Flowers
Do you know how I fell
in love with you? It was not you but the weather that moved my heart. My
So the search began trying to attain my heart’s desires.
I walked and walked across the endless desert until I reached a forest full of
trees. Rivers flowed and birds chirped making the scene a paradise. I looked
down but there was no flower there. I walked and walked again trying to find
the perfect flower. ‘Maybe up in the trees’ I thought. But there were so many,
all standing up so tall and I couldn't just climb any tree. I listened for the
sound of the trees. Minutes passed and it was then when I heard your laughter
among the green colors. I ran. The magnificence of the tree trapped me into a
moment I cannot put into words. Climbed and climbed I did, being ahead of the
next branch and another. What felt like an incessant climbing, had finally come
to an end. I opened my eyes wide but there was no flower there.
Deep with dissatisfaction, I sat for a while and drank
from the river that gently flew, while drinking also the color that filled the
air. The forest was amazing. The cool breeze and sufficient water was too much
compared to the desert. I hoped to bring you here after we've met, after you
receive my flower. Again my search began. I was as swift as a desert kangaroo
rat that was searching for food. “Where is it?” A feeling of frustration
swelled inside me, reaching towards desperation. I began to climb, climb up
towards the high mountain sides to see a better view of the whole forest. I was
with clouds. Only the full view of the majestic forest calmed me down. The sun’s
orange light filled the forest and reached out far, even towards the desert. “Shh
Shh” The sound of a waterfall suddenly grasped my ears. Yes, it was the only
place to find a flower for you and for you only.
Darkness was falling deep into the atmosphere. I had to
run to reach you. So I drenched the flower with water so that it wouldn't die.
I even carried a bowl full of water made by leaves. Running across the
waterfall, pass the trees, and pass the desert, I longed to see you. But I felt
myself get lighter as I reached towards you. The sun kept on moving but I have
forgotten the sense of time. Darkness was dawning upon me.
The blue patches of sky was now grey, the sun to be seen
no more. Even the warmth of the desert seemed to be shaded by the cold. I ran
towards you holding the now dry flower. But you were pale, pale as my flower. I
couldn't believe it… The agony seemed to draw in slowly, love leaving me alone.
I tried to pour water into your dry mouth. But the water was almost empty. It
had spilled during the run. No. This cannot be. She was dying of thirst. The
harsh desert had no mercy.
prayed that I would die instead. I began to stomp my head to the desert sand. Stomp, stomp, stomp. A feeling of weariness sparked throughout my body. My body was one with the desert. My flesh and blood became part of the Turkana Lake, forming the largest lake in the world. And I say to you. My love towards you is as big as this lake. I will never forget you. I will miss you with my life. That’s what I see in my eyes, the loving moment and memory that I saved you.
