By the request of @farmerscats, a one shot that imagines a first Easter egg hunt at Fraser's ridge. Happy Resurrection Sunday everyone. He has risen, indeed!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
“What is Roger Mac about?” She looks up from her sewing. Still not really good at it, it takes concentration. “He seems to be shaping wood into eggs.” Her eyes light up.
“Oh, he is making them!” Her husband looks at her, his eyes crinkled. “Easter eggs for the children to search for.”
“What are you going in about?” He takes a seat beside her.
“A custom from our time. Eggs are boiled, painted before they are hidden for the children to find.”
“Why?” He can’t see wasting perfectly good eggs on such silliness.
“Jamie, you must recall, in our time, eggs were much more available. It was fun for the children. Roger and Bree don’t want Jemmy or the other children, missing out. So he is carving out eggs as they are so dear here. Easter, after services, they will be hidden for the bairns to find.”
“I still can’t see how this makes sense but, as they aren’t using real eggs, I don’t see the harm in it.”
“You will see. It will be a grand time for them.”
The bairns sit, in their best Sunday best, and listen as Roger talks to them about the reason they celebrate Easter. Marsali holds Henri-Christian while Fergus keeps Germain, Joanie, and Feleciti, still.
Besides them, sits Brianna with Jemmy beside her. His grandpere sits on his other side. He is quite well behaved. Claire sits on the other side of Jamie. Behind them, the other residents of the ridge, mostly Protestant though a few Catholics come as it is Easter.
“They came to anoint His body for burial. Quite shocked they were to find the place where they had laid Him empty, at least of Jesus. An angel sat there. “Why do you seek the living among the dead. He is risen as He said He would.” That is what they were told. Can you imagine! They saw Him crucified just three days before. They ken’d He was dead but now they are told He was alive, by an angel no less. Mary of Magdalene, she left weeping. It was hard for her to understand, ye ken. That was until she ran into Jesus Himself. She thought Him the gardener as He hid His true identity from her. That is until He said her name. Then she saw Him!
When God calls your name, you will see Him. You canna help it. Dying He saved us, taken our sin. Raising, He freed us to raise also, into new life, a life lived for and in Him. One day, He will return, He will return and raise us that ken Him, that have really seen Him, into glory with Him.”
He gets a lot of compliments about his sermon. The children, freed from their forced church stillness, are ready to expend their energy. An egg hunt is the perfect thing. Roger and Bree go ahead of the others, to hide the painted wooden eggs. Claire and Jamie walk with an excited Jeremiah. The younger Fraser’s follow behind. “Daddy says her and mama have a special surprise for me and my cousins.”
“Yes, you will have your first Easter egg hunt.” His granny says. His grandpere snorts.
“You don’t like Easter grandpere?”
He lifts the lad onto his shoulders. “I love Easter, my lad, I just don’t understand what hiding and finding eggs has to do with it.”
“I dinna ken either but it sounds like fun.”
They all arrive and Bree hands out woven baskets. “Close as we could get to Easter baskets. No Easter bunny here.” Jamie overhears what she says to her mama.
“What is an Easter Bunny?”
“Well da, it is just a representative of Easter to the children. He leaves a basket full of eggs and sweets for the children to find on Easter morning.”
He shakes his head. “First Santa Claus and now this. Your time sure had a lot of strange things for the bairns.”
Both Claire and Bree laugh.
“Alright, ready to find eggs?” Rodger asks the children. They all jump up and down. “Alright, you find them and place them in your baskets. They are throughout the yard. Now, to the older children, let the younger ones have the ones in plain sight, eh?”
“Very good. Now, go find them.”
They take off at a run. Squeals start echoing back as the young lasses find their first ones. Wee hands pick them up and place them in the baskets. The lads run past them, searching in trees and bushes, cries of triumph echo back as they catch sight of the eggs.
Marsali and Fergus laugh together as they watch their children have so much fun. Roger and Bree hold each other. She has a secret she plans to tell him tomorrow. Her parents stand and watch, smiles on both their faces as their grandchildren have their first Easter egg hunt. Jamie gets it now. They are having fun! Their joy is contagious. Soon everyone is laughing, including Henri-Christian, watching from his mam’s arms. Easter at the Ridge is a success.
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