It Truly Was a Starry Night

It Truly Was a Starry Night

by Meredith Lewis

Dedicated to my dad and Granddaddy who gave me my love of writing and of course my mom and sister who support me.

Maple Leaf Writing Project

Brattleboro, VT

Copyright 2019

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One

Date-April 19th 2018- Entry by Calliope Jude- You may not understand what I’m about to say. Many people think I’m crazy or confused. I hope you’re a believer just like I am, in a way of trust. Like “I believe that all the writing in this journal are like puzzle pieces and fit together because they’re supposed to.” or “I trust you that this evidence is real.” But what follows this, I believe, is the full story behind the view of a famous painting: Starry Night. And I believe that my great-great-grandmother is the reason for this curious painting.

Van Gogh painted the view he had from his room. It's said that he was mentally ill, but there’s more behind the story, something that I have proof of.

I’m not totally sure this is real, but I don’t think my great-great grandmother, Anna Jude, would lie in her personal diary. This diary has been passed down through generations, and now the brown battered leather book is in my boney hands. I thought it was too darn special not to have anyone but me know about it.

Date- May 4th 1889- Entry by Anna Jude- Today is a new day. Phew! Yesterday was about one of the worst days since mother died. I know she’s gone and there is nothing I can do about it, but it still hurts. Joseph and I have been caught up in grief ever since the day she got sick. You could tell she wasn’t feeling well, bulging eyes every time she coughed, a green tint to her silky skin.

Yesterday Boswald, the debt collector, came over to bother me about how the hospital needs us to pay Mother’s medical bills. The hospital has been urging us to pay for awhile now. We have the money but we won’t have enough left over for necessities like food. The hospital has even brought the court into it. Boswald said that if we didn’t pay the amount of money due in a month we would have to go to a court hearing. An 18 year old girl and her 17 year old brother shouldn’t have to deal with this! If we refuse to do that we could lose our house. However, Joseph and I are planning to protest. We are not going to court and we are not going to lose our house. We are going to stay in our house until they let it go. There is a chance they are going to begin some type of “war” with us, but we will have to simply risk it. I have my bow and arrow and my brother has his only friend,

the Blacksmith.

Louis, the Blacksmith, is my friend too. He really would do anything for me and my little brother. We go to him whenever we have a problem. He always has an answer.

His shop is down Main Street on the left side with weathered brass trim that he designed, made and put on himself. I just adore it. It looks like waves with a pearl on the tip of each ripple. He himself is not so finely groomed, a scruffy beard, an unkept head of gray hair that goes down to his ears and almost always wears a plaid shirt along with a worn pair of jeans.

Two

Date- May 11th 1889- Entry by Anna Jude- Louis is coming over today. I believe he will be checking my back, like he does every week. No one knows, besides Joseph and Louis, that I have a medical condition which causes a knot in my lower back and could threaten my body’s movement. It may not seem like much, but with all the things I do for this family, like bring five buckets of apples around the village for money or reaching up, up, up to the highest shelf to screw something in, the pain just piles up. One day I might snap under the weight. I wish I could fight that with a bow and arrow. It harms me, my family, and our entire lives. Without me, Joseph would also snap under the weight, though not in the same way.

Date- May 12th 1889- Entry by Anna Jude- Today Louis gave me this locket. It was my mother’s. They were very close and she gave it to him before she passed. It gave her strength and hopefully some to me. I'm quite nervous, but as Louis said when he gave me the locket, “You already are strong Anna, this locket is just a reminder.”

When he gave me the locket, I thought it would be a normal day, but when he strolled up my driveway, and slowly unraveled his hand to reveal that silver heart-shaped locket with a gold edge, it shifted that knot in my back. I don’t know how the locket did it, or if it was my imagination, but all of a sudden I have been feeling like the twisted rope of my spine got unkinked.With a grip of the locket the relief flowed inside my lower back, it gave me hope. Louis said, “the strength and spirit's within.” I think I might know what that means. Maybe that it wasn’t the locket that magically healed my back? Maybe it was just me? Magic isn’t real but, spirit's?

Three

It has been almost 20 days since my last entry. What’s happened today is so vivid in my mind, it feels like it is happening all over again.

“Anna, quick follow me!” screams Joseph. I don’t have time to think about what is happening so I rush to follow my distressed brother.

“What is happening Joseph!”

“We don’t have time to talk. Pick up your feet and HURRY!” Never have I seen Joseph like this before, so disturbed. By this time we are running towards town.

When we get to a huge, marble and oak building, Joseph whispers, “We’re here. Be careful how loud you are. You will see where we're shortly.”

My jaw drops inches when I figure out where we are. “Why have you taken me to the Courthouse?”

Joseph leads me to a door labeled CLEANING STAFF ONLY in bright yellow letters.

“We're not cleaning staff!” I say, “Listen, I don’t want to have to go to court for another thing, like sneaking into the Courthouse!”

“We’re only going to put our heads in and listen to what they are saying,” Joseph says immediately. I make a confused face. “Long story-”

“Make it quick please.”

“I was on my way to Louis’s workshop. I went to the Courthouse to get to Main street. When I was cutting behind the Courthouse I heard a man yelling. I put my ear up to the door and heard two men in an argument about mom and us. I couldn’t help it, I opened the door. Just a crack. There I saw clear as day, Louis,”

“W-why is he here!” I struggle to mouth my words.

“That is why I brought you here!”

“Open the door please.” I'm disappointed and mad. Joseph slowly reaches for the doorknob, twists it and there in front of my eyes is Louis consulting the judge about us.

“You have to watch out for them. Especially Anna. She is smart and has her mother’s fight.” Louis say to one of the judges. I can't believe Louis is on their side.

“Let’s go home. Don’t talk to Louis, okay?” Joseph closes his eyes and nods.

Four

Date- June 2nd 1889- Entry by Anna Jude- Today is the day before the protest. This morning I woke up with a stabbing pain in my back and my hands shaking uncontrollably. I wasn’t exactly conscious of what I was doing, but I thought I would just try the locket. I reached out my hand and grasped the shimmering locket from my bedside table. I couldn’t believe it! Just like before, the pain went away. I don’t know how it does it. All I know is: it was my mother’s, it helps my back, and supposedly “the strength and spirit's within.” What does that mean? I just have to deal with not knowing, I suppose.

After lunch, Joseph walks into the kitchen where I'm sitting. “I want to let you know that I saw Louis at the market earlier today,” he says in a proud voice, “I walked away and said nothing just like you said.”

“Now he will be suspicious! What I meant was-”

“Hello, you two.” It's Louis! Joseph and I look into each other’s eyes. I have to talk to Louis now. “There is a painter down the street named Vincent. I met him at a local art show next to my shop. I see him almost every night painting when I walk up your street. He is looking for something new and intriguing to paint. Like a portrait. I was wondering if you would want to pose to get some extra money?”

“That would be extraordinary! Thank you for telling us,” Joseph says happily.

“Apologies, Louis. We can’t. We have to prepare,” I say with complete confidence trying not to clench my teeth. No way will he ever find out that we know he is going against us!

“Oh. Well, don’t apologize to me. Apologize to him,” Louis laughs to show that he is innocent. I don’t believe him.

Five

Wow. Tonight is the court hearing. The protest is almost here. Joseph and I have locked the house up. Neither a window nor a door is open. I can’t imagine one way that they could get in that we haven’t closed up. Now it comes down to waiting.

I hear a squeak and a thump. They’re here.

Joseph and I quickly scurry into my bedroom and sit on my bed. Louis told us a couple weeks ago that he would be waiting for us at the court. I wonder what he must be thinking right now. Maybe he is thinking, “Where are they? They can’t be late.” Maybe he didn’t know my mom as much as he thinks. Because I know my mom would tell Joseph and me to do what our hearts say and what we think is best. This is what we need to do. I know it.

They keep slamming at the door, yelling, “We know you are in there, come out and we can settle this in court without damage to the house!” Joseph and I are almost in tears. we're scared and lonely without anyone to look towards for help. I have to admit it: I miss Louis. Both Joseph and I need him.

15 minutes. 15 minutes have gone by of the protest. The staff of the court have been pressuring us too much. “Joseph, I know this is a protest but I can't just sit in here when I know I can be out there proving our point and showing what mom would want.”

I sprint to my closet and unravel my bow and arrows from my clothes. We silently creep out the back door. Tip toe with a repeating motion over the green grass. I peep around the corner of the house. No one’s there. My journey to the front lawn begins. I stay close to the ground so if they are still here they won’t see me right away, and I'll have some time to figure out what to do. I have created another repeating motion of: lift, pivet, step. All of this done while squatting. All of a sudden, wham! I clutch my lower back and fall down to the dirt. Joseph runs to my side.

“Anna, what’s wrong?”

“It’s just my back. All I need is my locket. Can you retrieve it for me please?” I say calmly.

“I’ll be right back.” He rushes into the house. I'm now alone, lying on my back in the dewy grass. Looking up to the night sky, it almost seems surreal. The pain overlaps my body as I lift upwards. “Anna, I found it.” Joseph hands me the locket.

“Thank you. Now we will start off up the street,”

“Our street, why?” Joseph questions.

“I heard Louis slip that into the conversation at the court when we were leaving. Well I only heard him say ‘meet me at their street if...’ so he must have known we might do something like this. But that was when we were leaving so I didn’t hear the rest. I figured he meant Rue Etoile,”

“Alright, lets go.”

We run with our feet pounding on the cobblestone. We stop at the corner of our street. “Now we wait,” I say timidly.

We wait and wait and wait.

They've finally come. We see Louis along with some court members.

“Joseph, do exactly what I say because this will be rough.” I take out my bow. At this time it’s almost impossible to see. The only light that guarantees I won’t hit anyone is the stars. I place the arrow directly in the middle of the bow. I bring the bow to eye level, pull back hard as I can, aim… wait. Fire. I look around quickly. Behind an alley there’s a street lamp! “Joseph, take my arrow and light the tip on fire from that torch, I'll aim it at the wall of ivy so we can see better and the court will know not to mess with us.” I hand Joseph my arrow and he gallops to the lamp. I look up and see that Vincent is awake. He looks as if he is setting up to paint just like Louis said. I hide even more in the shadows. I don’t want him to see me. Joseph is back with the arrow. I lift my bow again with the intention to scare the court members. Here we go! Pull back, and….release.

The ivy goes up in flames reaching up almost to the glimmering stars. I look to the window of Vincent. He prepares his palette and begins to stroke the canvas while glaring at the sky. I hear Louis say, “I’ll talk to them.” And the court members along with Louis look around and then leave. “Joseph, we did it,” I whisper.

We head back home in the dim light. Louis is there sitting disappointedly. “You didn’t have to do that, I could’ve helped.”

“You don’t understand. Mother knows we're strong but we couldn’t just give in like that. I had to stand up to them especially with my back. I wanted to show them that I don’t need a locket to do all the work.”

“What do you mean about the locket?”

“You were the one who gave it to me for my back. It shifts my back to make it feel normal again.”.

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“What? I thought it would remind you of your mother and help you feel like you are strong even though your back weakens you.”

“So you are saying that it was my mother’s spirit that made me feel stronger?”

“Precisely.”

“Wait. We still need to know why you were consulting the court members, going behind our backs and saying to watch out for me.”

“Oh my,” he whispers to himself, but I still hear him. “I went to tell them to expect a storm from you and to take it a little easy. You are only kids. Also, I was going to help pay off the dept for you. I was thinking Joseph and you could work off the money I lent to you, at my shop.”

“I'm so deeply sorry Louis.” I'm so ashamed of myself. “So will you still help us with our bills?”

“Of course.” Louis opens up his arms and embraces Joseph and me.

Six

Date- June 8th 1889- Entry by Anna Jude- Finally my brother and I are caught up with all of our bills. It took awhile but we have made it. We cleared the air with the hospital and court, well on our way to being in beautiful shape financially. What we did may not have been the right decision but I'm quite positive that my mother would be proud of Joseph and me. Louis, however, we did misunderstand, he was on our side and we unfortunately missed out on the portrait Vincent Van Gogh would have done of us.

Date- February 17th almost a year later- Entry by Anna Jude- I went to see some of Vincent’s work. One of the paintings I particularly liked, was of the flames reaching up over the night sky when I shot my bow and arrow into the ivy. It was of the hard part of the protest. The painting is called Starry Night. That painting I'll never forget. And all of this I wouldn’t have been able to do without Joseph, Louis, my bow, and Mother.

Date- April 19th 2018- Entry by Calliope Jude- My great-great grandmother Anna Jude, was one brave soul. I know that for sure. I also know that she was kind and generous although it may not seem like that. She stayed true to her family when they needed it most. She is and always will be my hero. This story isn’t necessarily about the painting, it's about Anna Jude. Her story and how it created the painting. I thought, even though it's the painting that is famous and not her, she should still be known for being the true heart of that painting. Not only were those spreading rose red flames that spread wide across those grass green vines of ivy, made of spirit and strength they were flames of her emotions. It was her feelings toward her mother’s death reaching out of that bow. And those stars. Those stars in that painting, each single one of them came out for Anna and her love for her mother and

it truly was a Starry, Starry Night.