Lost in a Crowd PV Bridget Closed

@Elspeth Blaine | Bridget at age 7

Bridget had been having a weird week. She didn't know what word to use besides weird. Odd? Unusual? Maybe a little scary? Even at the age of seven, she knew tumbling straight over your bicycle's handlebars towards what would have surely been a painful landing only to hover above the ground, never making impact, wasn't at all normal. She hadn't told anyone, mostly because she doubted anyone would believe her. And she wasn't sure she wanted anyone to believe her, anyways. This sort of thing only happened in books, not real life, and she didn't want any of the side-long glances such a happening would surely bring.

Thankfully, the city provided just the distraction she needed. The Edinburgh Fringe had arrived, the streets a tornado of color and sound. It was a little overwhelming, but even the bombardment of sensory information couldn't make her not want to go. The little girl simply loved art. Visual arts, specifically, were a common pastime of hers, the brunette often spending hours with pencil and paper, improving her already impressive sketching skills. The Fringe provided both visual arts and an array of other art forms too, theatre and music and all sorts of entertainment. Too much to take in, really, but she wasn't complaining.

Upon their arrival, her older brother Matthew quickly wandered off with a few of his friends. He wasn't interested in watching Alice in Wonderland, although she supposed when you were allowed to have different interests when you were fourteen. Bridget frowned slightly as she watched him go--Matthew was one of her favorite people in the whole world and she hated that he didn't spend much time with her anymore--but she would be okay. She wished Ellie and Jonathan would go away too, though; at five years old and a level of maturity significantly lower than she'd had at their age, they were always whining. Of course, there was no way they'd be let out of her parents' sight, so the best she could do was ignore them. A challenging task, as Ellie decided to start yanking at her hair, but at least her mother was quick to stop her.

Eyes wide to take everything in, she followed her parents through the streets towards where the show would be. She'd been to the Fringe before, but she doubted it would ever get old. Soon enough, they were waiting in a line that, as far as the short seven year old could tell, went on forever. It was hard to see much from where she stood--the people around her were far too tall--and Jonathan was making a scene, crying about how hot it was. Bridget was patient enough to wait for a while, and she knew the play would be worth it. Alice in Wonderland was one of her favorites, one of many books the voracious reader had blown through. With a start, she realized what had happened to her a week ago sounded a lot like what had happened to Alice. Strange, mad even. It was an odd sensation to be relating to a fictional character in such a way.

With the activity all around her and her complete lack of vantage point, it wasn't until a voice piped up beside her that the normally very observant girl noticed Elspeth. Instantly, her expression, which had previously taken on a look of annoyance due to her younger siblings, turned to a smile. She and Elspeth were not particularly close, but they played on the playground and liked being around each other. "Elspeth! It's so nice to see you here. And yes, we're here to see Alice in Wonderland. Have you read the book?"

A glance down what she could see of the line, she decided it didn't look like they'd moved much, if at all. Her father was muttering something about the doors not even being open yet. A thought struck the curious girl: perhaps her and Elspeth could go explore while they waited for the line to move. She very much wanted to get away from the twins, after all. "Mama? This is Elspeth, she's a friend from school. Can we go look around a bit while we wait?" Her mother, directing her attention to Bridget from keeping the twins in line, frowned slightly. She conceded, though, so long as they didn't go far.

Grinning at her friend, she gestured for Elspeth to follow her as she wove through the crowd of much taller people. Exploration had always been something she very much enjoyed, and what better way to spend the time waiting for the line to move than looking around this amazing festival with a friend?

Outfit

Her eyes widened with the knowledge that Bridget was similarly here to see Alice in Wonderland. What luck! Of all the children's shows at the Fringe, it was a beautiful coincidence that she should find a school mate here and so quickly too.

The tourists were passing by regularly and Elspeth reached out to grab on to the railing to steady herself slightly. Her feet, dressed in white Mary Jane's, dangled as she swung. "My dad read it to me," she said with a smile, recalling when her tuck-ins at night were more regular or even when her mother did them before the doctor had called.

"Have you read it?" she questioned, "My favorite part is the tea party." This was the section she was especially looking forward to seeing on the stage, made flesh. The theatre had always been a respite for Elspeth, whose reality was often cruel and uncertain. But in the arts, she could escape and move into new, unchartered worlds. For something as whimsical as Lewis Carroll, she was only too excited to make the leap.

Still, this line seemed to be going on forever. This was true of every line at the Fringe, but when you were small and little that line seemed to expand ten-fold. Clasping her hands together, she hoped that having a friend nearby would help make the time go more quickly. After all, it was someone to talk to, someone to play with, and someone who wasn't expecting her to behave like an adult because her mother was slowly losing her battle with her illness.

Around them, parents could be heard muttering about the line and the doors not opening. Perhaps they too were just as impatient as the children. Elspeth's lips started to curl together into a small purse. She was about to ask Bridget more about the book, when Bridget spoke. "Hi Mrs. Collins," she greeted Bridget's mother with a light wave at her introduction. The older woman seemed nice enough. No, she seemed normal. And though she didn't show it, Elspeth was always jealous of people with normal mothers (though this was virtually everyone except herself). She wondered sometimes what it might be like to live in a household like that--a normal house and home.

But she didn't hold anything against Bridget, who despite being a year above her had always seemed nice at recess or assemblies. And that was rare. Anyone who knew the secret of Elspeth's home life saw only one thing: a freak. So while they weren't close, Elspeth liked Bridget's company.

"We won't," Elspeth replied emphatically with a nod to Mrs. Collins' suggestion that they not go far. Elspeth hadn't really given it much thought, but she knew to agree with parents. After all, parents were powerful; they could take your toys away or stop a playdate at a moment's notice.

Eagerly, she followed behind Bridget's wave and smile. This was so freeing! And by the time they returned, the show would be ready surely. Out amongst the crowd of much taller and bigger humans, Elspeth looked around at the colors and lights while they shuffled the streets. A girl dressed as Victorian Queen attempted to hand them a flyer for her play. On the corner, a man was juggling flaming batons. Further along George IV Bridge, the sellers had their stalls of celtic jewlery, artsy prints, and street food. And just beyond them, nestled ahead of the pub was Greyfriar's Bobby, signaling the entrance to the legendary Greyfriar's Kirkyard. It was easily one of the most haunted places in the city.

Looking over at Bridget, the little girl wondered where they might go first. "Let's look at the stalls," she suggested tapping her companion on the shoulder. They'd have to cross in front of the juggler to get there, which could be interesting and worth a stop. But Elspeth always liked looking at shiny things and imagining when they might be used. That and the smell of fresh Belgian waffles was tempting, even if the Kirkyard lay just beyond.

For @Bridget Collins

@Elspeth Blaine | Bridget at age 7

Bridget grinned when Elspeth said her dad had read her the book. At her age little excited her more than books; she was very much still a child, but she was hungry for knowledge. She'd read right through Alice in Wonderland, at least as fast as a seven-year-old unfamiliar with some of the words could. "Yeah, I've read it. I liked the tea party, too." It was hard for her to identify a single scene she'd liked best, especially since she couldn't recall all of the book's details, but the tea party had definitely made for an interesting and memorable part of the book.

Her mother smiled at Elspeth when she said hello and looked as though she had something more to say, when Ellie stole her attention, grabbing at her mother's arm. Bridget sighed, glad they'd at least gotten permission to go before the twins had done what they did best: demand attention. She was much looking forward to putting distance between her and them so people no longer grouped her in with them, thinking of the Collins children as 'troublesome', or whatever it was the adults looking at their little scene in disdain were thinking.

A smile coming back to her features, she lead Elspeth away from the unending, boring line. For the first time she was able to marvel at all the vendors; on her way in she'd been much too focused on keeping up with her parents' longer strides to really see all the cool things they passed. Now, though, she could slow down whenever she wanted to examine the costumed people and color and excitement.

Bridget turned to her friend when Elspeth tapped her on the shoulder. She nodded, veering towards the stalls. Her eyes widened slightly as she spotted the Kirkyard. It was supposed to be haunted, which simultaneously intrigued and scared the little girl. It was probably best to stick to the stalls for now, especially since her mother definitely wouldn't be able to see them if they went in there. Continuing towards the stalls, she paused in front of a man juggling fire. Her eyes were transfixed on the almost mesmerizing movements. "Imagine being able to do that," she whispered to Elspeth in wonder. Granted, she wasn't sure she would ever want to try since juggling fire didn't seem very safe, but it was worth watching.

Outfit

"The tea party is the best part," Elspeth enthused before conceding, "but the cat was scary." And so it had been with its wide yellow eyes and pink and purple striped fur and a convoluted grin unlike anything she'd ever seen or read before at such a tender age. It was likely to be frightening even here, on stage, but Elspeth was willing to take the risk to gain entry into the wonderful world of Lewis Carroll. Moreover, she knew she could always burry her head into her father's sweater if it got really bad.

But for now, the focus was elsewhere.

As they wandered, Elspeth realized she'd never met or seen Bridget's sisters. The twins in their attention-seeking had probably allowed these two girls to slip away into the crowd for a supposed few minutes. Still, Elsie was happy the twins did not follow. This was strictly a two person adventure. Besides they were big girls; they could handle it.

Following after Bridget, it was was nice to see more of the stalls--the lines of which seemed to go forever down the winding Medieval streets. With Bridget's nod in agreement, they trotted across to the stalls. The first one that caught Elspeth's attention was jeweler. Stepping up on her tip-toes, she looked at the shimmering sterling silver rings and necklaces winded together in traditional celtic designs occasionally punctured with a shinning gem stone. The vendor, a stout man with generous facial hair seemed to eye them playfully (rather than as a threat of stealing). Her little girl hands ran across the tops of some of the rings until an adult woman cut her off with her reach.

This cut in too when Bridget returned her attention to the street performer and his intensive fires. "Woah," she let out as she watched. "Do you think he actually touches the fire?" she asked, imagining it would have to be super fast if he did--fire was bad. He had a unicycle nearby and reached to grab it, only adding to the dramatic tension.

"Look at those colors!" she commented about a booth up ahead where a woman was selling brightly colored scarves, which were thankfully not tartan like just about everything in Edinburgh. This next booth was closer still to the kirkyard and the statue of Greyfriar's Bobby, but Elsie didn't let that deter her.

@Bridget Collins & I am sorry for the wait.

@Elspeth Blaine

The seven-year-old took in all the color and excitement with wide eyes, not wanting to miss any of it. It was amazing seeing all the different types of art proudly displayed. She ran her fingers over the jewelry on display, tracing the Celtic runes on some of it.

It was the man juggling fire that really drew her attention. The little girl stood mesmerized as she watched the blur of fiery colors as he made each skilled movement. "I don't know," she answered her friend. He couldn't possibly actually touch the fire, though, right? Either way, it was undeniably impressive.

Elspeth directed her attention towards a booth of scarves in all sorts of colors. The brunette felt almost a little overwhelmed by all the sensory information, but the excitement far outweighed the feeling of everything being too much. The Fringe was a little like Wonderland once you thought about it; maybe not so much the odd, fantastical things, but it certainly had the color and vibrancy.

Bridget didn't realize it, but they were slowly wandering farther and farther away from their parents. If she'd thought to look back, she wouldn't have been able to see her mother through the swarm of taller humans. For now, though, everything else had her full attention, pushing aside any thoughts of her mother's words.

Finally, they'd made it almost all the way to the Kirkyard. The small girl looked at it with both fear and curiosity. She'd always been quite curious, though, and she found herself wondering what it was like inside. It was supposed to be haunted, right? "Elspeth," she whispered. She wasn't sure why she was whispering, but it felt like the right thing to do around such a haunted place. "What do you think it's like?" She didn't need to specify what she was referring to. Bridget looked over at her friend to gauge if the other girl was curious too.