My mother said I was a late bloomer.
I wasn’t sure what that meant. I
tried to be just like my sisters but even I knew they were more beautiful than
me. Everyone said so. Never chosen. Never picked to be the one. At first I was too little to notice but
mother nature has a way of maturing even the most innocent. My opinion of myself grew as did I. Even though I felt awkward and gangly my
mother said never give up.
I wasn’t sure what that meant. I
tried to be just like my sisters but even I knew they were more beautiful than
me. Everyone said so. Never chosen. Never picked to be the one. At first I was too little to notice but
mother nature has a way of maturing even the most innocent. My opinion of myself grew as did I. Even though I felt awkward and gangly my
mother said never give up.
“Someday you’ll be the one
that is chosen.”
that is chosen.”
In my young mind I said:
“Well, sure no one else will be left.”
“Well, sure no one else will be left.”
My optimism waned that summer
of my awareness of the beauty around me.
Sometimes I pretended it didn’t matter.
I would dance before the oak trees pretending they were giants. When their tops would sway on the summer’s breeze
I just knew they thought me a princess and bowed before me, in respect and
awe. Once in the twilight I began to
hear the song of a whippoorwill. I wanted
to believe it sang a song of love just for me. The fireflies were torches that
led my love to me so I could be chosen. Yet nothing happened.
of my awareness of the beauty around me.
Sometimes I pretended it didn’t matter.
I would dance before the oak trees pretending they were giants. When their tops would sway on the summer’s breeze
I just knew they thought me a princess and bowed before me, in respect and
awe. Once in the twilight I began to
hear the song of a whippoorwill. I wanted
to believe it sang a song of love just for me. The fireflies were torches that
led my love to me so I could be chosen. Yet nothing happened.
Late summer’s rain danced
one day as I hid beneath an oak tree.
I’d given up. I pretended not to care. When the sun burst from behind
the gray clouds I heard him coming. I
looked down at my dark green dress now wet with what I imagined would be
another rejection. I held my head up high feeling a strength in my limbs I
never knew existed. Then there he was,
my prince. He wasn’t as tall as I
thought he’d be and much younger than I’d dreamed. Yet there he stood, smiling at me as if I
were a gift from God.
one day as I hid beneath an oak tree.
I’d given up. I pretended not to care. When the sun burst from behind
the gray clouds I heard him coming. I
looked down at my dark green dress now wet with what I imagined would be
another rejection. I held my head up high feeling a strength in my limbs I
never knew existed. Then there he was,
my prince. He wasn’t as tall as I
thought he’d be and much younger than I’d dreamed. Yet there he stood, smiling at me as if I
were a gift from God.
Then it happened. He chose me! Me! With his firm grasp around
my waist he pulled me up and stared lovingly into my crown. That’s when I heard him say as he released me
from the first petal.
my waist he pulled me up and stared lovingly into my crown. That’s when I heard him say as he released me
from the first petal.
“She loves me. She loves me not.”
*******
Did you guess the ending? Were you surprised?
I wrote this for the Webster County Writing group. Our assignment was to write something concerning nature. Needless to say I put it off to the last minute then realized my computer was very sick. Fortunately I was able to get the virus off thanks to an amazing computer genie. By the time I got my baby home I had two hours to write, cook dinner and finish preparing for today’s yard sale. The above is what I created.