Page 3 of Forgotten Secrets

“I’m sure ye heard him tellin’ me to hurry.” Morag raised her chin and crossed her arms over her chest. “That is no’ mind readin’. That is common knowledge.”

“Are you so sure? After all, I was in the house, so how would I know these things?”

Morag anxiously glanced over at the gate and then back to Mazelina. “I’m surprised my da hasna forgotten I am even here.” Despair gnawed at her heart as she thought over and over again about the fact that her father had called her Fia. “No one seems to ever remember me.” Anger mixed with grief and despair flowed through her like a raging river.

“They don’t remember you? Is that really what you think?” asked the woman.

“I dinna think it, I ken it.”

Mazelina surveyed Morag, nodding slowly. “If so, then do something that will get you noticed. Then you will never be forgotten.”

“Like what?” Morag held her palms up and shrugged her shoulders, feeling hopeless. “I have no skills except for gossipin’ and that is no’ a skill at all. No one admires a waggin’ tongue.”

“Then turn your vice into a virtue,” Mazelina told her with purpose. “Use your meddling for good instead of bad.”

“Use gossip for guid instead of bad?” Morag pondered the thought. “How? That is no’ possible.”

“Isn’t it?”

It seemed to Morag that instead of answering her questions, the woman only asked questions of her own. That irritated Morag.

“I’ve upset you,” said the woman, as if she knew what Morag were thinking. Either way, Morag needed answers.

“Can ye teach me how to use my gossipin’ for a guid purpose?” Morag asked, wanting to have a mentor of her own. The things Mazelina said sounded crazy but, at the same time, were like words of salvation to Morag’s ears. Perhaps Mazelina could be the answer to Morag’s problems, granting her deepest wishes as well.

“Mayhap I can help,” said the old woman. “If you would like me to.”

“Aye, I do,” Morag answered anxiously.

Mazelina nodded once again. “All right then. In the spring, return to Castle Rothbury and come here to the secret garden to see me. But you cannot tell anyone about our encounter. This is the only way I will help you.”

“Dinna tell anyone?” Morag was so excited that she wanted to shout it to the world.

“Not a soul,” answered Mazelina. “Not your father, and not even your sister or your cousins.”

“No one?” asked Morag once again, feeling the need welling in her chest to tell someone. If she had to keep it to herself she was sure she would explode.

“No one,” repeated Mazelina in a stern voice. “If you tell a soul, I will not help you. Instead, I will leave you and you will never see me again.”

“Nay,” cried Morag, feeling a knot twisting in her stomach. This was something she wanted more than anything. But could she really keep it a secret? It would be torture not to tell her sister and cousins. Aye, it would be the hardest thing she ever did in her life. Still, she had no other choice but to keep it to herself.

“So, then, ye will be my mentor?” Morag’s heart soared. This was what she’d always wanted. Now she would be included and feel like a real member of the secret group. “Ye’ll guide me and teach me how to do great things, the way Imanie taught Fia, Willow, and Maira to do?”

“No one can teach anyone to do great things, Morag. That comes from inside here.” Mazelina tapped her fingers against her chest.

“But I dinna ken how to do important things on my own.”

“You need to have faith in yourself and it will happen in time, just like it did for the others.”

“Can ye teach me how to have faith in myself – like ye said?”

“Are you willing to learn and also to change your ways? After all, your inability to keep a secret might be what’s kept you from believing in yourself all this time. A wagging tongue can cause a lot of damage that, in some cases, can never be reversed.”

Morag thought about all the times she had blurted out secrets that her sister or cousins didn’t want anyone to know. Aye, she supposed she had caused trouble in the past from repeating things she knew or heard. But, perhaps, Mazelina could help her change.

Morag took a deep breath and released it slowly. She had to do this. This was an opportunity that she couldn’t let pass her by. “I ken what ye mean and, aye, I would like to try to change.”

“Trying and doing are not the same. The first steps in understanding yourself are to know what you want and not to let anything keep you from reaching your goal.”