(photo: Na’ama Yehuda)
The tallest flowers caught her eye, but it was the withered daffodils that caught her breath and pressed a fist into her heart.
His favorites.
The stalwart sentinels of spring.
Outnumbered now. Outshone. Outdone.
As was he.
After utterly too short a time.
Her throat constricted. A reflex of holding what she’d learned would be a solitary cry.
“Look, Mama!” a child trilled. “The daffodils are tired!”
“Yes, darling,” a woman’s voice returned. “They did excellent work and are resting now, sleeping till next spring.”
Tears slid. It was something he’d say.
She should have known he’d send a messenger.
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers.
Thank you, Rochelle, for using my photo for the prompt this week. And, for all who manage loss, especially of those taken too young in all manners of war – may you know that we remember, and we listen, and we will not forget.
Na'ama Yehuda 
Na’ama Y’karah,
Daffodils bloom for too short a time, don’t they? Despite the fact they’re yellow and not purple they are my favorite flowers. They do go well in an arrangement with lilacs, though. 😉 And your story is a heartbreaker. I’m guessing a mother who’s lost a son or a young widow. Either way, you told a lot of story in few words. And thanks for the beautiful photo. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you, Rochelle. As we commemorate יום הזיכרון and think of the so many lives lost, and those we miss dearly and who live only in our dreams and hearts and souls … the flowers reminded me of exactly the too short a time of some lives. And the beauty we do not forget.
xoxo
Na’ama
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Lovely last line!
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Ah, thanks, Neil! May it bring her succor and hope …
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An excellent story with so much in so few words. Very touching.
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Thank you, Trent! I’m gratified you liked it!
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A lovely photo.
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Thank you, Sadje! Nature did all the hard work.
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That’s true!
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😀
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🌷🌷🌷
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🙂
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Oh, that is heartbreakingly beautiful. Desperate grief with only the consolation of her faith in a messenger’s promise of resurrection. Kudos, Na’ama.
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Thank you, Penny! Either resurrection, or visitation, or remembering … all parts of managing grief. May she receive what succor she needs!
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Touching my heartstrings, with your ending.
Poignant …
Isadora 😎
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Thank you, Isadora! It is a tender day for many, and I’m touched that my words touched another …
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I like how that child spoke his words to her.
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🙂 to her via their mama, yes. Isn’t it fun how the universe can turn sounds around? 🙂
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Heartfelt and touching. Well done.
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Thank you, Iain! Here’s to flowers and children and all beautiful, heart-filling things.
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Devastating when something so beautiful reminds one of such sadness 😦
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Grief can be like that, I believe. When everything is woven into a memory of something and someplace with the someone. And the world is both full of the departed and empty of them.
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Charming. Happy and sad at the same time. Very creative, Na’ama.
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Thanks, Bill. When you can’t decide what flavor to pick, sometimes the best choice is both … 😉
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Sometimes. Yin and yang are everywhere. 🙂
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Indeed! 🙂
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What a beautiful story with so much meaning woven into. Yes, the little things can hit the hardest with sad memories.
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And with good memories, though I think those are easier to manage … 😉
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A tale of mixed emotions. Overhearing the child must have been a moving moment.
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I would think that it was, Keith. And many time when our hearts are tender we can realize or notice things that are meaningful to us, whatever that meaning may be at the moment. 🙂
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So sad, but not hopeless. Lovely use of the flowers to represent life and death, grief and comfort.
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Thanks for this comment, Margaret! Yes, flowers have so many meanings, don’t they?
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simply one of your best. well done.
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Thank you! I’m very pleased you liked it this much!
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Aw. A much-needed change in perspective. Lovely.
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Thank you, Linda! We are complicated things, we humans, aren’t we? 🙂
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It’s always the little things that hit when they’re least expected.
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A lovely piece, full of emotion.
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Thank you!
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