A Perfect Year

Lazy Summer

The two sliding doors were opened, welcoming a warm breeze inside the home. The girl sat by the doors, just out of the sun's reach. Her legs were spread apart and she idly waved her hand-held fan up and down before her face. She relished in it's cool breaths hitting her slightly clammy skin. The wooden wind chime that hung on a tree swung back and forth, knocking together and echoing out strong, earthy notes.

Outside the sun was radiating warmth over the whole world. A small rock pond complete with a little creek carried crystal clear water that looked as if it were made of diamonds under the sunlight. Dragonflies hovered over the pool, flitting left to right before pausing to rest on a rock, only to dart off again as the water lapped at it's feet. 

Elegant koi fish swam slowly. Their long, colourful tails were swishing side to side inside the diamond pond. She could hear cicadas chirping, hidden amongst the bright green of the foliage on the other side of the garden. A bright red bird sat on a branch, nestled in the jade leaves. It tweeted happily, wiggling it's tail from side to side. At the same time, a slightly smaller blue bird with a beautiful green crest hopped through the blades of grass, pecking at the ground. Every time it approached a certain bush the sound of the cicadas would die down, and every time it moved away the insects' chorus would begin again. 

There were flowers all throughout the garden, some were hanging in pots just outside the doors, and some were rooted deep into the ground. Dahlias, asters, daises, all the flowers you could name were there. They were vivid reds, bright yellows, perfect whites, oranges that reminded the girl of the Fanta she'd almost finished, the one that was sitting in a tall glass with a straw and a tiny umbrella. 

The flowers were home to even more life, butterflies and bees hummed around them, tiny spots of colour who didn't have a care in this world or the next. The girl watched a tiny yellow butterfly fly up into the bright blue sky and disappear over the trees. Oh, the sky was flawless. A perfect blue that stretched for miles upon miles, as far as the eye could see, with barely a wisp of a cloud in sight. 

A warm hand grasped her bare shoulder and she turned around, greeted by a smile from a boy her age. He handed her an icy-pole that had already started to melt, dripping sticky blue liquid onto her fingers. She tried her best to lick it off, laughing as the same happened to the boy. He sat down by her side, feet outstretched as a breeze ruffled his loose singlet and tossled the girls hair. 

Ah, what a perfect lazy, hazy, summer day.