I sat on the bench and cried. "Nothing had gone the way I planned. Why did this all have to happen to me? It's not very fair? WHY?!? Didn't I always try to help people? Now, I sit here... alone... cold... I don't know what to do," I stated to no one in particular as the sun was setting. Suddenly, she appeared out of nowhere... or so it appeared. She didn't say a word and she put a single rose down beside me. I could tell she had been crying. I reached out for her, but couldn't find a word to say. She just wiped a tear away from her eye. "Don't forget," she whispered as she faded away right in front of my eyes. I blinked twice and couldn't figure out where she had gone. Where was she now? I felt a sudden chill in the air and the sun disappeared quickly. What had happened? Wasn't she just there? Why was she crying? Those and many more questions flew through my mind. Looking beside me, I saw the rose and thought to myself, "What am I not to forget?" Then, it came to me as a vision. She was sitting on the grass in front of me. "Isn't it a beautiful night," she said with a smile. I nodded. "What's wrong," she asked. I shrugged. "Silly boy, weren't you the one who taught me to enjoy the lil things in life? Life... look at that silly elephant in the clouds," she said pointing up to a cloud trying to block the moon. I looked up and just started to laugh. "See, it does work," she said giggling. I nodded and remembered. Then she disappeared and then reappeared standing with her back towards me. "I don't know... it just seems like everything is coming apart," she said to no one in particular. A shadow version of myself approached her from the right with a single purple rose. "I know... but in times when you forget how beautiful life is, you have to fight to see it. You have to have the passion to keep trying and to try to be happy with what you have. Life isn't fair, but with good friends, you can get through anything. Here, have this," the shadow said to her handing her the purple rose. She looked at it and smiled a little, "Thank you... but why purple?" The shadow wrapped his arms around her and said, "Purple is the color of passion. Never forget the passion one must always have for life even if you face it alone. If you lose the passion and zest for life, then you are nothing anymore." She held him tight crying on his shoulder and they both faded away. I sat there remembering the good and knowing how much more I could have. I picked up the rose and smiled. Wiping away a tear, I smiled and wrote my name in the stars above. There it was again... I will never forget the purple rose... and the passion I will always have for life. Written on June 14, 2006 |
