A Whole New World

The gloomy, rainy day seemed to match Kate’s mood. She should have been happy, she was going off to high school for the first time in her life, but she wasn’t excited. She was scared of what the future would hold. Walking into the kitchen where her grandmother was cooking dinner, she took a seat at the island. Her grandmother didn’t look up from the stove when she spoke.

“I know you’re worried Kate, but you’ll be fine.”

Kate sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know Nan, high school is so different from elementary. It’s like a whole different world.”

Her Nanna turned off the stove and wiped her hands on the dishcloth. “If you’re worried about going to a new school, imagine how your ancestor must have felt when coming to Canada from France.”

“What do you mean?” asked Kate.

“Don’t you know about Anne Rivet?” Her grandmother took Kate’s silence as a ‘no’. “Anne Rivet was a Fille du Roi who came over from France after her husband died. Can you just imagine how she must have felt, all alone and so soon after being widowed?”

“Not really, I’ve never been married.”

Nanna beckoned over her shoulder to Kate. “Come on, I think I’ve got her diary here somewhere.”

Kate followed her grandmother into the basement, where Nanna started rummaging through boxes, seemingly looking for something.