Beyond the Grasslands

The bell tower stand still tanned in the dusking sky. The afternoon is long, the birds are rendering west as they follow the setting sun, and the townsmen are retiring to their respective roofs before the evening falls. While all other people are returning home, she is walking against the flow by heading to the bus terminal. Down the alley she pass by the beautifully crafted bouquets of flowers in a boutique and followed a day dream that one day, she will be given one of those by a man who truly love her. In the glass window there is a signage written in velvet red – Valentine’s Day, and then a curve of smile in her lips showed upon knowing today is a special day. For a moment she thought that this day would be extraordinary because she will be meeting the man who have waited for two years and invested a trust worthy relationship before he could officially ask her to be his girl.

 

She was only 17 when they first met in a feast where all of the farmers gathered to celebrate the bountiful harvest of the season. The countryside has always been his favorite pastime, the long road trip stranded in the middle of nowhere is his adventure, but this time it’s going to be a different experience. He decided to stay for the night at the barn, the smell of chicken and animal manure is an unusual fume he encounter at the very least in the city. He was envious of the sight of the wide farm where grass are free to grow, where life is easy and predictable and where you never overthink of what the future should be. That afternoon he went to dine in a saloon where everyone is a stranger and so was he. It was the first time that he saw that gentle face a gloomy room, her tanned complexion matched her tangerine scarf that lay femininely on her black satin hair. He was about to start a conversation but all he got was her name and she went off.

 

The 3^rd bus already is here but to her disappointment, he isn’t there. She open the letter and read carefully one more time his instructions- “ wait for the 3^rd bus to come and I will be there”

She is hoping to see that face again she saw 2 years ago, but the last passenger that came down is not him. She grips that paper in her hand and it seems that all her dreams she had hoped to come for the day was gone. Two years ago he was like chasing butterflies; he searched for her address for him to write her a letter and continue to keep in touch. Even if he knew that she won’t be pleased in urban living, he continually writes her letters to tell the story of the life beyond the grasslands. She was fascinated by the world she hasn’t gone to and what would it be like wearing diamonds and how to party in a grand ball. She is teary eyed knowing that her hope did not come.

 

The moon is shining bright tonight. She waits there in the bench looking at the far side feeling the cold crisp of the air. She was lonely. An hour ticks and she is about to let go of the heartache when suddenly somebody is calling her name from someone down the road.

 

“Julia! Julia!” A man in his late 20’s wearing a coat is running towards her. And yes, it is someone familiar to her. A sudden burst of adrenalin rushes through her consciousness when she recognizes that face, and it was him two years ago.

 

“ Bart!”, she whispered with joy. She came running to embrace him and for the first time, she kissed the stranger that she knew a long time ago. “ What took you so long?”, she asked. 

 

“ I had to take the next bus because I almost forgot my present for you.”

 

There was no bouquet of roses as she expected, rather, he handed her a paper bag wrapped in a plastic bag. Inside was a red rose in a pot of soil.

 

“ I’m sorry I didn’t buy you a bouquet of roses for this evening because I know by the time I get here it will be dried out. Before I left your village two years ago, I took some roses from your house’s backyard and grow them in my apartment way back in the city to keep a memory of you. Now I had to get back and return it to where it came from. I am hoping to grow these roses with you now and forever.”

 

It is not the fairy tale that she wanted to be, but the thought of having him this time is happiness that only the horizons can reach, and those roses will be in their home forever.

 


Author: Mash Davis