Amelia's Garden

Her Garden

This is not just another story; this is the story of Amelia, the blind girl who found her sight. She had always heard about green and blue. In her mind these were beautiful things. Amelia remembers the day that her mother took her daughters soft hand in her own and taught her how to see without the need to have sight.

“Take off your shoes dear.” Her mother said to her and she did so. Her mother led her on again. They wandered out into the yard. The dew soaked grass tickled her feet and she could smell the sweet scent the blooming flowers were giving off. Even though she had been out in their yard many times during her childhood, each day was a new adventure that held so many new sounds and smells.

The blades of grass grazed her feet as if the souls of her feet were being peppered with thousands of soft moist kisses. Due to her eye sight being nonexistent, her other senses immediately honed in on her surroundings. The storm last week had caused a large tree to break, Amelia traced the rough crevasses with her finger tips. The wood was cold to the touch and the grooves in the wood seemed to flow like the tributaries of a river beneath her touch.

“Do you hear that honey? Do you hear the birds singing their sweet songs? They’re singing for you. And do you hear the way the insects sound like they’re applauding? That applause is for you.” She always heard a certain sadness in her mother’s voice but today her voice held another tone. Perhaps it was because her mother could see the wonder that Amelia felt. Even at a young age, when her mother allowed her baby to lay on the fresh grass while she helped the garden grow, Amelia had found serenity outside.

Amelia heard the trickling of the water feature not far from where she was standing beside the fallen branch. She heard the sound of the water pump morph into one of a calming hum. Everything around was so calm in that moment. She felt safe with the sound of nature and with her mother’s steady hand on her back as guidance. She followed the sound of the fountain.

When she reached the feature, she reached out and her finger tips were met with the brisk cold of the concrete. Again, the grooves were easily felt. The fountain felt rough until her hand met the cold refreshing water. Now, it was slippery and smooth.  She allowed her hand to surface again and her fingers danced with the droplets that fell from the top bowl of the fountain. Her mother had always said that her smile shone brighter than the sun when she was in the garden. Amelia knew this was true because she would feel an ache in her chest when she went back into the house but she also felt an ache in her cheeks when spent a large amount of time outdoors. She preferred it when she felt the ache in her cheeks, it made her heart feel light and happy.

Her mother guided to the small bench that was the newest edition of the quaint yard; a cold cement bench that was placed near a bird feeder that attracted birds that brought their unique songs. Her mother sat her down and Amelia could feel the sturdy bench keeping safe from falling and supported her back as she relaxed into the seat.

“Mom, I don’t think I ever want to see.” Amelia knew her mother would feel confused and her suspicion was proven correct when her mother when her mother asked her why she would say such a thing. Amelia’s reply was a simple one; “You see, everything feels so beautiful, smells so fresh and sounds like music, I think the real world would be a disappointment.”

“Amelia, the world is what you make it. It can be a dark and ugly place but it can also be a wonderful place holding life and light. But you don’t realize that sometimes people close their eyes to feel the beauty. You feel the beauty around us each day and it reflects off you.” Her mother always knew just what to say to make everything better, but perhaps that’s what made mothers so special. After all, Amelia’s mother was the one who taught to feel and how to be able to see the world without having to look at it.

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Not enough for a novel but enough for a short story, if not the shortest story every. Perhaps an essay. But whatever it may be, I decided to share it with you and I just hope you enjoyed it. Didn't take much of your time but maybe it opened your eyes to an unseen minuscule beauty.