Hues of Love

Spring Green

SPRING GREEN

Love turned to little kisses - tiny pecks for her mama on the cheek and a brushed one for her papa's stubble growing on his chin. They were rough and it was love for the flowers they brought home on Sundays, for the cream cakes they baked on days that meant nothing to her yet, and for always picking her up after kindergarten, even though they left her every morning.

Throughout her younger years of elementary school filled with effervescent happiness, Marya experienced a love for people other than her parents. It was the first time she learned how to adore new faces with fingers as small as hers, mouths as wide as hers, and voices as beautiful as hers. Friendship was born between feet pounding hard. Love, the color of spring green, was bred in high pitched voices shouting challenges. It was a time before there was any difference between boys and girls. All ran beneath the merry sun and collapsed onto the grasses of childhood together.

In fact, there was only a differentiation between the two genders when her mother spoke of Timothy. Mama would dream of her darling Marya with that "cute boy". As far as Marya was concerned, he was only the kid who could run faster than her. There were times, though, when the meddling of parents made Timothy into something more, like the time Timothy's mother cajoled him into giving her a flower. Marya had accepted it after being nudged by her own Mama. The two women had giggled at "what a couple those two are". Marya and Timothy didn't understand and both would've gladly thrown down the theatrics, but they both came to an understanding as mischievous children do.

It was a simple little deal, contracted in a glance of eyes; Marya and Timothy would do as their mamas wished. They dressed up and would have to hold hands sometimes (this particularly annoyed Marya: it was not as if she couldn't walk), but at the end of the day their mamas were happy and they had the sweet taste of ice cream in their bellies. Thus a fabricated love grew from a wish for sweets and a smile from elder faces.

Those were the days where love was as easy as spring leaves, budding before they knew what they would become.