Massachusetts, which is located near Amherst, Massachusetts.

Southampton was a small factory town at the time; to make it simpler, I will refer to Southampton as “Southy” from now on. Southy was located near a large river—the Connecticut River. The flow of the river water provided the town with a great source of power. The water would power the turbines that would turn the equipment to manufacture whatever they were making at the factories. Well, a group of Scotsman started one particular factory around 1865, which had all moved here from Scotland in hopes of starting a new life. Two of them were engineers and one was just a hard-working man. They pooled all their resources and, along with hard work, they started and opened their own factory. They manufactured farm equipment and named their factory the “Gel Thompskon Factory,” naming it after Arthur and Robert Gel and their partner, Tom Thompskon. As time passed, the factory started to grow, along with the town of Southy. My grandmother, whose name is Henrietta, started telling us about Great-Uncle Thatch and Great-Aunt Ellen. They moved to Southy from the Boston area when they were newly married. Uncle Thatch was trained as a machinist by an old tool-and-die maker in Boston during his teenage years, and he became quite good at it. Aunt Ellen was a very busy woman and would prance about town, getting to know everybody. Well, as it turned out, Uncle Thatch starting working at the Gel Thompskon factory as the head machinist and truly loved it there. Ellen found a circle of close friends and started up a sewing and knitting shop. Both Thatch and Ellen were very happy living in this growing town of Southy. After about five years, they had a baby girl and named her Lillian. Lillian started to grow and grow, as all children do. Years passed by, and she became a beautiful young girl. Well, to the amazement of her parents, things did not turn out quite as they expected. You see, Lillian had developed an independent personality and did not always want to do the things that her parents wanted her to do. The more independent that Lillian got, the more stubborn she became. Everything had to be Lillian’s way or no way at all. As time went on, Lillian had fewer and fewer
friends and spent all her time by herself.

One day, Lillian decided to take a hike along the riverbank. She was not quite sure why she wanted to spend so much time alone, but she was comfortable with it. Lillian was dressed and started out, and as usual, she did not inform her parents where she was going. She headed to the river and started walking north. Hours went by and she was having a grand time, watching all the wildlife—fish jumping out of the river, birds and hawks soaring through the air. As she was approaching a bend in the river, she looked up and saw a rock formation that looked quite interesting, so Lillian decided to climb up the embankment and investigate. As she approached the rocks, she noticed an opening in them. Being the young brash girl that she was, she entered into a cavern.

Soon, however, she glanced up at the sky and realized that the sun would be setting soon, and she would not have enough time to get back home before dark. For a child of fourteen, she should have been frightened out of her wits, but she felt at peace, as though there was someone or something watching after her.

The sun had set by now, and Lillian decided to lie down beside a large oak tree and think of what she should do. The stars were shining brightly, a gentle breeze was moving about, owls nestled in their trees, and she fell sound asleep. The mouth of the cavern was wide open, as if it were inviting Lillian to come in, and even though it was dark, there was a certain brilliance of light coming from within. She entered, with no fear or hesitation, as though she was destined to do so. She walked along the cavern, looking at everything that was there. Inscriptions were engraved upon the walls, water dripping dripped from the ceiling, and rock formations were all about.

Certainly, this must be a very old place, thought Lillian as she continued to stroll farther into the cavern. All of a sudden, her feet were pulled from under her, and the next thing she realized, she was sliding down a steep tunnel. She was not getting hurt; it seemed as if it was a slide that had a gentle stream of water flowing down it. She started moving faster and faster, and then she fell into a shallow pond. Amazed by what was happening, she stood up, and right in front of her was a small stone pedestal with a gray eagle sitting upon it. The eagle did not look startled; Lillian did not look startled, either. It was as though it was meant to happen. The eagle looked at her and then peered away. He continued doing this same motion for a number of times. Lillian climbed out of the shallow pond and headed down this new part of the cavern, as if she were being drawn there. It seemed as if she had been walking for a very long time, when all of a sudden she could see a bright light before her. Lillian could not believe her eyes—there in front of her was a glowing fire set in a circle of stone. There also was a large chair made of old wooden logs and an opening that went to the sky above. An old man was sitting beside the fire with cloths draped about him. His skin was old and wrinkled, and his hair was white. They stared at one another as though it was also meant to be.

They were drawn to each other and continued to gaze into the other’s eyes. He was an old Indian, with decorations sprawled all over his clothing.

“Do not be frightened of me, for I have been waiting for you for a very long time. At last my time is near to go back to the heavens, for my mission here is to be completed.”

Lillian looked at him with amazement and could not believe her eyes. “What is your name?” she asked him.

He gazed at Lillian for what seemed to be a long time and then answered her, “I am Chief Tonkom, the last of my tribe. I have remained here, waiting for you to arrive. We have much to talk about.”

As Lillian looked around, she noticed that the eagle was by the chief’s chair and was perched on another stone pedestal. The chief told her a story.

As the tale goes, the soul of an Indian child had entered Lillian’s soul as she was being born. The Indian child had a purpose to fulfill on earth and was taken away at an early age. She was very distressed and could not rest in peace until she was able to once again return to earth and fulfill her destiny.

Lillian was totally fascinated by every word that Chief Tonkom had to say, for Lillian knew that she did not fit into the world into which she had been born. I guess that explains why she was a loner and could not accept the ways of her parents and the town of Southy.

The more that the chief talked, the clearer it became to Lillian that, in fact; Lillian had been sharing her spirit and soul with that of Flowerpetal. About this time, the eagle, Graystar, moved to sit on Lillian’s shoulder. It was as if days and days had passed, and the two of them were still talking and trying to truly understand this incredible journey, especially Lillian. The Chief explained Flowerpetal’s destiny. All this seemed so strange to Lillian, but she did understand and wanted to continue. 
Lillian was tired at this point and fell sound asleep. She awoke under the oak tree as the sun was shining upon her. Graystar was by her side, along with an Animal skin and an old glass bottle. She knew that her journey was about to begin. She wrote her parents a note on the Animal skin and put it inside the bottle, sending it downstream towards Southy. She knew in her heart that they would receive it. She told them that she was fine and would not be returning because she had to fulfill her chosen destiny. She told her parents not to worry but if they did, they should look up into the sky and they would see a beautiful gray eagle, whose name was Graystar, and know that she was fine.

Lillian also found by her side a leather pouch filled with herbs and foods to help her start the journey. Lillian knew exactly what to do, as if the soul of Flowerpetal and Lillian had started to merge into one. For the first time in her life, she felt at peace with herself and the world. She stood up and walked farther up the river, knowing all along where she was heading.

Days went by, and she was feeling more and more at peace. The bottle was found back at Southy and was brought to her parents. Along with being very upset with Lillian, they were quite concerned as to where she was. Thatch gathered up all his friends and was about to embark on a search. At this exact moment, Ellen looked into the sky and saw, as it was said in the note, a beautiful gray eagle soaring above them. No one really knew why, but Ellen told Thatch not to go on a search, that Lillian was telling the truth and they should not worry. Days went by, and every time that Thatch and Ellen started to worry, Graystar would appear above them, soaring through the sky. One thing was certain: Graystar would appear anytime the town of Southy would start thinking of Lillian.

Graystar and Flowerpetal came around a bend in the river and knew that it was time to head inland. Going north towards a large mountain, however, Flowerpetal was not sure that she knew where she was going. As time passed, more and more animals followed them, along with large flocks of birds. Finally, when she reached the peak of the mountain, she took a long breath of air and knew that she was almost there. She gazed over the mountaintop, looked down into a large valley, and realized that this was where she should be. She lay down and slept for the night, as the sun was beginning to set.

Lillian had transcended into Flowerpetal and realized that she was home at last. The morning came, and the sun was shining as Flowerpetal and Graystar headed down into the valley. Everything was so green and full of wildlife. She was truly at home and very grateful to Chief Tonkom for bringing her to this beautiful valley. At this moment, a bright white cloud came over the valley and tiny white particles started to fall from the sky. Just as they began to fall, it ended. About dusk, Flowerpetal was very tired and laid down to sleep for the night. Morning came, and Flowerpetal awoke; she could not believe the sight in front of her. The fields and sides of the valley were filled with thousands of tiny, sweet-smelling white flowers, all growing from a single stem. She knew that this was a gift from Chief Tonkom and that he was finally able to rest in peace. Flowerpetal looked into the sky and thanked him. She also realized that she would not be here if it had not been for Chief Tonkom bringing the souls of Lillian and Flowerpetal together. Flowerpetal thought for a moment and decided to name this valley after Lillian. “We shall call this place, from this day forth, Lily of the Valley,” she said.

She lived there the rest of her life with all of her animal friends. Graystar continued to fly over Southy, and as time passed, the legend of Lillian Flowerpetal, Graystar, and Chief Tonkom were kept alive, living in the flower known as the Lily of the Valley.

The End 

       Just Another Left Handed Sagittarian With M.S

   All Contributions / Donations can be sent to your local Multiple Sclerosis Chapter

 
*** All Rights Reserved. James W. Horne. August 6, 2009. ***