Spring Day

It was the last few days of winter. I wanted to enjoy the little bit of time I had left to see the flowers start to bloom and take shape. It was always my favourite time of the year. After weeks upon weeks of endless gray skies and white snow, it was always a nice change of pace to witness the beginnings of spring. Since I was born a child to the winter, that's all I was able to partake in. After all the snow melts away, so do I 'til next snowfall.

I've begun to grow tired of this endless cycle. I just wanted to stay in the days of flower blossoms a little longer.

I took off faster than my legs could carry me. Past all the snowbanks, the snow-covered trees, thawing streams and everything I ever knew. Over to where I knew the beginnings of spring always started. I ran so fast I had nearly forgotten where that snowy road ended. I immediately stopped in my tracks, almost falling off a small ledge in the process. When I opened my eyes I saw someone who would change my life forever.

It was on a spring day that I had met her.

I stood in shock for a few moments. I didn’t expect to see anyone else out here. Upon first glance, I thought she was just a pile of snow with lush flora growing from it. The fact that she was lying down and some snow had fallen on her wasn’t helping. Quickly noticing she looked upset, I had to quickly snap out of the trance I was put in. I shook my head and asked, "Who are you?"

She looked at me for a second before looking off into the lush grass below her. "Just another rosebush, really," she responds quietly. She quickly looks back up to me, "I've never seen you before. Why are you here?"

Her blunt response took me off guard for a second. It was not what I expected.

"I'm sorry," she quickly stated. "It's just been hard for me lately. I don't really want to burden you or anything. Especially since we just met."

"I-it's okay!" I replied nervously. Starting to lose confidence I introduced myself, “My name is Winter, I make the snow fall and the water freeze every winter season.”

She slowly blinks. “Oh, I see. Sorry again if my first introduction was offputting. It’s nice to meet you. The name I go by is Flora, I make the grass grow and the flowers bloom in the spring season.”

“Oh, that’s really cool! I guess we’re really similar in a sense,” I exclaim with excitement. “I don’t think I’ve met another like you.”

Much to my excitement, Flora starts to brighten up a bit after my comment. “Well, I can say the same thing, at least in regard to snowfall. I’ve met the one who brings summer before.”

“Oh really? What are they like?” I lean in with curiosity. I’ve never met others like her and me before. I knew I wasn’t one of a kind, but it wasn’t anything I put too much thought into. Especially considering I’ve only had to really worry about one season, my own.

Flora rolls over onto her back to stretch out a bit, “He’s too upbeat if you ask me. He’s not a bad fella though, great character.”

“Oh, that’s interesting! I guess there’s one for every season huh?” I ask.

“Actually, there’s more than one for every season as far as I’m aware. We just have our own section or world. I’m honestly not too sure, but that’s what I was told a long time ago.” Flora finishes, rolling back to her initial position. I notice her face starts to slowly go back to the gloomy state it was once in.

“I see. Anyway, I’ve been meaning to ask, is everything alright with you? You look like you’ve been been a bit down this whole time.” I was genuinely concerned. Despite just meeting her, she reminded me of myself.

I could tell she was a bit hesitant to answer. Perhaps I should have held back more. I really hope I’m not being too pushy or anything.

“I guess I’m just a bit lonely,” She finally answers. “I used to have others around to talk to a long time ago. It’s just a distant memory for me now. These past few seasons have just been hard on me.”

Flora’s response hit me really hard. It dug its way into my gut. I could entirely understand what she was going through. After all, I’ve been often alone myself, not that it really bothered me before. “Oh, I see…” I wasn’t entirely sure what to say.

“I’m not usually this down. It’s just really bothered me lately,” she sighed. “Thank you for letting me get that out though.”

“It’s no problem at all, in fact, I feel a lot closer to you!” I really wanted to cheer her up. This was probably my only chance at making a friend in a long time as well. “Maybe we should hang out and get to know each other better, you know? Then hopefully you won’t feel so lonely. I understand how that feels.”

The way Flora smiled at me nearly took my breath away. It was like being in a dark cave for days, only just finally finding that exit with the morning light shining through. I wanted to savour that feeling for a long time. 

“Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!”

We spent the rest of our day on that little ledge that connected our two worlds. It was a moment neither of us ever wanted to end. However, it was just the beginning.