I never expected it to be a pretty sight, the garden of my mind.
Too much happened early on in its development for it to flourish the way it should. There should have been a strong, thick tree in the centre with long draping branches, vibrant with life. It should have had a sturdy, twisting trunk, something that looked moulded out of the richest chocolate. The leaves should have been a viridescent sort of colour - or a softer, more relaxing green. Lush with life.
The grass should have been long and wistful, moving softly with the peaceful breeze. There should have been flowers of every kind in every shade, sprinkled along the elegant blades of grass. Pinks and blues and yellows and reds and purples…flourishing all at once. This garden required light and love, something it had always lacked, and so the colours were stunted by the lack of attention they longed for so dearly...
Children are so easily influenced by the world around them, everything they see shapes their behaviour, their beliefs. When my garden was in its infancy, the winds changed and became heavy with the burden of growth. This pressure tore through the serene landscape and pulled the plants up by the roots. Large clouds, in shades of greys and blacks, rolled over the enclosed space, shutting out the light that was fighting desperately to burst through their steely defence.
The killing of my garden, of my Eden. That is on her. The tree, the grass, the flowers, the birds…. and the little life that remained began to fade away.
It wilted, withered and decayed. It was a hopeless sight.
Then, you came along. You with your warm, hazel eyes and the way they crease ever so slightly in the outer corner when you smile and become shielded by your rosy tinted cheeks.
Those eyes brought the butterflies back. You gazed into the hopelessness of my garden with such anticipation… it caused the blue butterflies to swirl across my sanctuary once again. Your soft, thick hair with the burnt orange undertones encouraged the foxes to come out to play in the grass again. Those rosy lips and that luminous smile that embodied the beauty of the natural world. The joy in your lips pushed the looming clouds away.
You let the sun to burst through. You did it with a single look. Your touch, your laugh, your words were sunrays. Your kind, loving words illuminated my Eden. Your kindness nursed the flowers back to life, restoring their vibrancy and colour. The grass began to sway again, this time with all the songs that reminded me of you. That sturdy tree stood mighty, rooted in the ground, its long branches never ceasing to dance along. Just like how you twirled me in the garden of my mind.