Nijah's Sol

Nijah's Sol (2/4)

As the light began to fade and darkness dominated the night, Nijah in her permanently dark home, had long since stopped crying. In the silence she considered her peculiar new neighbor. No one had ever denied her self-proclamation as a weed. Others had either not paid attention to her or simply agreed with her. Many had even pointed it out. But this one was different and she did not know why yet. She was curious about him. It was either that curiosity or maybe it was just the rustling she heard, that made her peek outside her thorns to see what was happening.

She looked up to see her peculiar new associate...

"Wiggling?"

Her thought was so loud that it came out as a whisper to herself. Sol looked down.

"Why yes!" He lit up when he saw her,"Well, I'm actually dancing."

"Dancing?" said Nijah.

"Yeah! In the sun! I absolutely love dancing in the sun! Don't you?"

Nijah looked at him as his leaves turned toward the sunlight waving up and down. His stem would go back and forth to its own little rhythm. She tried to cover her mouth but out came a little giggle.

"No," she said.

"What? Is that a smile I see?"

Nijah tucked her head back into her thorns a bit but still smiled. Sol laughed while still doing his little jig.

"Well, you must have danced before. All flowers dance in the sunlight."

Nijah scoffed.

"I am no flower."

Sol looked perplexed. "But you are though! And a very beautiful one at that."

Nijah ruffled herself a bit.

"No, I'm not! I'm a weed!"

Sol looked at her and stopped dancing. He cocked his head to the side a bit and paused before answering.

"Hmmm, yeah you said that last time didn't you?"

They looked at each other for a while. Nijah could tell the sunflower was choosing his words carefully.

"Let me ask you," he began, "when you hide in there, you can't see the sky... how do you know when the sun comes up?"

She considered his question. "Well it's warm... and sometimes the light comes through a little."

"Anything else?" he asked.

Nijah thought some more.

"Umm... Well... I guess my leaves tickle a little bit."

He smiled.

"Aaah! They do! And what does that tickle make you wanna do?"

Nijah's head was all the way out of her shell now.

"I guess..." she paused as she felt herself starting to blush. She had never told anyone this before. "It makes me move around a little bit while I'm inside."

Sol chuckled, "Isn't that dancing?"

She smiled again.

"Yeah..." She said slowly, but then her smile faded a bit, "But when I wiggle around like that, my thorns poke me."

"Well that's because you're supposed to dance out in the open!" he said, "Come on! Stand up straight."

Nijah was very unsettled by his request.

"No, I-"

"Please??" he said, "I beg of you."

He looked deep into her eyes and she couldn't help but look back into his.

"I really need someone to dance with," he said.

His eyes pulled the words out of her.

"Alright, I will."

It had been so long since she had totally emerged, she could barely remember a time when she had. But as her thorns unraveled and she stood erect, she felt a relief she had forgotten. Her sun plant friend showed her how to wave her leaves and freely wiggle her stem too and fro. It all felt so natural! So liberating! Memories slowly crept back of dances long ago, filled with joy and freedom. The two laughed and talked and danced all day until the last ray of sunshine faded away beyond the horizon.

Nijah couldn't stop smiling even after the dance was done. She noticed neither could Sol. But it wasn't because she gave him a dance partner like she assumed. It was because her smile was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.