Sophia
Fire can either strengthen an object or reduce it to nothing more than that which can be blown away by the wind until there isn't a trace left of what once was. Fire is at my core. It is my essence, my DNA, my life force. It resides inside of me, mine to call, mine to temper. Humans were shaped from clay, carbon if you will. Basic material that is easy to manipulate and easier to break.
The Healer
June 21, 2015
It was a beautiful day and I loved watching the world go by me on my front porch. Next door to me were Bill and Betty working in their garden. Every year they always had the best flowers out of anybody in our neighborhood. They didn't do it for competition. They both just had that knack for growing things and they loved it too. I like flowers as much as the next girl but I am not skilled enough to be able to plan and plant and tend a garden like they can. It's good to see them both out in the garden this summer. Last year Betty had had a heart attack and it was a long hard recovery. Even after she had been cleared to go back to her regular routine she barely went out into her garden. It was like she was afraid to do anything but sit in her chair and watch her world go by. It took a lot for Bill and their two children, Tommy and Frank, to get her back up to her usual self. Everyday I would see her
husband or sons trying to coax her out for a short walk around the block. And everyday Betty would refuse saying that it was too hot or too cold. The weather had nothing to do with it. Betty had let fear over run her life and nothing was going to dissuade her from it. I could see them getting frustrated and starting to give up so one day, when I saw Betty in her chair out watching her husband garden, my dog's ball accidentally flew over our fence and landed near Betty.
"Oh I'm so sorry Betty! Could you just toss that ball back over to me?"
This wasn't an unusual request. To say that I have great aim would be a bit of a fallacy. In fact my mother has been heard saying that I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with the broad side of a barn. My friends have all been trained to dive out of the way if I toss something in their general direction. The only time I'm used in an aiming game is a snow ball fight. They figure that way it doesn't matter who I hit as long as I hit something.
Betty looked at the ball on the grass by her foot and back up at me. I just smiled at her and waited for her to decide. It didn't take long for me to get her laughing. "Girl, I swear one of these days you're going to take out a window with that pitching arm of yours." My smile broadens and I shrug in reply. "Well that's why Fate gave me you as neighbors! Who else would put up with my craziness but you and Bill?" Betty stooped down to pick up the ball. Just as she was getting ready to pull her arm back to lob it to me she stopped. "You know honey," she began and I knew she was about to ask me to walk over and get it from her.
"You know what Betty," I interrupt her, "your aim is almost as bad as mine. Would you mind walking it over here instead of tossing it?" Nearby I hear Bill inhale deeply. He's been begging her for weeks to take a walk. I know he doesn't think she'll do it. He thinks she's going to ask him to do it for her. Instead of giving her that option I give her a look and ask, "Please Betty?" Rolling her eyes she stands
up and walks over to me just like she has been doing for the last four years since I moved in. It wasn't until she started back to her seat that she even realized that she had done something normal for the first time without her husband or sons begging her. I know the moment it hit her because she paused mid-step and drew her head back sharply. "Thanks Betty," I shout over the fence to her and call Bandit back into the house with me and leave her to spend the rest of her time outdoors with her husband who is now fighting back a smile. That's how Betty's road to rediscovery began, with the passing of a dog toy. Not the most miraculous of events but it worked. Now it's 2015 and she is back and as active as she ever was. It did me good to see her confidence increase. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing her working in her garden until she started to work in it again. Funny isn't it, how sometimes you can not miss something until you get it back.
