~An Imperial Affliction~

Tulips

May 2nd, 2011~

My mother had a certain love for flowers, but tulips were her absolute favorite by far. The tulips were everywhere. Red tulips out in the garden, yellow tulips inside the house, and orange tulips in the front of our house in the entryway. In our backyard, there were plants of all sorts, you name it, she had planted it. And in the very center of the beauty, was a a brick wall which held hundreds of tulips inside. Our house was small, but my mother's garden was humungous! My mother only plants tulips when something "life changing" happens. For example; when she had gotten married, when I was born, when my grandmother passed, when I had gotten sick the first time, and when I had gotten sick for the second time. Now, as I watched out my bedroom window, my mom was planting yet another yellow tulip to resemble that my father, her love, was gone. She always looked so pretty, especially out in her garden. My mother was sitting on the ground, surrounded by flowers of all sort such as roses, lilies, sunflowers, poppies, and orchids. There were trees tucked into the chocolate looking dirt, like a child tucked into bed. My winsome mother wore a salmon colored dress that was decorated with flowers all around it. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a braid, although some strands of hair had come loose, which fell in her face. On top of her hair, she had a sun hat, placed perfectly on her head. On the hat, there was a pink ribbon that corresponded with her dress. The ribbon wrapped around the brim of the hat and placed upon the ribbon was one of her flowers that was a shaded yellow. While staring at her, I couldn't believe we were related. I looked nothing like my mother.

I resembled my father mostly. He had wavy, dark brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes. He was tall and his face was heart shaped. His nose was thin and his lips were just the right size. His skin was soft and very pale. All matching my look. Out personalities were similar as well. We both kept to ourselves and we both shared a love for reading and art. He was a musician-a very good one I might add, however I am not musically talented like him, but I adored listening to the music he would play. My could father play all sorts of instruments and he often played classical music, which is my favorite genre of music. He'd do anything to make me happy. Every single morning, he told me that he loved me. And I loved him back. We would run outside together and he would tell me such interesting stories about his life. He was a bit of a goofball when he was in his teenage years, as most boys are, but he would tell the most unbelievable tales about where he had been and what he had seen. He introduced me to all the beauty in life. He told me, like trees, people come and go. He took me to our local park where we would walk together for hours, and while we were there, he showed me a strong tree that stood tall. He told me that in the winter, that magnificent tree would loose all its green colored leaves and die. But, after some time, spring would come, and that tree would grow it leaves back, and become bigger and grander.

I sighed. 'I need to stop moping on about my dad. He's no longer here, remember?' I thought. 'Maybe he'll come back in next spring! Just like the trees.' This thought was absolutely ridiculous, and I felt silly for ever thinking of that. I shook off that thought and tried to find something to distract me. I saw my mother out my bedroom window and decided to go out and help her water the flowers, like I used to when I was younger. She always wanted me to become a gardener just like her, but it never seemed to interest me. I opened the door to our backyard and was instantly greeted by my mother "Oh, hello, honey!" My mother said as she was watering the fruits and vegetables we had.

"Hey mom. Um, do you think I could maybe help water the plants?" I asked. Normally, my mother would never let me near her garden, but oddly enough, she handed me an old watering can and told me I was allowed to help her out. "You may water the tulips for me; I haven't done them yet." I nodded and picked up the can. There was no water in the can so, I had to fill it up with the hose. I walked over to the bright green hose that practically blended in with the grass, and picked it up. I turned the rusted knob and soon, water gushed out of the opening of hose. I heard the water hit the bottom of the can and it made a tapping noise. The watering can soon filled up, so I turned the knob to the left to stop the flow of water. The next step was to pick up the can, but it was too heavy. I attempted to lift it again, but unfortunately, I couldn't. There was no way that I could walk with it. My strength was no more.

My mother looked over to see how I was doing, and gasped at the sight of me struggling. "Oh, Anna! Don't fret, it's all right. I could help if you'd like-" I cut her off and said stupidly "No, mom!" I felt horrible for yelling at her, so I quickly changed my tone of voice and nervously said. "N-no thank you. I can do it myself." Then I put on a fake smile and my mother left to continue her own work. I stopped smiling as soon as she turned away from me, then I tried to figure out how I was going to carry the watering can. I tried to drag the watering can on the ground, trying not to mess up the grass that was perfection. I could hear nothing but my own heartbeat in my ears, and my deep breaths I was taking. 'Huff. Huff. Puff. Huff.' I was halfway to the tulips, but before I could continue, I was completely out of breath.

I got on one knee and gave myself a little pep talk 'You can do this, Anna. Don't give up. I know you can do this' I repeated that a number of times in my mind, and then, I stood up. I wrapped my weak hands around the handle. Then, I slowly made my way to the tulips from afar. 'Come on, Anna. Keep going. You're almost there!" My mind screamed. I began to feel dizzy, but I felt like I had to keep going. Such a simple task, but I could barely complete it.

Step by step, I saw the tulips getting bigger the closer I got. 'One more step and I'm there!' My mind said. I gasped. At last, I had finally made it to my destination. Although, I struggled to pick up the can to water the flowers. My hands shook and my legs wobbled-but what's this? Standing behind me was my mother. She smiled and helped me lift the watering can to water the flowers. Yes! The flowers had received the water that they desperately needed. I imagined the flowers chanting "Oh, thank you, Anna! You have saved us!" I smiled proudly, and then put the empty can down on the soft grass, and then walked off with my mother inside the house.