away any pests that found their way past the tall, intricate latticework of
fencing that protected her safe haven from the outside world. Oftentimes
in spring, Mrs. Landry would sprawl out underneath one of the massive,
blooming trees in her backyard, her golden hair falling across her face
as she hunched over a book, reading aloud to the lost souls that rested
beneath her garden of yellow zinnias, daisies and chrysanthemums. A
nosy neighbor would notice that the only works Mrs. Landry would read
would be children’s novels: The Little Glass Slipper by Charles Perrault,
Madeline’s Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans, Song of the Swallows by Leo
Politi.
Mrs. Landry loved every sprig, seedling and budding bloom in
her entourage of plants.
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