The Tower, The Flowers & The Fallen

What happens when a fairy tale gets dropped into the middle of World War 2? Take Rapunzel, now intertwined with the Welsh folklore of the Gwyllion—ethereal forms (spirits, ghosts) that wander by night . . .Autumn of 1940: The War Office requisitioned this remote manor in the countryside of northern Wales. The ancient place was once a convent that miraculously escaped the ravages of Henry VIII. With towers and a courtyard and overgrown herbal gardens, now the manor has only one occupant. It's converted into a military convalescent home. Men who have been horrendously damaged by the war will come for the final months or weeks or days of their lives. Out of sight, so they don't effect morale. But something strange began to occur: Those thought to be terminal began to live instead. Rumors began amongst the damaged men about a wraith from the tower, some vaporous thing floating in and out with no footfall. She didn't always come, but if she came to visit in the dead of night, the man visited would live. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” ~ Winston Churchill, referring to the RAF pilots fending off the Germans in the Battle of Britain “I stand at the altar of murdered men, and, while I live, I fight their cause.” ~ Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursingRead more