A collection of short stories

Summer blossom

Anna sat in her attic, staring out of the window blankly. The sky was crystal-blue , the laugher of children was heard, but none of it made her feel cheery. She was left out in this freezingly cold winter and perhaps she wanted to just be alone.

When all students went off to school, when the crowd vanished, Anna no longer felt distressful. Grabbing a velvet coat with thin fabrics, she frantically went down the narrow, dusky stairs to buy medicine for her only beloved mother.

Her mother was a fragile woman, she was once strong but then her strength was gone in the waves of turmoil and terror of aging. Anna knew they didn't have enough money to heal her mum, but she just couldn't sit there and did nothing, watching the only one she valued crumple into fathomless death.

The trees was shivering with intense movement, the wind from the Northern east seemed to shatter her hopeless, teary soul and heart.

But no, despite the unbearable fact that the world was giving up on her, despite the coldness which set her in agony, despite her soul was fatigued and was swelled with tormenting pain, she was never ever going to give up.

Up the hills went the young determining girl. Down the villages was where the rich and poor lived. She had seen the beauty of the crystal twinkling down the surface of the tranquil frozen lake, the breathtaking curve of the ridges from the evergreen mountains. These were her only treasures, the gifts given by the nature.

But the universe hadn't been fair to her.

The young girl who was supposed to live as a merry soul, the innocent girl who deserved love and all kind of endearments. Yet, the burden of  her mother's sickness had compressed felicity into hatred, the shining glee on her face was then replaced by a bitter scowl.

"Are...are there any medicines here?" Shuddering in immense coldness, Anna asked the saleswoman once she stepped into the tiny shop in the village.

"Oh yes, yes, yes." The old saleswoman ambled towards a shelf.

"There. " She handed over the transparent package to Anna, with a warm glow of smile lit upon her withered face.

What? Is this even called 'medicine'-drug or herb used in proper, scientific medical treatment? Examining the 'medicine' the saleswoman gave her with a low priced tag hanging loosely at the end of the transparent package , Anna couldn't bring herself into believing the effectiveness of that thing . It was a dried summer blossom, sparkled with some kind of weird substances. Some... enchanted sprinkles. Glittering, shimmering with faint dim light.

Whatever, at least it's something affordable. Sighing heavily, she shoved it into her cabinet and soon, forgot about it.

As winter passed, the nice breeze against her face with the lingering perfume of blossoms told her that summer had arrived. She heard the faint sound of chirping above and saw birds soaring across the sky. The warm gentle sun shone on her, filling her body with warmth but she took no notion of it for the beauty was too great to bear. Her mother's illness was worsening and every time, and her heart ached badly when she stared into her mother's dull, empty eyes.

This summer MUST NOT be the last one she devours. Anna muttered underneath her breath.

There was nothing left to try out but the 'medicine' she bought last season. With a hint of antsy, excitement, hope, courage and doubt , Anna boiled it with swirling pool of water and watched anxiously as her mother gulped down the liquid.

For once, Anna's mother could stand up by her own; for once, her face's brightened up with relief and relaxation; for once in these years, could they walked hands-in-hands in the waves of yellow cascaded down the grassy slope like so much white water over a rock river bed. The clover and the honey bees who were merrily visiting each flower were seen in delight.

One little flower nodded in the delicate breeze as the crickets hummed melodically. Anna picked it up, and she knew she had to treasure what she had been given even if it is just a teensy weeny floret.