By Indu Kumar
“Are the daffodils still swaying Mother?
And can you see the blue tit? “Angelica was excited. ”I can even hear a chaffinch nearby? Over there!” She pointed in the direction of the call.
Margaret’s eyes misted. She swallowed the tears and composed herself before replying. Her voice trembled.
“Yes dear they are dancing. Happily dancing. Can’t see the birds though. You know I am no good at spotting them.”
Angelica smiled at the memory. Her mother was always the last to spot them.
The warmth gradually swept onto the meadow . The fluffy cotton clouds gracefully glided away exposing the midday sun, glowing brightly and ending the earlier Spring chill.
The host of yellow daffodils danced in the gentle breeze. The breathtaking tulips in vivid colours of deep purple, soft pink, yellow and white were in the field in oval, triangle ,square and rectangle shaped lawns.
The intoxicating scent of the hyacinths filled the air. They were in rows of vibrant colours of purple and pink and blue and white with a spectacular contrasting effect.
The clear endless blue sky provided the perfect back ground and completed the picture.
But Angelica did not see any of this.
She had lost her eyesight!
Margaret did her best to describe nature’s mesmerising splash of colours in front of them.
She watched with a heavy heart as Angelica took in deep breaths to savour the intoxicating scent.
It was in December that everything changed.
Angelica was home for Christmas . It was her first year at Cambridge university studying Biology.
She was complaining of frequent headaches during classes which she put down to the stress of moving away from home.
On Christmas Eve she was coming down the stairs when she collapsed.The concerned parents took her to the nearby hospital.
“Just to make sure“ her dad said. The blood tests were inconclusive and she was sent for some scans.
Soon the doctor sat them all in a quiet room. He had a grim look. His face said it all . Something was seriously wrong.
“Angelica had an inoperable brain tumour. Too late for any treatment” he continued in a subdued sympathetic voice.
She had 2 months.
They were grief stricken and numb. Couldn’t take it all in.
“This can’t be happening. Why us?”
Surprisingly Angelica was the brave one.
They decorated the Christmas tree together with trimmings and the brightest star.
After that Angelica quickly went downhill. But her spirits remained high.
Margaret took her to the nearby tulip fields everyday.
Spring was flying by.
And Angelica battled on.
“Nobody knows when our time is up” the doctors had said.
Today Margaret gently wrapped a blanket on Angelica’s legs and drove her to the tulips field.
“Are they still dancing mother?” Angelica’s voice was weak.
Quickly wiping away her tears Margaret lied.
“Yes dear” she said looking at the wilting flowers, petals falling and fading colours.
They were ready to be dug out.
Their life, too, was nearly over.
Author Bio:
I started writing seriously after retiring from a busy job in the hospital in Yorkshire UK. I often enter short story competitions and self published a short stories book last year . Our creative writing group is working on an anthology with stories written by the group to be published in the next few months .
I love writing for this website and also reading their published stories . I started sending my stories here a months back . You always receive positive encouraging feedback giving you the incentive to continue writing.
Their illustrations are superb and “spot on”.
This story was also a short story competition about “Spring” 500 word limit and was judged by a famous Yorkshire author.
Although I did not win I did get positive feedback.
Contact Author:
Email: Indukmr7@yahoo.co.uk
