Hearts Of Gold h.s

Chapter 25

TW// This chapter dives into the feeling of grief and losing a loved one. 

E

"Ellie, get up!! It's a beautiful day and the sunflowers need done. Today is perfect for it." my mom shook my shoulder lightly.

My eyes peeled open to see her sitting on the edge of my bed. Her long black hair was pulled neatly back into a slick ponytail. A silky lavender robe is clung to her body and I know that she has those silly pink bunny slippers on.

Jackson and I had gotten them for her on Mother's day last month. When we were at the store and he laid his eyes on the slippers, he insisted that we get them. She has worn those slippers every single day since. She has cherished them as if they were made of gold.

"Okay, I'm up" I groaned as I sat up from my bed.

"Good. I'll meet you outside." her hand squeezed my forearm lightly as she spoke.

Her voice was light and feathery as she woke me up for our favorite day of the year. Every single June my mom and I plant the most beautiful sunflowers all along the back of the house. The sun hits the back a lot more than the front, so we've always created our own little sunflower garden back there.

It's our thing. Something I look forward to every year.

I pull myself from my bed and walk to my dresser to just grab a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt since we will be in the garden all day.

After getting dressed and using my ensuite bathroom to brush my hair and teeth, I slowly open the door to my bedroom to listen for any movement downstairs.

If the TV is on, it's best to stay in my room. That means dad is down there. My mom never uses our living room since my dad practically claimed it as his. It's become the one way for me to know if dad is downstairs or not.

When I don't hear the buzz of the TV downstairs, I push my door completely open to walk down the stairs.

I put on my pair of tennis shoes that sit by the back door and as I tie up the laces I look out to see my mom setting down an extra pair of gloves for me and a few shovels. There are a few packets of seeds for other plants as well as a bundle of sunflowers for us to plant.

"Come grab your gloves and then come see all of these seeds I got for us. We'll have a full garden this year, Ellie" my mom's face lit up as I stepped outside.

I walk over to where she sits on her knees and pick up the pair of gloves before starting to slide each one onto my hands.

There have to be a dozen packets of seeds spread all across the grass near the back of the house.

Zinnias, Marigolds, Cosmos, Gaillardia.

Bright colored flowers ranging in all different colors.

"A real garden this year. Next year maybe we should try growing vegetables" I laugh.

"You know we can hardly keep more than the sunflowers alive. But, how about if we manage to keep the flowers alive for the summer, we can do even more next summer. We can even start earlier, so that they have more time to grow. How does that sound?" my mom rambles.

Her voice is like music to my ears. It's always sweet and somehow sounds angelic.

"I think that's a great idea." I nod, grabbing the bundle of sunflowers and bringing them over to where she is kneeling in front of the dirt.