"MAMA, WHAT MAKES A FLOWER GROW?"
She smiles softly, watching as the cool spring breeze stirs the little one's fiery red locks, as if fanning a flame. The sun hangs high overhead, bathing the garden in a brilliant glow.
Her face is contorted in a look of concentration, hazel eyes fixated on the brilliant purple hues of the blossoming bellflower before her.
When her mother doesn't answer, the little girl whips her head to stare at her with wide, curious eyes.
"Mama?" she chirps, head slightly tilted.
The older woman lets out a soft chuckle. "I'm sorry, I was so distracted by how beautiful my little girl is."
Her daughter giggles at this. She abandons the bellflower, and sprints into her mother's lap, burying herself in her long brunette locks. "You still haven't answered my question," she teases.
"Ah," her mother sighs, rising from her spot in the grass to carry her daughter back to the flowers. "What makes a flower grow." she muses.
"Well, first, it needs good soil for its roots to latch on to," she begins, smiling as her daughter turns over in her lap to rest a hand on the dark soil before her. "Rich soil, the kind that'll provide enough life for the flower to form its foundation, and allow it to stand on its own."
Her daughter merely nods, fingernails digging into the Earth with a quiet curiosity.
"Then, it'll need care. Plants need sunlight, and watering every now and then to sprout up, up, up, above the ground." she leans down to make a rising gesture to her daughter, laughing as she mimics the motion, urging the flower to rise.
"Why isn't it sprouting right now, mama?" the little one asks, concerned eyes finding her mothers.
"Now, now," she chides her daughter, "growing a flower doesn't happen overnight. It needs time and space."
"How long? And how much space?" the girl asks, impatient as ever.
Yet her mother can only hum in amusement, a knowing smile playing on her lips as she replies, "as much time as it needs, and enough space so that it doesn't get caught in another flower's growth."
"Is this one still growing?"
She nods. "It's very young, just like you," her daughter smiles at this. "The plant has grown, now it's time for the flower itself to blossom."
"If it takes this long for a flower to bloom, it must've taken you years to make this garden, Mama," the little girl sighs, her wide eyes overwhelmed by all the green and blossoming flowers before her.
"It takes a while, yes," her mother murmurs, "but with help, and patience, the garden grows in no time."
"Did Papa help you make this garden?"
She pauses then. Her daughter's brilliant hazel eyes stare up at her, waiting for a response. A feeling of warmth fills her chest, and she almost laughs at the tears that spring in her eyes.
"He did," she smiles, her voice barely above a whisper, afraid that if she spoke louder, the tremble in her tone would give her away.
"I love Papa," little girl states simply, leaning back into her mother's chest.
"I love you too," a familiar voice murmurs from behind the two, causing them both to turn around in surprise.
"Papa!" the little girl squeals, scrambling out of her mother's grasp to jump up into his outstretched arms.
He simply chuckles, placing a soft kiss on his daughter's forehead before glancing down at the beautiful woman before him, sitting cross legged in the grass with her wild brown hair cascading down her shoulders as she turned her head up to meet his loving gaze.
"Welcome home, Love," she smiles, closing her eyes as he leans down to plant a tender kiss on her forehead, then another on her cheek, and finally, on her lips.
He would have lingered longer, desparate for another taste of the lips he's thought about kissing all day, but their daughter makes a noise of disgust, and he reluctantly pulls away, causing a giggle to escape his wife's mouth.
The three spend the rest of the afternoon sitting in the garden, watching as the breeze rustles the leaves, stirring the flowers and trees in a gentle sway.
After a long stretch of silence, their daughter states simply, as if to no one in particular, "I think a flower also needs love to grow."
Her mother smiles, sharing a knowing glance with her husband before rustling her daughter's hair. "I think so too," she replies.
YOU ARE READING
viridescent | gaara
Fanfiction"you engulfed me in your Earth, your green...your light. i hope you don't mind, but i think i'd like to stay in it, just for a little bit longer."
