April Comes To Town

To: Sam,

Hope I can read this to you guys soon!

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After a long, cold winter, it was time that April arrived in our village. She marched onto the streets with an umbrella and a rain jacket. Her hair was covered with flower buds, and her green eyes shone like gold when she first arrived.

I saw her once last year, but this year I knew I wanted to talk to her. She looked very friendly and looked only a few years older than I am. I wondered what she was like, so I decided to follow her when she came down my street for a visit. I wasn’t sure if she would even be my friend, but talking to her would be enough.

All the gardeners cheered as April waved back and yelled a big, “Hello!”. She even gave out seeds to grow beautiful plants. She handed out Galiums, Lettuce, Snowdrops, and Daffodils, all of April’s favourite plants! She instructed the villagers that these seeds were magical and must be planted right away.

Many of the villagers scrambled off to their homes, in hopes of growing beautiful plants.

“Don’t forget to cover your plants at night! It can still get cold when I’m around!” April shouted to the scurrying villagers.

As she continued to walk down my street, rain clouds began to form high in the sky. Her nose wiggled softly, and she looked up to the grey sky. April opened her lime green umbrella and danced in the rain.

She did pirouettes and skips as she hummed a lovely tune. I happily waved as she passed by, glad that April visited our village again.

“Hello! I’ve never seen you before,” April shouted as she tiptoed toward me and held out her umbrella. “It's a beautiful April 1st, don’t you think?”

“Of course! Today’s rain feels warmer, and there’s a beautiful smell in the air!” I exclaimed shyly. “I can’t wait to see how you bring spring to the village. My Dad always said that your magic was dangerous, but I think magic is cool!”

April giggled with glee, as she looked up at the gloomy sky.

“With all the rain I bring, I can see why your Dad is scared. But no need to worry, I spent all of my life handling my rain magic. I never hurt anyone, and I never will. Oh, look at the time! I’ll stop by again tomorrow!” April smiled as she carried on with her dancing.

“By the way, my name is Scarlet!” I shouted as April danced down the street.

“Scarlet? That’s a nice name! I’ll see you when I do!” April shouted back, as she turned the corner onto the next street.

For the first two weeks of the new month, April used her handy, green shovel to shovel away the snow. She shovelled all that she could into the sewers or threw salt to wash away the freezing snow.

“No more snowmen, tobogganing, or snow fights. Now, it's the time of year for bike riding, puddle jumps, and mud pies for all!” April hummed as the villagers watched her work.

The crowd of people thanked April, as the last winter we had was a little too cold. Everyone agreed that while it was fun, there were too many blizzards.

"My older sisters January, February, and March sure made a lot of snow this year. Look at the piles they made!" April giggled.

“Hello April! I have an important question for you!” I shouted as I ran toward the girl with flowers in her hair.

“Afternoon to you too, Scarlet! What’s your question?” April smiled as she leaned closer, with her hand next to her ear.

“You said that you had magic, right? How come you can’t use your magic to get rid of the snow?”

“Everyone asks that question, but you’re young so I get it. It’s simple, I don’t have winter magic like my sisters! I am a spring witch, meaning I can bring rain and grow flowers. I’m not as strong as my cousin May. She can make flowers grow like it’s no big deal!” April sighed sadly, “ I wish I could make the snow melt faster, that way everyone can be happy.”

“April, I may not be magical like you, but from what I can tell you’re doing an amazing job. Having magic is already so cool, and you can grow flowers and control the weather!”

My new friend April’s face lit up as she looked toward the sky.

“I can’t melt the snow quickly like I wanted, but that just leaves more days with rain puddles and more room for some hot chocolate!” She declared. “I have to get back to work, but thank you for cheering me up Scarlet”

The last two weeks of April had begun to warm up the village. It was no August, but the warm spring breezes were wonderful to feel in the morning. As the sun began to rise, April walked down my street.

“Good morning April!” I shouted as I ran past my front door.

“Hi Scarlet! Wait a minute, I’m watering the last of the plants!”

I decided to wait by the bench in front of my house. I looked over toward April who skipped as she watered all of the plants in every garden on my street. As she finished up, she ran toward me.

“I’m done! In fact, this is my last day so I really am done for the year!” April cheered.

She sat down on the green bench and sat beside me. The sky looked clear and the breezes were gentle as can be.

“So April, today’s your last day? Could I ask you for a favour then?” I asked as nicely as I could.

“Whatever could it be, Scarlet?”

“Before you leave, I have one question for you”

“Go on…”

“Will you be back next year?”

April giggled at my question and nodded her head.

“Of course I will! For hundreds of years I’ve always been visiting this village and plenty of others, I am here to stay every April!”

“That’s great to hear! I thought I’d never see you again because of how busy you are”

“Not a chance! I promise that every April, you will see me. Even as you grow old, I still will be here watering everyone’s flowers and carrying lots of flowers on my head!” April smiled as she looked at the sky.

“Thank you for being my friend April, I’m glad I talked to you this year, I was too shy to say anything last year and stayed inside a lot”

“So that’s why I never saw you before. Well, I’m happy to be your friend too, Scarlet. Well, I have to move on to the next village after this one, after all not every village in the World has seasons at the same time! I’ll see you next year Scarlet! I’m sure my cousin May will love to be your friend too!”

As she said those words, April had turned into a puddle of water and trickled down the streets as fast as she could. I waved as I saw the grey clouds disappear from the sky.

“Scarlet! What are you doing outside this early?”

“Oh, I saw April. She just left the village to bring Spring to the next village.”

“Right. April is certainly a busy little girl. Next time, could you tell me when you’re going outside? Magic is dangerous business after all”

“Magic is strange, but I wouldn't call April dangerous. She’s really cheerful and works hard to make all of us happy.”