Tulip

You will always find her, lost in thought alone on her marble seat every year; surrounded by Tulips. Everyone has a favourite season but Claire will always love spring because that's when she met him. She met the love of her life here, in the place created in the name of love. The memory still fresh in her mind like a beautiful picture. The sun was shining out over the city, Claire ventured out of her flat and the sun was killing her eyes; too much wine from the night before. Her bones ached and every movement took made her head throb, not feeling the need to venture out that day. But Claire was drew to this place and knew the gardens this time of year would be spectacular, her fondness for the beauty and majesty that nature produced, gave her the encouragement. So she forced herself into her car, the drive wasn't long. Not living far from Kenilworth castle was definitely beneficial, It was just avoiding the traffic that weather like this produced. It took longer than usual but she finally found a parking space and grabbed the water from the glove compartment to nurse her hangover. Showing the ticket at the gate she then took the path into the castle grounds, heading on determined to Claire’s chosen destination. The Elizabethan gardens as always were breathtaking, she gazed over the large plot of land and breathed in the fresh air. Noticing all the flowers of spring were in full bloom, her favourite will always be the Tulips. The bright colours and the shape of them, as if they were kissing the air with the petals. Claire venture down to take a better look, almost slipping on the bottom step; she was never the most elegant on my feet. Catching herself in time then stumbling a little before continuing to the patch. admiring the various other flowers in bloom, the birds chirping away happily in the Avery up ahead. She always found so much peace in places like this, her mother always believed her to be an old soul; as if a woman from another time long forgotten. That's when she bumped into Dante, literally as a matter of fact, The summer dress she wore caught as Claire was turning round and thus ended with her on top of the stranger. So embarrassed her complexion turned almost a shade of magenta. The man laughed at her discomfort, after a moment of awkward rearrangement, they both rose to their feet. He was a complete gentleman not watching as she pulled her dress back into place then handing her the water bottle that leapt out of her hand during the collision. “I am so sorry,” Claire apologised mortified. “Honestly it is fine miss, it’s rare I get to have this much contact with a person” the man mocked. “You're not hurt, are you?” she asked. He noted the concern in her voice and proceeded to do an amusing little dance, he spun in a circle almost tripping himself up and faced Claire once more. “See, all fine nothing broken, oh well this is embarrassing I forgot my manners in all the concussion, I'm Dante” he declared, extending a hand to her. “Claire” she respond politely, “So Dante that's a name I haven't heard in a while” Claire added, she couldn't help her curiosity. “Yer my parents were avid readers, just like me” he confirmed pointing to your book. She never noticed it at first, on closer inspection it was one Claire also enjoyed reading in her spare time. Wrote by Victor Hugo, most people were obsessed with the films but the book held so much more depth for her. “I love this book but it's so heartbreaking” Claire said, he nodded in agreement. “Never judge a book by its cover, though that kind of love is very hard to come by. The kind that never truly dies I mean” he says, his tone solum as he observes the cover. “life is the flower for which love is the honey” Claire whispered to herself, Dante’s eyes lit up instantly on noting the silent quote. “Speaking of flowers, I noticed you admiring the Tulips” he said changing the subject. She looked up and smiled, he tipped his glasses back to the top of his nose. “Did you know There are over 150 species of tulips with over 3,000 different varieties” he confirmed, Claire was taken back for a moment. “Actually no I didn't know that” she responded looking impressed by his information. “also different colored tulips have different meanings. The red flowers symbolize true love while purple represents loyalty” He added. He stood for a moment silent, awkwardly shuffling from one foot to the other; Claire was completely transfixed. A smile rose over her face, she had never met anyone so enlightened before most the men she knew wouldn't know the difference between a book and a newspaper. “Im sorry, I have an eidetic memory I tend to remember every thing I read. Here I am boring a beautiful girl with nonsense” he blurts out unaware. When he realised his error he turns to Claire embarrassed by his slip up, however he is met with a very different expression to what he pictured. “You think I'm beautiful?” she enquires blushing, her eyes sparkle in the sunlight turning them the colour of honey. Dante now reassured his next proposal would not be in vain, takes a deep breath and asks Claire if she likes tea. Of course Claire is very fond of tea and agrees to accompany Dante to a tea room not far from the castle after of course agreeing to be her chaperone around the castle. This was the start of something very special for Claire, Dante was rich with culture and had explored places all across the world. This fascinated Claire as the furthest she had traveled was Newquay. So Dante promised they would explore England together first then the rest of the world. Claire was full of life and more confident than she had ever been, this in turn meant she progressed further at work and was actually going out more. Dante was a more than willing tour guide, places after place they created new and exciting memories together; falling madly in love along the way. They made a promise that every year they would come back to Kenilworth to celebrate the day they found one another. A promise that lasted seven years but on year eight, Dante got sick and ended up in hospital almost every week. The prognosis was not good, after months of invasive treatment the doctors concluded Dante was terminal with months to live. Even in the end he still sent the nurse out to buy Claire red and purple tulips, the same he bought her every year on their anniversary. Claire was devastated by his death days later after what would have been their nine year anniversary. She was inconsolable, her heart felt like it had been torn out of her chest it was just too painful to even think of Dante. She wanted so bad to be swallowed by the darkness, imagining a life without Dante broke her very soul. When the grief and torment finally began to lessen, she started sorting through his things. That was when she found it, their book by Victor Hugo and her heart stopped for a moment. Then she remembered all the facts and figures he used to tell her and the memories bought her warmth and comfort. She realised these bought her closer to Dante, he was not truly gone unless she forgot him. So every spring the same time every year, she gets in her car and drives to Kenilworth. Taking with her their book, she gets out and walks to the patch of tulips; a tear in her eye as she sits on the marble seat. Claire relives this moment over and over, taking in the sweet smell of tulips and daffodils. The birds chirping away in the background as she reads her book and remembers the reason she fell in love with spring and all the flowers that bloom.