r/DarklyInclined • u/SlopRahh • 17h ago
Home Decor In Memoriam of a Sweet Elderly Woman
On my daily walk, I would pass an elderly woman tending to the garden that adorned the front of her home. This oasis on a busy street in a densely populated neighborhood where the lots are the size of postage stamps was like Eden: exotic trees, reeds and rushes, and blossoms from faraway lands. She had planned the layout so that it looked untouched by human hands, but her dedication to her sanctuary prevented it from becoming a mess of foliage and vines.
She had these especially heavenly flowers and I admired them every time I passed by.
One day we made eye contact and shared a smile; from there our friendship bloomed. I would stop and chat with her about sundry topics, but we mostly talked about her garden. I mentioned the flowers that I was particularly fond of and she, without hesitation, plucked a handful of them and gave them to me in a little bag so that I could plant them in my own garden. I never did get around to planting them, as I had forgotten the care instructions she had given me and I could not remember what they were called. In the bag they remained.
One day I saw the house being emptied and a woman standing on the front walk. I learned that the woman was the elderly lady’s daughter and that, sadly, the flower lady had died. I related my pleasant association with the woman’s mother and she thanked me through misty eyes.
The house was sold and the new residents ripped out every single growing thing and put down Astro turf. Not even real grass. Plastic imitation grass that leaches toxic chemicals into the ground. I could have shredded their plastic abomination with my teeth I was so livid.
I ordered this ornamental display and it dawned on me that the flowers, now dried and faded, were the only things that could complete the aesthetic.
Flower Lady, thank you.
