Chapter 18: Miracles When You Believe  

September 1, 1942

            Today is the day!  I woke up this morning still pretty calm considering everything going on.  I changed into some clothes and went downstairs.  There I found my whole family waiting for me with breakfast on the table.  I noted from the smell it was my favorite breakfast, French toast.  Yum.  French toast is the best food ever.  It is amazing what you can do with stale bread.  Above the table was a sign made out of flowers that said "Congrats Liesl!"  Gretl saw me gazing at the sign. 

            "Sorry Liesl we did not have enough flowers to say, Happy Wedding Day, Liesl."  She said sincerely.  I had to laugh at her.  I bent down and gave her a hug.

            "So you and Marta had something to do with this?"  The girls nodded.  "I love it just the way it is.  Thanks everyone." 

            "Father she is here, can we please eat now?" Kurt asked.  Father nodded and I had to laugh.  Kurt…He it just seems he never changes.  So we ate and ate and talked about what the plan was for today.  We were all going to go down the church and make sure everything was in order.  Then we would eat lunch and the girls would do their hair.  After that we would head for the church to do last minute dress fitting and pictures. 

            We got through everything except for the dress fitting before we ran into a problem.  Everyone's clothes fit except Mother's.  It seemed her waist had grown since yesterday.  Unfortunately for all of us this was a hard dress to do last minute corrections on.  I started to stress out and Mother realized she was the cause of me stressing. 

            "Liesl, listen sweet heart you do not worry about any of this.  Georg and I will just have to go to the market and find an new dress or a seamstress who can make quick corrections."  She said.

            "Yea, but Mother all Father is going to do is laugh at you."  I told her.

            "I know, but that is what is going to have to happen."  She said.  "Georg!"  She called.  He came and entered through the door.

            "Yes my wife what can I do for you?"  He asked politely.

            "Darling our smallest child ruined my dress so I need you to come with me to find a seamstress for it.  You are much better at rushing people along than I am."  She said sweetly.

            "So my love you are telling me you are to fat for your dress, huh?"  He asked smiling.  Mother hit him over the head with nail filer. 

            "Ouch!  Okay, Okay I was just kidding my love.  Let's go and find a seamstress."  He told her putting his arms around her. 

            "One day you will learn to keep those type of thoughts to yourself…my darling husband."  Laughing, they kissed and walked out the door.

            I continued to get ready.  I picked up my silver cross my Mother had given me when I turned twelve.  I strung it around my neck thinking about her.  The new additions to this necklace were two sparkling pairs of sapphire stones on both sides of the cross.  Mother had given them to me.  I wear them on my cross to show my deep love for both of my Mother's.  One who is only here in spirit and the other that influences my decisions everyday.  Everything seemed to be in order.  Soon Father walked back in with a huge smirk on his face.

            "Did they get the dressed fixed?"  I asked him.

            "Yes we did."  He told me laughing.

            "Where is Mother then?"  I asked blankly. 

            "Well your Mother is too embarrassed to come in.  She says perhaps you just want me to give you away.  We dropped her at the house.  She said she will see you at the reception."  He told me.

            "Father!  How could you let her do that?  I am not getting married if…" Louisa cut me off.

            "Liesl, he is just trying to upset you.  Mother is right outside the door."  She tells me.  I open it and Mother smiles and enters the room.  All I can manage to do is glare at Father who is laughing hard by now. 

            "Mother he told me…"

            "I know darling, he is just a pest don't mind him."  Mother told me jokingly.  "Are you about ready Liesl?  We have about five minutes."  I immedianly began to feel light headed.  I walked over to a chair and sat down.  Just as I sat down Rosemarie rushed over to me in her pretty blue dress. 

            "Sissy are you nervous?"  She asked sitting herself on my lap.  I nodded at her.  "Well since you are why don't you sing of your favorite things?  It always makes me feel better."  I glanced over at Gretl who was grinning widely.  She was the one who taught Rosemarie her first song, "My Favorite Things."  Rosemarie fell in love with that song just like Gretl did. 

            "Okay, lets sing."  I told her.  So we began the classic tune that had shaped our whole family and had become somewhat the slogan of our lives.  Soon the whole dressing room was singing.  It made me feel better, while also giving me complete chills because of the striking similarity of what happened at Mother's wedding.  When we were done singing we began to walk out to the back of the church. 

            "Liesl, don't worry my dear, in twenty-four hours it will all be over and you will be happily in Yosemite."  Mother told me.  I smiled as she laughed obviously remembering her wedding too.  I just had to add.

            "That's a wonderful thought.  Now if I can just make it through these twenty four hours."  We both laughed and Mother gave me a hug.

            "I love you Liesl.  I am so proud of you."  She told me.  "You look gorgeous."

            "Thank you…mom.  I love you too."  As I said that Father walked up to us.  He looked up at me with love in his eyes.

            "My Liesl, You look wonderful my daughter.  I can't believe my little girl is getting married."  He started to sniff a little.  I started to get tears in my eyes. 

            "Georg, this is not the time to make her cry.  She will mess up her makeup."  Mother said.  That made us all laugh. 

            "I love you Liesl."  Father said to me. 

            "I love you too Daddy."  I told him hugging him close.  I had not called him dad in a long, long time.  Soon we formed a line to walk down the aisle.  As Mother went to the other side of me, Father began to complain.

            "Wait a minute," He said. "I thought I would get to walk down with my wife, by her."

            "Georg, you are walking by me."  Mother shot back whispering fiercely.

            "Not close enough to you my love." Father said kissing Mother's hand. 

            "Well we just walk down like this, we get to sit together and walk back up the aisle together my love."  Mother told him.  I just rolled my eyes at them realizing they were just as lovesick with each other now as they were the day of their wedding.

            "Maria, remember our wedding?"  Father asked.  Mother smiled at him, their eyes locking on each other.

            "Of course I do, as if it were yesterday."  Mother said looking at Father with all the love in the world in her eyes.  The two of them kissed before I interrupted because we had to walk down the aisle.

            With my wonderful father holding my left hand and my beloved Mother holding my right I walked down the aisle lit with glowing candles and lined with Edelweiss and daisies.  My siblings were all in front of me walking down the long red carpet to the center of the church.  At the center stood my soon to be husband gazing down at me and watching every step I took.  I was nervous with anticipation, but as I was walking a strange calmness came over me.  I was suddenly without a shadow of a doubt calm and collective.  I realized I had all I ever wanted right in this very church.

September 2, 1942

            I realize as I am writing this that I am almost out of space in this journal.  It is strange.  I am going to be out of room as soon as I finish this page on the day after my wedding day.  Maybe it is fate.  I was looking over this journal a little while ago and I can't help but think back to those important years in my life.  I thought my life was perfect then, when I was twelve, but things changed with the death of my Mother.  I thought my life was ruined forever.  No matter what people told me, about God has a reason for everything, I did not believe them.  I was sixteen and our lives were still miserable without Mother.  Then God did something.  He brought a governess that loved us for who we were and taught us, both literally and figuratively to sing again.  In the process she taught Father how to love again and soon they both fell in love with each other.  They were married and we became one happy family.  The Nazis then came and threatened us.  We decided to keep our honor and morals and instead of joining them we escaped.  Eventually we fled to America where we made our home in Stowe, Vermont, which looks strikingly similar to the Austrian Alps.  Our family went on tour in the United States to make money to survive.  We sang music and soon began to realize, much to our surprise, we could impact the world by our singing.  Then Rolfe came to live here and low and behold we were still in love and now we are getting married.  My Family and I will most definitely live happily ever after. 

            It's very funny that our story sounds so interesting.  I mean honestly it could become a movie.  Ha wouldn't that be funny?  I guess our families' saga proves that all things are possible with God.  He always has a plan for us.  It proves that when he closes one door he does open a window. 

            Though the war is still going strong we continue to pray for it to be over with.  Father is talking about starting a relief fund for Austria.  I think it is a wonderful idea and so does Mother.  When we tour this winter we plan to ask for donations.  Mother is thinking of writing a novel on our lives.  I think that is a bit absurd if you ask me.  I mean who would be interested in our little family?  I still ask that same question when I see the crowds lined up to see us sing.  I guess the answer to my question is a lot of people.  Through this God has helped me to realize the love in people's hearts even during a war.  I guess I have had so many lovely people in my life that I see a beacon of hope that somewhere, someday we will all find peace in this world.

            When I said my life was perfect when I was twelve I suppose I was too naïve to know better.  Little did I know that if my Mother had not died I would have never known the most inspirational person in this world.  I love my family dearly and I know that Father is happier than he ever has been before.  I heavily doubted my life could get any better than when I was twelve.  Now I realize though that I was wrong.  The last few years have been absolutely wonderful.  I loved watching Father and Mother fall more deeply in love with each other with each passing day.  I am positive that they will continue that trend.  Rolfe and I decided to build a house just a few miles down the road so I can see my beloved sisters and brothers almost everyday.  I know now that my life is perfect.  I have Rolfe, and my family and I live in this beautiful country where freedom rings loud and clear.  I am so grateful that we let God lead us all to our destiny.  I know now that miracles happen everyday when you believe in God, you just have to know where to look.  As I sit by Bridal Veil Falls with Rolfe I am reminded of how absolutely flawless my life is.  I glance up at the waterfall and see a bird flutter over the rainbow that sits atop the flowing water.  I say a quick prayer to God.

            "Thank you God so much for helping me discover what your will was for me.  I am entirely grateful.  Thanks for giving me the an opportunity to live in this beautiful world, where everyday is full of unexpected miracles."

Fin

Notes:

~I just want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed my story.  Thanks for reading it…it means a lot to me!  I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it!

~I dedicate this story to all the people that have writing TSOM fanfic here.  I also want to thank each and every one of you who has written a fanfic here because all the stories have in some shape or form influenced this one.  They have helped me immensely in understanding characters better and therefore made this story better.  Thanks so much for reading all of this and please please review my last chapter of Liesl's Sixteenth Year!