The Sheltered Life of Betsy Parker

by E. David Hopkins

  Carl and Megan's eyes grew wide in amazement.

  “Oh, thank you!” cried Betsy. “Thank you so much for thinking of me. I was wanting to go swimming, but I thought I wouldn't be able to with chlorine in the water.”

  “You are very welcome,” smiled Susan to Betsy. “You seem like such a wonderful little girl. I know you are going to live a good life.”

  Susan led the Parkers to a tennis court.

  “This is where we play tennis,” Susan explained. “We have many rackets, tennis balls, and birdies set up at the side.”

  Then, Susan showed the Parkers a small cabin. It was a pretty, comfortable place. Its walls were made of logs, and there was a cedar smell in the air. It had a quaint kitchen, complete with fridge, stove, table, and a window, with curtains, to view the outdoors. Adjacent to the kitchen were two sets of washrooms, with a bath, shower, and fully functioning toilets.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Parker,” Susan smiled. “Just down the hall, here, is a bedroom for both of you.”

  Across from the parents' room, was a smaller room with an individual bed.

  “You can sleep here, Laura,” explained Susan.

  Over the course of the next fifteen minutes, the Parkers unloaded their supplies. They filled the fridge with their food, set up their toiletries, and filled Betsy's waterbed. Then, they brought the waterbed into the room across from Laura's.

  “Hey, I'm going out!” Betsy called, when the unpacking was done.

  “Me too!” shouted Laura, and Laura pulled off her shoes, socks, pants, underwear, and shirt, and went running out naked, screaming in delight!

  “Hey! Wait for me!” Betsy called after her sister.

  “Come back here!” shouted their mother. “You're not going out without our supervision.”

  But, already, both girls were running and dancing in their bare skin.

  “I love this!” Betsy cried, running around in circles. “I've been wishing I could live, just like this, all my life.”

  “But you do,” Laura corrected her.

  Betsy paid no attention, but took off towards the pool.

  “I'm going to meet some of the other kids at last!” she shouted after Laura.

  “Hey! Wait up!” shouted Carl and Megan together, as they stepped out the cabin door. “We will all go down to the pool together, after we put some sunscreen on Laura.”

  Betsy heard the bit about the sunscreen and stopped dead in her tracks.

  “Should I wear sunscreen too?” inquired Betsy. “Won't the sun burn my skin?”

  “I talked to the doctor,” explained Carl. “He cannot guarantee that sunscreen will be safe on you. I'm sorry Betsy, but you're going to have to limit your time out in the sun, to keep from getting sunburned. You can play in the pool for half an hour, but then, we will ask you to come back into the cabin.”

  Nonetheless, Betsy remained cheerful and eager. “I want to see the pool!” she cried in joy. “Let's go for a swim!”

  The Parkers put sunscreen on Laura, made their way to the pool, Mr. and Mrs. Parker still dressed, with Betsy and Laura in the lead.

  Betsy dipped her feet in the non-chlorinated pool much as she had done in her splash-pool when she was a toddler.

  “I love this,” Betsy beamed. “I'm so happy that the people here are thinking of me.”

  “It's great to see you are enjoying it,” her mother smiled. “I am so glad.”

  Laura stepped into the water and had a little wade. She didn't say anything, but she smiled, and it was obvious that she was enjoying herself.

  Another blonde-haired girl, about Betsy's age, noticed Betsy from the main pool and got out. She walked to Betsy's pool and stepped in.

  “Hey, I've heard of you,” smiled the other girl, with interest and sincerity. “You're Betsy Parker.”

  “I am Betsy,” she beamed. “This is such a wonderful place.”

  “My name is Catherine,” the other girl smiled.

  At that moment, Laura spoke up.

  “I'm Laura! I'm Betsy's sister, and I'll be five in February!”

  “Well, good for you,” Catherine grinned. “I'm eight; eight-and-a-half.”

  At that moment, a dragonfly fell into the water.

  “Don't worry,” Betsy smiled lovingly. “I'll save you.”

  She reached forward and pulled the dragonfly out of the water. It flew off, unharmed.

  “Wow!” cried Catherine. “That was so kind of you. You really have a heart for living things.”

  “I do,” Betsy continued, smiling all the while. “My mom says that, when I was just two, I rescued a fly from a cup of lemonade I was drinking.”

  “That's wonderful,” grinned Catherine. “Betsy, there are some lovely trails in the woods. Would you like to go for a walk there? I've had enough pool.”

  “That would be great,” cried Betsy. “We can go now. I've always wanted to see what it's like in the woods.”

  Betsy turned to her parents.

  “Mom! Dad! Are you coming?”

  “Betsy, Laura is just getting used to the pool.”

  “I'll go,” called Laura. “I want to see the woods too.”

  Laura hurried out of the pool, and faced the grass and trees at the edge of the lawn, like she was eager and ready to go.

  Betsy and Catherine, too, were eager to go for a walk in the woods together. They climbed out of the pool and Catherine's mother turned to Betsy and her parents.

  “My name is Nancy,” she smiled. “I'm Catherine's mom. We live here in Hawaii. We read about this place in a magazine, inquired about it, and here we are. We have found that we love it.”

  “I am so glad,” Carl smiled. “I'm Carl, and this is my wife, Megan. I read about Sunny Palms in a travel brochure when I was looking for somewhere we could take Betsy to meet other people.”

  With their plans all set, Carl, Megan, Betsy, Laura, Nancy and Catherine stepped outside the pool facility and out into the open lawn.

  “You know,” breathed Megan, “I'm getting hot.” Megan removed her shoes, socks and shirt and put them on a nearby rock. Then, she looked down, and with an expression of hesitation and uncertainty in her face, removed her pants and underwear as well.

  “Wow!” cried Carl. “You're bold. You were the one who was the most hesitant to come here.”

  “I feel bold,” Megan announced. “That's why I'm fitting in. I felt really out of place on the pool deck back there.”

  In another minute, Carl was undressed too.

  “This feels really strange,” he commented. “Do you think this is how it feels to be Betsy?”

  “No,” Megan replied. “She's been this way all her life and it's all she ever knows.”

  “Well, looks like we're all set,” Nancy smiled. “Into the woods it is then.”

  They stepped across the grass. It felt smooth and cool under their bare feet.

  “This feels ... weird,” stuttered Megan. “There's a voice inside my head that's telling me 'you need to put some clothes on' but I'm actually finding this quite cool, natural and almost comfortable even. Not sure if I could live my life here, or do this sort of thing every day though.”

  When they reached the borderline of the woods, Betsy ran and jumped in joy. “I have never felt anything like this!” she cried. “This feels amazing!”

  The families found themselves sheltered under a canopy of trees, with a multitude of dividing branches and green leaves overhead. There was a warm breeze in the air that was hugging and caressing them all.

  Here, the grass ended to bring a path of dusty soil under everyone's feet. They took a slow stroll through the first path they could find. The light wind was making the trees sway, giving them a creaking sound, as they sidled back and forth. The wind was rustling the leaves, in a way that sounded as sweet as welcoming chimes.

  Stepping through this forest made them feel like creatures of the woods, a part of nature, happy, serene and pure. A butterfly flitted past and lighted upon a palm leaf.

  For a l
ong time (nobody could know exactly how long, for time seemed to have gone on pause) these six people stepped quietly, and peacefully through the paths in the forests, gazing up into the trees, gazing down the path ahead of them, looking at the bushes around them, and rocks covered in moss. They all remained silent, never saying a word, no one wanting to disturb the peace and freedom of this enchanting forest.

  At some point, they turned around and headed back in the direction they had come, subconsciously, as though the turn-around was a natural part of the walk. When they found themselves back at the green pavilion of the campsite, they were nothing less than thrilled.

  “I loved that walk!” Carl cried. “Thank you for wanting to go for a walk in the woods, Betsy.”

  “You're welcome dad,” Betsy smiled back at him.

  “Did you enjoy that, Betsy?” Catherine asked.

  “I loved it,” Betsy breathed, in peace. “Deep down, this is what I have always wanted, my whole life.”

  “How's your skin feeling, Betsy?” her mother asked her.

  “It's good,” Betsy answered. She looked at her arms and legs to find that they were slightly tanner than normal.

  “Do you want to go inside, to get some shade? You don't want to get sunburned.”

  “I can stay out a bit longer,” Betsy replied. Then, she turned to Catherine.

  “Hey Catherine!” Betsy beamed. “You want to play frisbee?”

  “I love frisbee,” Catherine smiled. “Sure, I'll play with you, Betsy.”

  “Okay!” called Betsy. “Back in a bit.”

  Betsy and her mother returned to the cabin where the Parkers were staying. Betsy pulled her frisbee out of the family's luggage bag, and ran back onto the lawn to play with Catherine.

  With a smile and a giggle on Betsy's face, she threw the frisbee to Catherine. Catherine jumped and caught the frisbee as it sailed to her. Catherine threw the frisbee to her mom, who threw it to Megan, who threw it to Carl, who threw it to Laura, who threw it back to Betsy.

  And so, a pleasurable game of frisbee ensued, with each person running or jumping to catch the spinning disk, before throwing it to another person.

  Even Laura was having a blast. Despite her young age, and short stature, she caught on fast, and was becoming a great catcher and thrower, just like everyone else.

  Soon, it was suppertime. The Parkers headed into their cabin, while Catherine and her mother made their way towards their trailer.

  The Parkers prepared a sumptuous meal of spaghetti and meatballs, which was Betsy's all time favorite meal.

  “You like it here?” Betsy's mother asked.

  “Like it? I love it. I wish I could live here always.”

  Her parents knew this wouldn't be practical, but they smiled and laughed all the same. They gazed at Betsy. When they looked at their daughter, they could see that she was happy and at ease once again.

  ***

  The next day brought more fun adventures: another swim in the little pool with Catherine and another walk in the woods. Then, that afternoon, Susan called all the children in the resort to the patio to make arts and crafts.

  Betsy made a drawing of a sunny sky over a deep blue lake; Laura made some finger-puppets; Catherine made a sock puppet of a dragon.

  “Betsy!” cried Catherine, as she looked at Betsy's drawing. “That is amazing. You can draw very well for your age.”

  “Thanks Catherine,” smiled Betsy.

  The next day was sundae making and a treasure hunt. In all this time, with Betsy staying in the hot, tropical sun, she was noticing something interesting. Although she never put on a dab of sunscreen, her skin was not burning at all. In fact, it had darkened into a rich tan.

  Her parents noticed this also. “Wow Betsy!” Carl grinned at one point. “That's a beautiful tan you're getting there.”

  “It sure is,” Betsy beamed. “And I'm proud of it!”

  Her parents laughed, as Betsy dug into her vanilla sundae, which she had decorated with chocolate sauce, chocolate chips and sprinkles.

  Betsy spent a lot of time with Catherine over the course of her stay. They played tag on the lawn, played in the sprinkler, played hide and seek, and, on the last day of Betsy's stay, just for fun, came over to Catherine's trailer and made another sundae.

  On the last day, before it was time for Betsy to go home, the party of six took one more walk in the woods all together.

  Now, at 3:00 in the afternoon of December 21, Carl turned to Betsy. “We have to go home now. Would you like to say one last goodbye to Catherine?”

  Betsy stepped towards her friend. “I have to go home now, Catherine,” she explained in a joyful voice, mingled with a trace of disappointment at having to leave so soon. “I promise to return when I can.

  “Here,” Betsy smiled. She wrote down her phone number on a piece of paper, and handed it to Catherine. “Please call me sometime.”

  “I will,” beamed Catherine. “You're a great friend, Betsy, and a wonderful child. I look forward to seeing you again.”

  And so, on that day, Betsy Parker and her family returned to the winter land of her home. Betsy, with renewed confidence, asked the Barnes's children to her house every weekend, who were always eager to come and play with her. In fact, Betsy adored the heavenly paradise of Sunny Palms so much that the Parkers returned on Spring Break, then at the beginning of Summer Holidays, then at the end of Summer Holidays, then again during Christmas Holidays. And those journeys, coupled with Betsy's education, was how Betsy thrived year after year after year.

  11 Betsy's Grown-up Home

  Laura was losing interest in Sunny Palms. She had come with the Parkers routinely since their first visit when Betsy was seven. However, when Laura got to be eleven years old, she asked to be left at home, under the care of the Nelsons. Apart from her family, nobody in Laura's milieu took part in nudism, and Laura could not sway any of her friends to give it a try either. Sometimes, she got teased as well.

  “Hey, do your parents have enough money to buy you any clothing?” some children would taunt.

  “You don't still go to that place with your naked sister Betsy, do you?” others chided.

  Laura tried to cope with the teasing. She would inform these children that the people at Sunny Palms were caring and happy, and that it was just a camp site. Despite this, many still laughed at her, and otherwise mocked her. Additionally, more parents were withdrawing their children from Laura's school, for the sole reason that Laura was the sister of the girl who couldn't be clothed.

  And so it happened that Laura no longer wanted to come to Sunny Palms. For the last couple of visits in which Laura came, she seemed quiet, shy, distanced and withdrawn from the other people. Finally, when she was eleven, and it was early June, the beginning of summer vacation, Laura announced, “I won't come to Sunny Palms. None of my friends want to come, kids tease me and I look weird.”

  “Very well,” Megan replied. “We won't force you to come then, if you don't want to.”

  So the Parkers left Laura at home, where the Nelsons supervised her.

  Four years later, when Laura was fifteen, and Betsy was eighteen-and-a-half, Laura turned, once again, towards resenting Betsy. It was a bright, sunny day in July, in their home town, when Laura turned to Betsy and said, “Hey Betsy, can't you move out?”

  “What?” Betsy cried.

  “I don't want you here anymore,” Laura groaned. “You're naked all the time, and it's embarrassing.”

  “But I'm your sister,” protested Betsy. “I have never done anything to hurt you, nor anyone.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” sighed Laura. “Look Betsy, I keep my body to myself; it's private, and that's the way I want it to be. I will only ever share my body with one other person, and that's the man whom I will love, when I meet him, the man I intend to marry. I don't want to be naked around anybody else, I don't want to see anybody else naked either, and that includes you.”

  Betsy let out a sigh of hurt and disa
ppointment. She knew this day was going to come; she could feel it brewing for years. At the same time, Betsy couldn't fathom how she was going to move out. She didn't have a job, nor had she ever had one. Any job that she would be able to undertake would require coming out into the public, into the human world, which was, for Betsy, out of the question. As for education, she was no longer being homeschooled, but, instead, had been watching and listening to her classes over a video link, positioning herself so that only her face was visible from her teachers' end, since her parents had finished teaching her grade seven. Carl and Megan did not possess the qualifications to teach grade eight and beyond, so they started Betsy in a program where the local high school had donated a computer to Betsy, so that she could watch and listen to her teachers on video and submit her homework in an envelope that her parents brought to the school.

  As soon as Betsy began the regular school curriculum, she was a straight-A student, in every subject, in every term, with marks even higher than Laura's. Sometimes, Betsy helped Laura with her homework. Occasionally, a high school student, or two, would be sympathetic enough to come to Betsy's house to visit her. Despite all this, Betsy's schooling was the ultimate ostracizing. Not being able to make friends in the normal way spoiled the satisfaction Betsy would have felt from her academic accomplishments, and she wished that she could, at least once, meet a teacher face-to-face.

  This past year, she had graduated from grade twelve, but she'd had to miss the carpet walk, and the dinner and dance. Her high school diploma was delivered to her in the mail. Over the years, Betsy had taken to listening to the mermaid Ariel's song “Part of Your World.” Betsy sympathized Ariel with every listening to that song, and she felt nothing more than a human Ariel, longing for just one day in the real human world.

  “You love Sunny Palms,” Laura continued. “Perhaps you could move there.”

  “But don't you love me?” Betsy asked.

  “Of course I do, but; oh Betsy, I just want my space. That's all. I want to be able to go about my life without a naked butt in my face.”