A Blooming Bud
by Arsema Berhanu
She sat crossed legged on the cracked, rocky cliff, the ground a blend of smoke and charcoal grays. Her bleary, dark brown eyes were fixed on the horizon, staring at the spot where the sea met the sky.
It was a miserable day.
The sun was concealed behind the hazy clouds and even the water seemed drained of life, its flat, unmoving surface taking on a dull, leaden-blue color. Strong gusts of wind blew onto her tearstained face, drying the new tears which traveled down the familiar pathways.
Three hours she’d been sitting here, but it felt more like a lifetime. It seemed like a lifetime ago when she held her sister’s hand, feeling it get colder by the second until it was limp, and the light died from her eyes.
She waited for a fresh batch of tears to arrive, but she had cried herself out. She felt empty; there was nothing left to give. Nothing left to do except sit here and stare out at the foggy horizon, the line blurred between the sky and the sea. She knew it was time to go but she couldn’t get up. Her limbs felt heavy, and she was too exhausted to move them.
Another harsh gale whistled past her. She turned her head slightly to shelter herself and her eyes caught on a dot of magenta. She peered closely and saw a small, purple flower sprouting in a thin fissure in the rock. The wind continued to whip furiously, blurring her vision and sending her hair in every direction. She waited for the gust to yank the flower from its crevice and carry it away, but its roots stayed firm. The fluttering petals held on tight and the stem barely swayed.
She didn’t know how long she sat staring at the tiny wonder before her, but when she looked away, the air was still. Her pain began to ebb away and some of her exhaustion was lifted, by what, she didn’t know.
It was an obscure feeling, inspiriting but not quite joyful. It was calm and steady and began to expand inside her. It gave her strength; not enough to bring back the twinkle in her eyes, but enough to push herself onto her feet, and come down from the cliff.