It was a warm day in summer. The Velvet clouds had settled and the burning sun shone down on the town of New Hope Pennsylvania. The trees were in full bloom and the children ran around, happy and carefree. There was a cottage near the edge of town where a girl named Nova and her mother lived. Nova was 7 years old and her mother was very ill. Nova at the time didn't understand what it meant that her mother had cancer. She didn't realize how close to death her mother was and what life would be without her.
"Time for an adventure!" Nova rolled out of her satin bed sheets and raced into her mother's room, the smell of sick was overwhelming. It was a very plain white room that bored Nova. The only color was a vase of flowers that was sitting in the corner, almost dead. Her mother was perched on the edge of her bed wrapped in a yellow blanket gazing out her window at the simple garden. "Mama!" Nova climbed into her mother's lap curling into her pale arms. "Hello Nova." She smiled "What are you going to do today?" Nova jumped out of her arms excitedly. "An adventure!" She cried. She hopped around her mother's room as her mother giggled. "Come here my little duckling." She hopped back on to her mother's bed. "What are you going to do on your adventure?" She combed out Nova's wavy brown hair and gazed into her milky blue eyes. "I'm going to pick strawberries ( the kind you like,) and I'm going to plant some flowers for your garden, and a tree! I'm going to plant a tree!" "A tree huh?" Nova nodded Vigorously. "What kind?" "Well..." Nova thought for a minute. "What's your favorite kind of tree mama?"
"I like willow trees." Her mother answered. “I will plant a weeping willow then." Her mother smiled. It was a smile that reminded Nova of a ray of sunshine. It reminded her of a sky full of stars and a silent moon. It reminded her of everything beautiful and was what Nova imagined peace and love and happiness to look like. She couldn't even imagine losing her, she didn't want to. Her mother gave her hope.
Nova packed a backpack full of supplies for her journey. She packed a water bottle full of lemonade, a soft blanket in case it got cold, a sun hat, and her mother's favorite brownies. She wore her prettiest yellow sundress and made her mother braid her hair.
"I'm ready!" She announced. "You be safe little duckling. Your grandmother will be here to feed you dinner when you get home, okay?" "Yes Mama." Her mother kissed her goodbye and she was off.
She started on Bloomfield Road where she passed old Miss. Stephanie's house and then Mr. James the baker. She passed Mrs. Lillie James and her three children Sandy, Johnny, and Ben. They all waved at Nova and smiled their big smiles, saying "Hello dear, how is your mother doing?"
When she passed Mr. Jeffery's flower shop she stopped. She skipped inside ringing the bell on the way in. "Hello Mr. Jeffery!" "Why hello Nova! What can I do for you today?"
"Well I don't have any money, but..." "Say no more." Mr. Jeffery reached behind the counter, pulling out a basket full of flower seeds. Nova searched the basket. "Do you have any forget-me-nots?" Mr. Jeffery looked inside and pulled out a package of forget-me-nots, daisies, and sunflowers. "There you go darling. Plant these for your mother's garden."
"Thank you! Do you happen to have any willow tree seeds?" Nova smiled her charming smile and batted her long eyelashes. Mr. Jeffrey turned around, sorting through his shelves. "Aha! Here you go! Now you owe me a glass of that famous lemonade you make." He grinned at Nova as he put it all in a paper bag. "All right!" She said excitedly "Thank you so much!" "No problem. Anything for you darling! Say hello to your mother for me!"
"I will!"
Nova marched back on to Main Street where she turned onto an off-road to McCormick Farms. On the way up the hill Nova stopped to put on her big sun hat and have a drink of lemonade. She was tired from her journey.
When she finally got to the top of the hill she was delighted. She saw a field full of glowing, juicy strawberries. Just what she wanted. She grabbed a basket and excitedly picked the best strawberries, filling it up. She noticed that the Sun was beginning to come down, turning gold and orange in the sky. She finished her strawberry picking so she wouldn't get stuck in the dark.
On her way back she started to run through the town. She ran her hands on the picket fences and admired the trees laced with moss. She noticed the silver outlines of the clouds that made shadows all around her and the wind whispering through her hair, hushed by silence. She skipped past all the Victorian houses and their perfect little yards, humming her tune the whole way back.
It had been a long day and she was too excited to slow down. "Mama, mama!" She burst into her house dropping her stuff in the entry and rushed to her mother's bedroom. She danced around before entering the door suddenly skidding to a stop. "Mama?" She peered into the dark room seeing her grandmother, head and hands. "Grandma!" She cried with Glee. "Where's Mama?" She was confused. Why did her grandmother look so upset?!
"Nova, your mama is in the hospital."
Nova's smile disappeared. Her body went numb and she couldn't look at her grandmother.
"I found her passed out and the doctors took her. They don't know what happened yet but..."
Nova blocked everything out. She began to feel tears rushing down her face. "Oh Nova! It's all right. We'll get her back!" Her grandmother wrapped Nova in her arms. "It's alright, it's okay."
All Nova could think about was how she wanted to make her mother's garden beautiful for her when she got back. She rushed outside and ran through the bare garden. She spent the rest of the afternoon planting her flowers and her mother's willow tree. When she was done she left it all to grow.
Two weeks later Nova's mother passed away. Nova moved in with her grandmother in New York. She grew up and went to college and forgot about the little town called New Hope. It was too hard to think about. She moved on.
15 years later when Nova was 22 she graduated from college and decided to visit her childhood home. As she pulled into the town all the memories came flooding back. There was the familiar scent of the sweet summer air and the feel the warm sun on her back. There was a slight breeze that reminded her of her childhood days. There were fields of buttercups and streets full of laughing, happy children. It was just as she remembered. It was magical.
As she got closer to her old house she spotted a beautiful willow tree. It was surrounded by a plush, full, colorful garden. It reminded Nova of a ray of sunshine. It reminded her of a sky full of stars and a silent moon. It reminded her of everything beautiful and was what Nova imagined peace and love and happiness to look like. It reminded her of her mother. It gave her hope.
