A gentle breeze blew, ruffling the strands of her short hair. She quickly put her hands over her arms. It was a usual winter day in December, and Adelynn had come to her "happy place." It was an old field atop a hill, and a pond was not too far down from where she stood. A better way to describe it is that it used to be a place where her family gathered.
When she was younger, there were many family gatherings at the pond. Adelynn, her mom and dad, brother and sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents would gather there for special occasions. Such as Fourth of July, or to carve pumpkins for Halloween, or to sled around when it snowed, or go fishing and hunting, or even pick blackberries in the summer. Adelynn smiled at the thought. Things were so much simpler back then. Everyone was happy, and everyone got along with each other.
Yet her smile faded. Many things have changed over the years. Ever since the loss of her grandmother, Marylyn, things have changed. Marylyn was a loving grandmother. She spoiled her grandchildren to death. She was loving and caring. She was seemingly the glue that kept the family together. She kept everyone from fighting. Adelynn was only 11 when she passed away.
It was incredibly tough on her, and still is to this day. Ever since her grandmother was buried by the pond, everyone started fighting. It only grew worse and worse, and soon, no one wanted anything to do with each other anymore. No one ever really returned to the pond for any occasion. Everyone was okay with it. I mean, why would it matter to a bunch of adults anyways right?
Yet Adelynn was 18 now. Soon she would be going off to college after this last year. It was scary. Incredibly scary. Yet she'd been planning for it her whole life and now that it's finally here she couldn't believe how fast time flew. There were so many things piling up on her, school work, applying for colleges, applying for scholarships, applying for student loans, taking online college classes. Now that it was finally Christmas break she wanted to come back to here one last time.
Her heart stung with anger. She hated the way everyone treated each other now. She hated how no one cared about each other anymore. She hated how her grandmother had to leave her...to leave them. Adelynn didn't even want to have anything to do with her family anymore if they're just going to continue to hate each other and be two faced to each other.
'I'll be glad when I leave! I'm never coming back! I'm tired of shedding tears for a family that doesn't even care anymore....I hate them!' She thought.
Adelynn froze, a lump in her throat, and she could feel tears rising in her eyes. She hated it. She hated crying. Yet she almost couldn't believe the words she said. And she felt sad...miserable, that she'd given up hope on the people she cared for. She feared that she would want to leave everything behind, and maybe never come back. The tears leaked from her eyes and made a stream down her cold cheeks. They seemingly stung and burned as they rolled across her skin.
Adelynn lifted a hand, and her cold fingers smeared the tears away. She took a few breathes. One, two, three. Once she got a grip on herself, she raised her puffy eyes. The leaves were brown, the sky was gray, and the air was icy. She was a fool not to wear warmer clothes, but she just wanted to leave. To be alone. To think to herself without the sound of human voices contaminating her ears.
She merely kept her eyes up, arms across her chest, the wind yet again ruffling her hair. She always felt as though her problems were merely nothing. She felt as though they were something she had to deal with herself. That's why she's never gone to anyone to ask for anything. That's how it's been ever since she was young. She was always doing things on her own. She felt as though her problems weren't even really problems sometimes.
'Maybe I'm just overreacting.' She thought.
Yet this situation hurt her. This situation felt as if it could never be fixed no matter how hard she tried. She wished she could be like the glue her grandmother was. She wished she could bring the family back together, and she could finally be happy with them again. Better yet...she wished her grandmother never passed away. She wished she was still alive. Adelynn looked up hopefully, wishing and praying and believing that she was staring into heaven, or wherever her grandmother may be.
'Please...please...help me. Help me! Just show me a sign. Anything! You have to be listening.' She pleaded in her mind.
Just then, a strange sound filled her ears. It almost sounded like a loud buzzing. Fearing that it was a wasp, she quickly turned her head, only to be surprised. It was a familiar small, nectar-feeding bird, bearing colorful iridescent plumage. Better known as a hummingbird. Adelynn jumped back a bit, for fear of being attacked. Yet the humming bird merely hovered there, occasionally hovering around to the left or right or even backwards. Adelynn raised her eyebrow.
'How is this even possible? It's winter. This thing shouldn't be flying around here. Is it sick?' She thought.
She wasn't sure what the situation was. But then her head suddenly felt light, and a flash came into her mind. It was a warm summer day, and Adelynn had just helped her grandmother fill up the hummingbird feeder. Her grandmother carefully held onto the feeder as to not drop it, and Adelynn followed close behind her. They stepped out onto the front porch, which was barricaded with screen windows. Her grandmother hung the hummingbird feeder while Adelynn waited. Once she was back on the porch, her grandmother sat in a chair, and Adelynn sat on her lap.
"You have to be quiet and still now, or else they won't come." Her grandmother said.
Adelynn gave her a smile. "Okay grandma."
The two sat comfortably in the warm air. The calming sound of silence almost tempted Adelynn to sleep, but she wanted to see the hummingbirds. A few minutes later, a buzzing sound could be heard.
"Look Adelynn, a hummingbird." Her grandmother whispered.
The little girl raised her eyes to see the small bird. It was a shiny luminous green, and its beak looked like one of grandmas sewing needles. Its wings we're moving so fast you could barely see them. The bird stuck its beak into the flower shaped hole and sucked the sugary liquid from inside. Adelynn could barely contain her excitement.
"It's amazing!" She shouted.
The timid bird quickly stopped what it was doing and flew away within a split second. Adelynn froze, disappointed that the bird had disappeared, and tears filled her eyes. Before she knew it she was sobbing.
"Addie, what's wrong?" Her grandmother asked concerned.
"I-I scared the bird awaaaaay. It's not coming baaack!" Adelynn whined.
Her grandmother merely smiled.
"Darling just because it's gone doesn't mean it won't come back."
Adelynn paused and wiped her eyes. "R-really?"
"Of course. You see that feeder? As long as there's something here that makes that bird happy, it will always come back."
"Really?"
"Yes dear, now let's go inside and have some cookies."
Her grandmother picked her up and carried her inside. Adelynn's mind came back to reality. The hummingbird still hovered there, and now she felt an odd realization. Hummingbirds were her grandmother's favorite bird, over any bird. Yet the strangest thing was, Adelynn recognized this hummingbird. It was the very hummingbird that she scared away that day.
The girl just froze. She didn't know whether to be scared, or sad, or happy. She didn't know what to think of such a strange encounter. The bird stared at her as if it was waiting on her to do something. Adelynn, merely looked at it as it hovered.
Seeing that it would do no harm she calmed herself and stood straight. The hummingbird hovered closer, almost curious of her. The girl wanted to try something, yet she wasn't sure if it would work. Adelynn hesitantly held her hand out, and in that moment, in that strange moment, the bird landed on her hand. It's tiny feet almost tickled her. The two stared at each other, unsure of each other.
"Why are you here? It's so...odd." Adelynn said softly.
The bird of course had no response. Yet Adelynn gave a smile. It strangely enough, warmed her heart to see this little bird. It brought back memories of her and her grandmother, and reminded her of what she said. The girl just gave a nod.
"I know why you're here."
The hummingbird stared for a moment, but in that short moment, it quickly flew away. The quick leave surprised Adelynn, but she kept her eyes on the bird for as long as she could see it. Soon it was gone. Almost as if it dissipated in the gray sky. The girl looked down in thought.
'As long as there's something here that makes the bird happy it will always come back.'
Adelynn thought about what her grandmother said.
'I know that this place makes me happy. I know, despite the fighting, my family makes me happy.' She thought.
She knew, no matter how badly things may have turned out over the years, no matter how badly the family had split up, this place would always make her happy. She had so many memories here. Even if no one else cared about this place, she did. She always has, and she knew as long as that made her happy, and her family made her happy, she would always come back. Adelynn looked up at the sky one last time.
"I promise you grandma. I'm going to do my best to fix what's broken."
With that the girl turned, and began to walk home.
