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BLOG: A Voice In The World - From the heart of Ginny Dye
April 19, 2013
The Story of the Mirror
People often ask me what inspired the "Mirror" that appears throughout the Bregdan Chronicles. I love this story...
It was a warm Spring day in the countryside outside Richmond, VA, where I lived at the time. A friend, Bobbie, had come to visit for the weekend so I decided it was time for an exploration party. We jumped in my truck and worked to become "lost". It's still one of my favorite things to do...
I head into unknown territory and simply drive - going wherever the road takes me. I figure I can always ask someone I see how to find my way back to civilization. :) So, anyway, back to Virginia... It's very easy to get lost in the wooded back roads that crisscross the countryside.
We were having a wonderful time roaming through the country, admiring the profusion of dogwoods and azaleas that were in full bloom everywhere.
Suddenly I slammed on my brakes and threw the truck into reverse. I'd found what I'd been looking for all along...
"What are you doing?" Bobbie asked, looking slightly alarmed.
I smiled as I stopped next to a driveway and turned in. "We're going down here!" As soon as I'd seen the long, asphalt driveway lined with glimmering maple trees, with soybean fields stretching out on either side, I knew I had to go.
"Do you know these people?" Bobbie sputtered.
"Not yet!" I responded cheerfully, craning my neck to take in the beauty of dozens of deer roaming through the fields. Wow! There had to be a story in this.
Bobbie was definitely alarmed now... "What do you mean, not yet? You can't just drive up to someone's house!"
"Sure you can!" I grinned at her. "I do it all the time. Don't worry; everything will be fine. I just know this has got to be a fabulous place and I want to meet whoever lives here!"
I laughed at her expression. "Honest. I do this all over the country. I've met some really great people. No one has shot me yet. You're going to love it!"
"I obviously don't have a choice," she grumbled, her face saying she was completely unconvinced. She opened her mouth to say more, but her words faded off in a gasp as we rounded the last curve. "Wow!"
"Wow! is right..." I murmured as a huge old brick mansion, embraced by even bigger oak trees, appeared before us. Azaleas and dogwoods lent bright spots of color, but it was the peacocks...
"Peacocks!" Bobbie exclaimed. "There must be dozens of peacocks!"
She was right. They were everywhere, there brightly colored fantails all flaring out as we drove up. I wasn't sure whether it was safe to get out - I'd never been around peacocks - but now that I'd driven down the drive, I couldn't just sit there. I climbed out of the truck cautiously, grateful that the peacocks kept their distance. I stared around, planning what I would say when I climbed the columned porch.
"What now?" Bobbie asked nervously.
I was saved from answering by a shouted hello in the distance. I turned and watched as an elderly man glided up on his beautiful Tennessee Walker mare. It was easy to tell he was an accomplished horseman. It was also easy to tell he had to be in his 90's. I watched in amazement as he jumped easily off his horse and then turned to face us. "Hello ladies!"
I finally found my voice. "Hello. My name is Ginny. This is Bobbie. We were driving around and saw your driveway. I knew right away that I had to meet whoever lives in such an amazing place. So here we are!" I smiled brightly. This intro had never failed me.
It worked this time, too. Michael was delighted to have us as guests. Over the next few minutes we learned he had lived in this home, perched on the banks of the Rappahannock River and built by one of original signers of the Declaration of Independence, for over 50 years. Michael, bored after relinquishing control of all but 3 of his 12 companies (and yes, he was 93!), turned his property into a refuge for deer and peacocks. This man was amazing, and full of fascinating stories.
Finally he said what I had been waiting for him to say. "Would you like to come in my home?" I think I was heading for the stairs before he even quit talking! He laughed and caught up. Bobbie, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, was right on my heels.
Walking into his home was like walking into a museum. The first thing you saw was a rather simple table that held court in the middle of the large foyer. He pointed to it. "That's the table Washington and Cornwallis signed the surrender papers on for the Revolutionary War."
I simply stared at it, for once at a loss for words as my mind spun through the stories hidden in the walls of this home.
But it was when I walked into the study that I was completely bedazzled. As a writer, I was instantly in love with the walls of shelves full of first edition leather books, but it was the mirror...
I walked over and stood before it silently. I'd never
seen anything like it. Free standing. 7 feet tall.
Ornate gold that glimmered in the light filtering into
the study.
Michael walked up behind me. "That's the only piece
left from 5 generations of my family before the Civil
War," he said softly. He ran his hand over the
gleaming gold. "Our family home in Georgia was
destroyed by Sherman when his troops came through. The slaves, knowing how much this mirror meant to my family, hauled it out into the woods and
buried it before Sherman's troops got there.
Everything was destroyed except for this mirror. After
the war, when all the slaves were freed, one of them
came back and led my grandfather to where they
had buried it."
I reached out my hand and stroked it gently. "So
many stories. So many secrets," I murmured.
"Indeed," Michael agreed. "It's been a vital piece
of our family history."
We spent most of the afternoon with Michael,
knowing it was a day we would never forget.
And the mirror lodged itself into a permanent place
in my heart!
The Bregdan Chronicles were not even a thought in
my head on that Spring day. When I began to develop
them I knew the mirror had to play a central role. If you haven't read Storm Clouds Rolling In yet, you still have to discover its secret and just how it plays into all the remaining books! :)
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