Maia Foster O'Neal

comics, crafts, feelings

Harebells

Page 1 Three horizontal panels split the page into thirds. This page is primarily painted with yellows and blues. In the first panel, an egg is being cracked into a cast iron skillet on a stove, a nearby carton of brown eggs open on the counter nearby. In the second panel, a spatula slides under the fried eggs, preparing to lift them out of the skillet. In the third panel, two light-skinned hands belonging to someone in a blue sweater carry a plate and a bowl. On the plate is a fried egg and toast with orange jam spread on it. A dialogue balloon from someone speaking off-panel reads: “Mama, I can’t eat that! Eggs comes from birds!”
Page 2 Panel 1: Runa, who is 4 years old and wears her hair in two little buns on the top of her head, scowls at her mother, who offers her a bowl and spoon. Runa’s mother has light skin, long blonde hair, and blue eyes. The mother says, “That’s why I made you your very own bowl of oatmeal.” Panel 2: Runa, looking distinctly unappeased, yells: “But I don’t like oatmeal!” Panel 3: A more zoomed-out shot of the dining room. 9-year-old Berit sits in a chair at one end of the table, holding her cup in one hand, her plate in front of her. Runa, sitting next to her, is still protesting breakfast. The mother leans over the table with a conciliatory expression on her face. The dad, who has light skin, brown hair, and a scruffy bit of stubble, shuffles in from the kitchen doorway, holding a steaming mug and his own plate of food. Berit says: “Yes you do, you eat oatmeal all the time!” Runa yells, “No!” The mother says, “Is there a topping you’d like to add?” Runa yells again, “No!” Panel 4: Berit offers Runa a small blue ceramic bowl with a lid on it, saying, “Brown sugar?” Runa yells, “No!” Panel 5: Berit quietly takes a bite of her toast while the mother bends down to give a fuming, stubborn Runa a kiss on her head. The mother says, “How about, my little bird, I tell you a story while we eat.”
Page 3 There is only one panel on this page, in the upper left corner. The rest of the page is a loose lilac watercolor splash with a panel-less story that continues from this page onto the next. In the upper left panel, the mother’s head leans in, eyes closed as she begins the story. Illustrations (black linework with white accenting) flow down the page, illustrating the story. The text reads: “Once, there was a girl with long, beautiful hair. One day, she came upon a field of flowers. ‘These would look lovely in my hair’ she thought. When she bent to pick them, a small figure suddenly appeared atop a nearby mound of stones. ‘Please, not the harebells,’ said the stranger. ‘Take this WILD SORREL instead! It will fill your belly.’ ‘No,’ said the girl. How about this LICHEN? It makes a healing tea!’ ‘No,’ said the girl. ‘CROWBERRIES! For crowberry wine!’ ‘No,’ said the girl. And as soon as she picked the harebells…”
Page 4 The purple splash of watercolor containing the fairytale story continues on this page. Then down in the lower right corner are two panels as we return to the breakfast scene in the kitchen. The story text reads: “...the ground began to SHAKE and the stone mound COLLAPSED. ‘You’ve ruined my home!’ shrieked the little figure. TOO LATE, the girl realized that the stranger was HULDUFOLK, one of the hidden people, and she ran home as fast as she could, scattering harebells behind her. But she could not resist keeping one.’ There is one harebell tucked into her hair behind her ear, and her braid extends across the page. The text continues: “when she awoke the next morning, her long, beautiful hair was GONE. It was a very long time until she saw any HULDUFOLK again.” Panel 1: The mother stands up from the table, carrying her empty dishes. Berit, Runa, and the dad all still sit in their chairs. The mother says to the kids, “Okay, girls, I gotta get going. Help your papa clear the table so you have space for crafts.” Panel 2: Runa, holding up her spoon, says, “I want more oatmeal.”
Page 5 Panel 1: An establishing shot shows a birds eye view of a table covered in craft supplies: watercolor palette, glue, construction paper, paint brushes, puff balls, a shaker of glitter, popsicle sticks, markers and crayons, and an open pair of blue children’s safety scissors. A dialogue balloon in the middle of the panel reads: “I had a good idea, huh, Berit?” Panel 2: Runa and Berit are working on a little house made out of cardboard. Runa is sticking something to the roof while Berit paints one side of it green. Both children are smiling as they chat. Runa says, “To make a huldufolk house.” Berit says, “Yeah. Hey, pass me those scissors, they’re not safe for little kids.” Panel 3: Runa crosses her arms stubbornly and scowls up at Berit. “I’m NOT little. Papa taught me how to cut hearts.” Panel 4: Berit throws her hands up in surrender, and rolls her eyes. “Fine. Just be careful.” Panel 5: Runa, looking quite cheerful again, squeezes glue onto the roof of the little cardboard house while Berit looks on, arms crossed. Panel 6: Runa dumps glitter all over the roof. Berit pushes her chair back and stands up in alarm, saying, “That’s too much glitter!” Runa angrily retorts, “It’s beautiful! You never like things to be beautiful!” Panel 7: Berit grips her temples in frustration, yelling, “Aughhh! Runa! Why do you always ruin everything?! Panel 8: Berit, furious, stomps off.
Page 6 Panels 1-4: Berit slams the door behind her, then slowly turns around to look at her reflection in the mirror. A skinny 9-year-old stares back at her, with unsure brown eyes and long unruly brown hair, a baggy green t-shirt, plain jeans, and socks. She seems a little bit uncomfortable, but her expression is subtle. Panel 5: After a “knock knock,” Berit’s mother’s face leans around the doorframe. She says, “Berit? May I come in?” Panel 6: Berit has moved swiftly over to one of the two beds in the room, and sits on the edge, hunching her shoulders awkwardly. The room is mostly purple and pink; the bed closest to the door is a mess of pink and purple blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, and dolls. By contrast, the bed that Berit sits on has pale blue covers and is made up very tidily. There is a window between the two beds, and a little shelf with books and drawers. Berit’s mother pushes open the door and looks in with a kind expression on her face. Panel 7: Berit’s mother sits next to her on the bed, and wraps her arm around Berit’s shoulders. She holds a small green object in her other hand. Berit’s legs are pulled up in front of her, and her body language indicates that she’s still feeling uncomfortable and awkward. Berit’s mother says, “I got you something on my way home from my doctor appointment.” Panel 8: Berit’s hands hold a disposable green point-and-shoot camera. The mother’s dialogue continues: “I know you want a REAL camera –”
Page 7 Panel 1: Berit’s mother now has a more serious expression on her face. Berit is now sitting cross-legged, body language a little more open. Berit’s mother says, “--but until Papa gets a new job, I thought you might like this one.” Panel 2: Berit looks down at the camera in her hands. Panel 3: Berit lifts the camera up and squints through the viewfinder. Panel 4: Berit’s mother now sits slightly further from Berit on the bed, but has turned to face her. She has her hands on her belly, and she’s smiling. She says, “I also got some exciting news at the doctor that I wanted to share with you. Panel 5: Before the mother can continue, Runa slams open the door and comes running into the room, shouting in excitement. She holds a stuffed animal shaped like a puffin, which is twice the size of her head. She exclaims, “Berit, LOOK! Mama got me a puffin because I’m gonna be a big sister just like you! I love him! His name is Lu!” Runa holds up the puffin toy to show Berit, while her mother smiles. Berit’s expression is guarded and unreadable again.
Page 8 Panel 1: It’s bedtime. Runa lays in her bed with the pink covers, admiring her new puffin. Her hair is in two little braids and she’s wearing purple zip-up pajamas. Berit, in her own bed, sits holding a book, but she isn’t reading it – she’s staring off into space. Her hair is wet, having just taken a shower. She wears an oversized white t-shirt. The blinds are closed on the window between the two children, and on the table between their beds sits their little cardboard house. Panel 2: Runa sits up in bed and asks, “Berit, will you read me a story?” Berit, looking back down at her book, answers shortly, “No.” Runa replies, “...Fine. Papa does the voices better anyway.” Panel 3: Runa, puffin still in her arms, glances over in Berit’s direction. Panel 4: Runa climbs out of her covers and crouches on her hands and knees on the bed. She makes another bid for Berit’s attention, this time saying, “Pretend we’re huldufolk, and we found a human baby lost in a sheep field.” Berit, not looking up from her book, says, “Go to sleep, Ru.” Runa whines, “but I’m not sleeeepyyyy!” Panel 5: Berit, losing her temper, shouts, “Aughh! For the last time– I don’t want to play with you!” Panel 6: Berit lays down and flips over in bed so her back is to Runa. Runa sits at the edge of her bed on her knees, clutching her puffin to her chest. Panel 7: Runa lays down under her covers, head on her pillow, hugging her puffin. She holds back tears as she scowls in Berit’s direction.
Page 9 Panel 1: It’s dark in the kids’ bedroom now. Both kids are tucked in their beds, and the little cardboard house sits between them on the table in front of the window. Panel 2: Runa is facing away from Berit now, wide eyes full of tears. She still holds her puffin close to her chest. Panel 3: Runa sits up and looks in Berit’s direction, holding her puffin for comfort. “Berit?” she asks uncertainly. Panel 4: There’s no response from Berit’s bed, where she still lays with her back to Runa. Panels 5-7: Runa’s eyes land on the pair of blue children’s scissors that are laying open next to the little cardboard house. Her eyebrows drop as she gets an idea. Panels 8-10: Fade from a lighter blue to a deep blue as they shrink in size.
Page 10 Panel 1: It’s the next morning. A pillow is covered in strands of hair, and a overlaid on the top is a spikey speech bubble as someone yells “AHHHHHH!” Panel 2: Berit’s reflection in the mirror reveals very unevenly shorn hair, as Berit reaches up in distress to assess the damage. From off-panel, a voice insists, “It wasn’t me! It was the huldufolk!” Panel 2: Berit, with her hands curled into claws in anger, shouts at an equally angry Runa, “You’re such a liar!” Runa yells back, “Am not!” Berit yells, “I hate you!” Runa retorts, “I double hate you!” Panel 3, inset: Their mother peeks around the door as she pushes it open, looking concerned, as she says, “What’s going on in h–?” She stops mid-sentence as soon as she sees Berit’s hair. Panel 4: Berit and Runa stand a little ways apart, Runa a few steps behind Berit. Berit looks furious, hands balled into fists by the waistband of her baggy green pajama pants. Runa, hugging her puffin, looks worried and guilty. Panel 5: The kids stand on the rug in the middle of the room. The tension is immediately diffused as their mother takes charge of the situation. The mother says, “Okay. Runa, with Papa. Berit, let's go to the kitchen. I’ll even out your hair.”
Page 11 Panel 1: An open panel with no frame. Berit sits on a stool, hunched over and still in her pajamas. Her mother, wearing a green sweater and jeans and purple slippers, and with her hair in a braid, holds a pair of scissors as she cuts Berit’s hair. Her mother says, “You have a right to be upset, Berit. Having a new baby in our family will be a big change for all of us. Big changes can mean big feelings, but we will help each other through them.” Panel 2: Berit, with very uneven hair, looks down towards her knees. She says, “Mama, how am I supposed to help Runa be a big sister?” And then, in even smaller text to indicate she’s saying it quietly, she says, “I’m not even good at being a GIRL.” Panel 3: Closeup on her mother’s hands as she holds the scissors and cuts Berit’s hair. Her dialogue balloons say, “You are just right at being YOU, little bear. We don’t need you to be anybody else.” Panel 4: Closeup on Berit’s face as she thinks about this. She seems to be coming to some decision. Panel 5: Berit, with her hair still a mess, looks upwards hopefully. She says, “Mama…? Can you cut it shorter?”
Page 12 Panel 1: A full bleed panel that extends to the edges of the page. Berit, with a short haircut and wearing a green hoodie, leans close to a rock covered in harebells with her camera up to her eyes. A voice from off-panel says, “Sorry about your hair, Berit.” Panel 2: Berit turns around to see Runa, in a pink sweater and ruffly purple skirt, standing earnestly and staring up at her. Berit holds her camera in her hands, and Runa’s hands are clasped behind her back. They simply stare at one another for a moment. Panel 3: Berit reaches up towards her freshly-shorn hair. She says, “I actually really like that it’s short now.” Panel 4: Berit crosses her arms sternly as she looks down at Runa. Berit says, “But I didn’t like that y– I mean the huldufolk– decided for me.” Panel 5: Runa looks a bit sheepish, and won’t make eye contact with Berit as she speaks. Runa says, “The huldufolk are mostly good but sometimes do bad stuff, huh?” Berit, graciously, responds with, “Yeah. Maybe they’d like it if we finished their house.” Panel 6: This is a long horizontal panel. Silhouette in the foreground are bushes and trees, and the rocks with the harebells growing out of them. At the very edge of the frame, peeking over the edge of the rock, is the shadowy back of a small figure with a little pointy hat, who looks just like the huldufolk from the mother’s breakfast time story. In the midground, Runa and Berit walk away down the neighborhood street, backs to the reader. Runa has her hands up in the air enthusiastically as she exclaims, “We could use your leftover hair to make them a rug!” Berit, holding her camera in one hand, laughs and says, “Where do you even get your ideas, Runa?”