Resilient Lily

|deep-dyed|

"Mamma I can't sleep," I whined as I looked pleadingly into her cat-like eyes. She smiled and pulled the bone-white blanket up to my neck.

Then, she kissed my pale, veiny forehead.

I closed my eyes, and listened to her soft and quiet voice as she sang,

"He was a kid, a kid from Paris.
As a family, he only had his mother.
A poor girl with bright eyes turned red,
by the sorrow and misery.

She loved the flowers, the roses above all,
and the child, every Sunday,
would bring her beautiful white roses.
Instead of buying toys.
Hugging her dearly.
He used to say while giving her (the flowers),

"It is Sunday today.
Here, my pretty mommy.
Here are your white roses.
You who like them so much.
See, when I'll be a grown-up,
I will buy to the merchant.
All of his white roses.
For you, pretty mommy."

Last spring, the brutal destiny,
came to strike the blonde worker.
She fell sick and for the hospital.
The kid saw his mother move.

Then at the hospital, he came running.
To offer the roses to his mother.

But seeing him, a nurse whispering told him,

"You don't have a mother anymore."

And the kid kneeling down.
Said, in front of the little white bed:

It is Sunday today.
Here, my pretty mommy.
Here are your white roses.
You who liked them so much!
And when you will go away,
in the great garden, over there.
All of the white roses,
you will take them away."

(I had fallen asleep, peacefully. Like I had done many nights before, whenever she sang a song. Sometimes I'd catch myself humming a tune. I never knew what it was from, nor could I ever recall the lyrics in which I heard it with.)

➻

The streets were bustling, despite it being quite late. There were all sorts of people. Merchants selling their products, as well as merchants swindling customers. People were buying stuff or just walking around and visiting with everyone.

Kagome decided to get the candy drops first before she would forget. The shop that sold them was small and quaint. It sold not only different varieties of candy but also different flavors of tea leaves as well. Okemia herself frequented the store for tea all of the time. You got the Sakuma candy drops free with the purchase of tea, so she would get some and bring them back for all of the children to share.

"May I please have one can of the Sakuma candy drops, Ojiisan?" Kagome asked politely.

"No tea today?" He inquired than turned and grabbed the can from the front of the stack. It was dark green and had bold red letters.

"Yup! We haven't run out yet, " she replied with a smile as he handed the can to her. She gave him 10 yen but he gave it right back.

"Kagome-Chan, you keep it. I know how hard it is for Okemia-San to take care of everyone by herself, " he scratched his balding head, "just uh, please give it back to her. I know she'll need it."