Willow: A New Musical

what could’ve been

WILLOW: A NEW MUSICAL DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. This is only a reupload of the soundtrack.
GO TO THIS WEBSITE TO LEARN ABOUT AVERNO AND THE ORIGINAL CREATORS:
https://exverno.carrd.co/

On the old Anderson farm on the outskirts of Averno sits a willow tree so tall that when sitting beneath it, you can barely see the stars. If you asked Beatrice Anderson how long it had been there, she would probably just shrug- or say something about sticking your nose in other peoples beeswax. The willow was a part of the land, permanent and steady and a little mysterious, as all things are that grow without permission.

When we first meet the willow tree it is surrounded by creatures less permanent,  though perhaps more mysterious than trees- Adelaide, Beatrice, Cassia, Grace, and Meg. They don’t know each other yet- but this summer, all of that will change.

Sweet Willow || Willow: A New Musical

WILLOW: A NEW MUSICAL DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. This is only a reupload of the soundtrack.
GO TO THIS WEBSITE TO LEARN ABOUT AVERNO AND THE ORIGINAL CREATORS:
https://exverno.carrd.co/

Adelaide is a Good Southern Lady. She got her first job when she was 15, bringing coffee to the men in Averno’s only bank. By the time she was 20, she was a teller. She married a good man, Daniel, and got a  townhouse and had 4 lovely children. She worked hard for her whole life- they even saved enough to take a vacation to Majorca in ‘73. Her children went to great schools (except Amy) and settled down and had kids of their own (except Amy). When her husband died last year, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone. He had lived well, and they had had a good life together.

As she walks home from church one Sunday morning, she watches the flowers blooming. She remarks to herself that they’re late this year (as Daniel isn’t around to remark to), and then realizes something- she’s walked on this same path every year for 70 years. She knows when the magnolias are late for the season. And she has no one to tell. Suddenly she is angry- or at least, riled. She doesn’t know what she wants for the rest of her life, but it isn’t to talk to thin air about late-blooming magnolias. She wants- well, something. Something new. So she steps off the path.

And that is how she finds herself bumping into Beatrice while accidentally trespassing on the Anderson farm in her sensible heels.

Adelaide's Path || Willow: A New Musical

WILLOW: A NEW MUSICAL DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. This is only a reupload of the soundtrack.
GO TO THIS WEBSITE TO LEARN ABOUT AVERNO AND THE ORIGINAL CREATORS:
https://exverno.carrd.co/

Grace has known about the willow tree since she was 14. 


——— TRIGGER WARNING: SUBSTANCE AB//SE, MENTION OF S//ICIDE ———


|||At this point she’s lost count of how many empty whiskey bottles she’s hung from its branches. She comes to the tree to get trashed, occasionally yell at the moon, and often to yell at her girlfriend. It isn’t always clear who is to blame for the disastrous relationship, but tonight her girlfriend threatened to commit suicide if Grace didn’t stop drinking.|||

The cops were called, the parents roped in, and all in all, Grace is feeling more than a little done with humanity. She and her trusty bottle of whiskey are about to make a night of it- until she hears someone coming. She ducks behind the tree as Cassia enters.

Twister || Willow: A New Musical

WILLOW: A NEW MUSICAL DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. This is only a reupload of the soundtrack.
GO TO THIS WEBSITE TO LEARN ABOUT AVERNO AND THE ORIGINAL CREATORS:
https://exverno.carrd.co/

Cassia is one of the Wild Ones- the children who are stolen away out of abusive/ neglectful homes in Averno and brought to the forest where they are raised by the Shadow Mothers. The Wild Ones are the Lost Boys of the forest, living in clubhouses of rusted metal, drinking mugwort tea and hunting deer in the predawn light, wild. 

But every Wild One must make a choice when they become an adult- leave the forest or follow the path of (eventually) becoming a Shadow Mother. Cassia made her choice long ago- she stayed in the forest, raised the other children, stayed in the twilight zone of her late-teens for a hundred years. 
She should have become a Shadow Mother long ago, but she always told herself she could wait just one more summer. But tonight, she has made up her mind. It is time. She goes to the edge of the forest for one last glance at the stars- and runs into Grace. 

Perhaps, Cassia thinks, death could wait one more night.

A Meeting Under the Willow Tree || Willow: A New Musical

WILLOW: A NEW MUSICAL DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. This is only a reupload of the soundtrack.
GO TO THIS WEBSITE TO LEARN ABOUT AVERNO AND THE ORIGINAL CREATORS:
https://exverno.carrd.co/

Cassia didn’t plan on meeting a pretty girl the day she was supposed to die. After a hundred years, she should know better than to allow herself to be weak like that. She is a ticking time bomb, she is dangerous- and she might be in love. Beneath the willow tree, she convinces herself of what she already knows- that if she lets herself fall for Grace, and, more importantly, if Grace falls for her, all that can come of it is pain. 

But then Grace returns and asks if Cassia can sit with her a while, Cassia can’t say no.

Selfish || Willow: A New Musical

WILLOW: A NEW MUSICAL DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. This is only a reupload of the soundtrack.
GO TO THIS WEBSITE TO LEARN ABOUT AVERNO AND THE ORIGINAL CREATORS:
https://exverno.carrd.co/

Grace asks Cassia to be her girlfriend.

Grace knows something is going on with Cassia. Whenever she tries to kiss her, it’s like there’s a wall. Like if she kisses back, secrets will slip out. 
But in the end, it’s hard to argue when you’re so damn in love. At the peak of summer, they go down to pick raspberries by the base of the willow tree, and Grace thinks life can’t get much better.

Adelaide arrives at the tree early and gets a call from her doctor. When Beatrice arrives, she asks what’s wrong. Adelaide can’t bring herself to say.

|||Adelaide tells Beatrice about the cancer.|||

Lovers' Quartet || Willow: A New Musical

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