A Bit of Art & Fiction

Belle Bailey, the woman who ran the Hemp Store, was the one who opened Pandora’s box. The locals called her B.B., which had more to do with the fact that they thought she was a busy body than the idea that they were actually her initials. Everyone in town knew this, except for Belle.

She wasn’t really all that bad. She just had a habit of sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. I felt sorry for her myself. It seemed to me that she took so much interest in other people’s business because she was a lonely person.

She spent some time in California several years prior and ended up at some commune where they made their clothes and grew their own food. When she moved back to town she stood out like a sore thumb. Whispers started going around that she had turned into some kind of hippy. She wore flowers in her hair, and some suspected that she always wore sunglasses because she was smoking something. Then she opened the Hemp Store and it was like she put a nail in her own coffin.

Once talk about her circled around town, people kept their distance. It was also the precise time that Belle began paying more attention to other people’s lives than her own. I was probably the only one who really took an interest in Belle, and I would visit her at the Hemp Store when I was nearby. I happened to be there the day she overheard two customers talking about Fiona’s sterling necklace. Belle’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, and I couldn’t get out of the store fast enough.

Belle never let anything go, and Fiona was an extremely private person, so I knew right then and there that a storm was about to brew.

TO BE CONTINUED

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So, here we are with Part Two of the ongoing story. It’s slow moving, that’s for sure, but I guess it’s all about character building right now. I have to say that I like Belle, and I’m interested to see what she’ll do in part three. I suppose it all depends on the word of the day… so I hope it’s a good one.

I’m using my combo theme once again with my illustration… with real flowers for Belle’s hair décor. That was a fun project!

Anyway, thank you so much for reading.

I hope you enjoyed and I’m looking forward to getting to the real plot soon.

Until next time…
-Janet

Written for the Word of the Day challenge: Hemp

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Part One can be found HERE.