Avery made her way back to the Ravenwood house until the town hall meeting that night. With her notebook in hand, she was ready to get back to work on the garden. She had spent the previous day staring at the layout and memorizing the different plants that were contained, confident in her ability to start restoring it to its former glory.
She made her way into the garden and started clearing away all the weeds that she missed the other day as well as the debris that had formed from all of the years of disuse. She struggled a bit to lug out the broken and rotting wooden benches, but she managed to clear them away. Seeing all of the weeds, leaves, and debris cleared gave her an oddly satisfied feeling, she could slowly see the garden starting to come back to life.
As she worked, she couldn't help but think about the upcoming town hall meeting that was taking place later that day. She couldn't wait to learn more about her family's past and the town's history, but she was also nervous to know what she would learn.
She eventually took a break once she started to feel overheated, resting on one of the stone benches that lay under the tree lining. The garden was slowly becoming more and more like a real garden and less like wreckage, causing her to smile.
She soon slowly stood again, making her way over to the fountain. She spent the next few hours scrubbing at the sone of the fountain and benches to clean them, turning them from a dingy yellow or brown back to their nice silver color. She smiled tiredly, wiping the sweat from her forehead. She knew what she still had to do to restore the garden, which was a lot, but she was proud of what she had accomplished so far.
She pulled out her phone to check the time, two hours until the town hall meeting. She smiled and slipped her phone back into her pocket, making her way into the house. She was ready to shower and get ready for the town hall meeting, excited for what she would soon discover.
She spent a long time in the shower, making sure she got off every layer of grime, sweat, and dirt that was stuck to her skin from restoring the garden. But soon she forced herself out of the shower and into a nice outfit before making her way out into town.
She made it into the town hall meeting just before it began, making her way to sit in the back where there were a few open seats left. She sat down and fiddled with the fabric of her shirt, feeling nervous and out of place. She was surrounded by the townspeople of Ravenwood, who were all chatting and laughing as they waited for the meeting to start. That made her feel even more out of place, everyone was such great friends and here she was, an outsider.
The mayor of Ravenwood's son walked up to the podium to begin the meeting. He was a tall man, thinning and balding with age but with a warm smile on his face. He greeted the townspeople warmly, as if they were all great friends. She supposed they all were, everyone but her. He smiled as he looked out among the crowd, "Welcome everyone! Let's start the meeting."
Avery felt her heart begin to race, her palms starting to sweat. She knew that this was her chance to learn more about her family's history and also about the town, but she was nervous that she would learn something that would change the way she thought about everything.
The mayor started to scan the crowd and she watched him anxiously. Soon, his eyes zoned in on her and he smiled, "And today we have a newcomer, Avery Ravenwood has joined us." A murmur was heard from around the room and Avery glanced around nervously.
She could hear the old man in front of her whispering, "A Ravenwood? We haven't seen a new one in years."
The younger lady scolded her young child who was staring and pointing at her, "It isn't nice to look and point, stop that!"
The two people that sat around Avery seemed to scoot away from her a tiny bit, but she was hoping that she was only imagining that one. Although the room seemed to have a negative reaction to her arrival and presence in the room, the mayor gave her a warm smile, "As part of the town welcoming meeting, I will recite to you our town's great history."
Avery slowly nodded, leaning forward a bit. She was ready to learn all of it, her notebook rested in her lap so she could take notes.
The mayor smiled, "Back in the early 1800s, this town was nothing more than a few small houses and one little shop. But then the town started to grow when the early Ravenwood family migrated to this part of the country. They set up camp, making and building small homes for their large family. They made a profit out of selling wood that they made from trees and building houses. Soon the better part of the family started to leave to go and do bigger and better things, but our town still started to grow. In the 1860s, we were officially named a town, which we named Ravenwood after the family that helped it all become possible. Soon, the houses that were built became grander, and our main town was built, bringing in more business. We have been a thriving small community ever since."
Avery was nodding along as the mayor spoke, jotting down notes as he went on. So her family was the founder of the town, that was why it was named after them. But if her family was the cause of the town, how did their family image crash and burn so hard?
As the mayor finished speaking, he opened up the floor for anyone to ask questions or if anyone had any comments. Avery waited nervously, her hand twitching a bit at her side. She didn't know if she should speak up or not, she wanted her questions answered but she did not want to be scrutinized.
A middle-aged woman from the front row raised her hand. When the mayor motioned to her, she stood up and pointed to Avery, "I have a question for the new girl."
The mayor nodded, "Go on."
"What brings you to Ravenwood, dear? We haven't seen a new Ravenwood in many years." The woman watched her intently, waiting for Avery's response.
Avery felt a surge of anxiety go through her as all of the eyes in the room were now trained on her. She gulped and said softly, "I... um, I inherited the mansion from my grandmother. She wanted me to spend the summer seeing the house." She stared down at her lap, feeling awkward and self-conscious.
The woman nodded understandingly, "Well you picked a good time to come to town. We don't often have newcomers, and we are always happy to welcome new blood. Isn't that right?" The people around the room murmured softly, so the woman asked again, "Isn't that right?" The townspeople nodded and agreed.
Avery smiled politely, she had a feeling this woman was someone of influence in the town. She was grateful, she didn't like the suspicious stares or the nervousness that people got from being around her.
As the meeting continued, Avery listened to the various townspeople that shared stories about her family and the town's history. Many things said were things that she already knew, but she did learn that her great-grandfather had been a prominent businessman and philanthropist before he became a botanist and that her grandmother had been a beloved member of the community.
As the meeting went on, she also heard whispers of a darker side to her family's history, rumors of scandals and secrets that had been buried for generations. Avery couldn't help but feel a growing sense of curiosity and unease at the thought of uncovering these secrets. No one would give her real answers when she asked, but she could hear the murmurs and whispers of a dark past that had plagued her family name.
As the meeting finally came to a close, Avery stood up to leave, feeling overwhelmed by everything she had learned. She also felt a bit frustrated, she didn't learn anything of good use that could help her uncover her family's dark past. She stood up and made her way towards the door. But as she reached the door, a hand touched her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise.
She whirled around but calmed down when she saw the man that was feeding the pigeons the day before. She gave him a soft smile, "Oh, hello."
"Hello there, dearie," the old man gave her a soft smile. "I saw you sitting there by yourself and thought I'd come to say hi. Did you learn anything interesting at the meeting?"
Avery smiled softly, "Yeah, I learned a lot about my family and the town's history. It's all so fascinating, but also a bit overwhelming. I just wish I could learn more about the dark past of my family, not the happy past. I can hear the whispers, but no one will give me answers."
The old man pat her on the back comfortingly, "Don't worry, dearie, you'll get used to it all and it will become less overwhelming. Ravenwood has a way of drawing you in and making you a part of its history. Just remember, there's always more to the story than what's on the surface, and you will soon uncover everything that you are wanting to learn." He slipped out of the meeting.
Avery nodded, watching the old man leave. She felt a sense of dread but also a sense of determination to uncover the secrets of Ravenwood and her family's past. She left the town hall meeting, feeling like she was on the brink of discovering something truly extraordinary.