Painted Rooms and Wild Wolves

Not all walls are barriers

Image by Rain Carnation from Pixabay

My mother painted our house to resemble an enchanted wood. The sitting room had a stream which wound its way around behind the fireplace, burbling merrily to itself. There was a small bridge behind the TV cupboard, and the sofas appeared to be set in a sun-dappled glade. The kitchen had distant mountains, snow-capped even in summer, and swaying grass which we could…