Once there was a young girl named Ivy who lived in a small cottage at the edge of a dark forest. She was a sad girl who lived all alone. There had been a time when she was happy. There had been a time when she lived with her mother and the small cottage was filled with warmth. There had been a time when the two of them would walk through the forest to the sunflower fields and waterfalls. Those were the times when she felt safe and loved.

But then, a terrible plague swept through the village. Ivy and her mother thought they were safe in their small cottage. They thought they could keep the plague out. But they couldn’t. And one night Ivy’s mother caught the dreaded plague and died.

Now, Ivy was a girl who was very close to her mother and she couldn’t accept that her mother was gone. Because of the plague, there had been no funeral. No chance for a final goodbye. Her grief paralyzed her and held her captive in the cottage. She hadn’t left the cottage in months.

One day, a white dove appeared tapping on her window. The tapping was so insistent that Ivy had to let the dove in.

“Hello Ivy. It is nice to meet you. I have heard so much about you.” The dove said. “Who are you?” Ivy asked timidly.
“That is unimportant Ivy, my dear. I am here to help.” The dove exclaimed.
“I do not want your help. You can not help me.” Ivy said.

“But I can help because I can show you your mother.” The dove blurted out with excitement. Ivy paused.

“You can’t do that because she is dead,” Ivy said.

“Why, I wouldn’t be so quick to doubt. You can stay here and live in this cottage forever or you can come with me in search of your mother.” The dove responded.

Ivy was so desperate to see her mother that she agreed to follow the dove. At once, Ivy and the dove set out into the forest. They walked along the old stone path and didn’t stop until they reached a waterfall. The waterfall poured over the hills and flowed into a small stream which lay right below Ivy’s feet.

“Is my mother still alive? Is she here?” Ivy asked anxiously.

“Let us go and see.” The dove responded.
Together, they searched around the waterfall but there was no trace of Ivy’s mother.

“My mother is not here. You promised I would see her” Ivy remarked.

“Ah, I must have been mistaken. Follow me.” The dove said without pause. Together, Ivy and the dove went back along the path until they reached Ivy’s cottage.

“Is my mother living in my own home?” Ivy asked. She was starting to doubt the dove.

The dove answered with the same reply, “let us go and see.”
Ivy and the dove entered her home but alas there was no trace of Ivy’s mother. Now, Ivy was starting to become angry because the dove deceived her twice.

“I will not go on any longer.” Ivy said firmly.

“I am terribly sorry. I will show you one last place, and I promise she will be there.” The dove apologized.

Although Ivy did not want to continue with the dove, she decided to follow him one last time. Together, they went back along the path until they reached a field of sunflowers. Again, Ivy saw that her mother was not there.

“You promised my mother would be here and she is not. I am leaving.” Ivy yelled.

“Wait. Don’t you see. Your mother is here. She is everywhere and she has been everywhere we have been today.” The dove exclaimed.

At that moment, Ivy looked at the field of sunflowers and remembered her mother’s love for them. She remembered her mother in her old home and she remembered hiking with her mother to watch the waterfall. Ivy realized that the dove was right.

Her grief was keeping her in the darkness. It prevented her from seeing the light and the beautiful truth. Her mother was everywhere and she would be with her forever.

Ivy was now free to return to her old cottage where she lived happily ever after free from the burden of grief.