Her Sunshine

Kimberly West was a woman of rituals. One of these rituals was a weekly meeting with a friend. Part of this ritual was making sure she had the essential materials.

Kimberly went into the pastel pink flower shop. When she opened the door, a tiny bell tinkled sweetly. The kind old lady smiled at her, and asked softly, “The usual?” Kimberly simply nodded somberly. Mrs. Flora patted Kimberly’s hand, consoling her. Tiny pink flowers with bright green stems curled around Kimberly’s arm as if trying to make her feel better, too. Mrs. Flora, with one last smile, bustled about the tiny shop, gathering the flowers, the wrapping paper, and the baby blue bow.

Bouquet of yellow roses in hand, she went next to Mr. Harper’s Tea Shoppe. When she opened the door, he was in the cafe room, wiping down a table.

“Oh, Miss West,” he greeted pleasantly, “I hope it wasn’t too presumptuous of me, but I have your bag of Earl Grey ready in the back. I know how you like to steep it yourself.” Kimberly gave a weak smile, and managed a small “thank you.” Mr. Harper smiled understandingly, and disappeared through an invisible door. He quickly reappeared right in front of her, and handed her two tea bags. “I do hope it is to your liking,” he smiled.

“It always is,” Kimberly replied, her voice so soft she might as well have been whispering. She carefully placed the tea bags in the bouquet in a way that they didn’t crush the flowers, and headed out the door.

She then strolled down the cobblestone street, lined with pastel-colored shops and happy faces. The sun shined, reflecting on the polished stones and glinting off of glass window panes. Everything seemed so bright. Too bright, without her near.

Soon, the stores were replaced with trees, and the cobblestone with dirt. Still, she continued on her trek through the forest.

The forest was peaceful. The sun shined through the leaves, casting a green-gold glow over everything underneath the canopy. The birds occasionally chirped, calling out gleeful greetings to each other, and the small forest critters sometimes rustled a few branches, skittering to and fro, but that was the extent of the noise. Mostly, she was left alone to her thoughts.

Finally, she came across a small clearing, in the middle of which was a singular grey stone with engravings in it, a small table with two small stools, and a small tea set.

Kimberly gingerly placed the bouquet at the foot of the stone and said, louder than she had said anything all day, “I hope you like them.” She picked the tea bags out from the bouquet, and placed them in the two cups.

“Like them?” Kimberly heard from behind. “Girl, please, I love them! I always love the flowers you bring me.” Kimberly turned around to see Patty, her friend of eighteen years. “Anyway, how did you know I was already here?”

Kimberly smirked. “Last time we were here, I stacked the cups on top of each other. You moved them.”

“Only because you keep trying to steal my cup,” Patty huffed, going to the other side of the table and sitting down with entirely way too much force. Kimberly stifled a laugh and sat down, too.

Kimberly waved her hand over the teapot, and then poured boiling water from the pot into the two cups. Patty clapped her hands.

“What a fancy schmancy magician,” she swooned. Kimberly smiled and flipped her hair.

“Only the best tea for my lovely assistant, dearest Patty,” Kimberly sassed. “Look, your favorite - Earl Grey!” The two girls laughed pleasantly, before turning to their drinks.

Halfway through her first sip, Kimberly suddenly let out a sound of despair.

Patty raised an eyebrow. “Did you make the water too hot again?” she asked. Kimberly shook her head violently, and made as if she was going to explain herself, before remembering that she still had tea in her mouth.

After swallowing, Kimberly explained, “First of all, I forgot to bring biscuits.” Patty huffed a laugh and muttered, “Is that all,” under her breath. “Before you say it, I know, I know I can just wave it into existence, but there’s something special about getting it from Miss Little. She makes them just crunchy enough on the outside, and super fluffy on the inside, and-”

“Here they are,” Patty said proudly, placing a plate of Miss Little Biscuits on the table. “You got extra last time, remember?”

Kimberly frowned. “But surely, they’ve gone bad by now.”

“Silly, you know time works differently here.”

Kimberly hadn’t really known, but it did explain why the day seemed so much longer on days she visited. She nodded along anyway, and picked up a biscuit. She carefully tore off a small bit, making sure that the biscuit really was fine, and soon devoured the rest. There really was nothing like Miss Little Biscuits.

Kimberly rearranged the biscuits on the table, and explained when Patty stared at her with an eyebrow raised, “Since there were six biscuits originally, you can eat three, and I’ll eat the two left over.” Patty got a funny little smile on her face, but Kimberly was too focused on drinking tea and eating biscuits.

Suddenly, after swallowing down Biscuit Number Two, Kimberly let out another sound of despair.

“Have you bitten your tongue again?” Patty asked, in the same tone of voice as before. Kimberly groaned.

“One time,” she grumbled. Then, like an afterthought, she said, “Second of all, Tammy Cat died on me two days ago.”

Patty gasped in horror. “Not Tammy Cat!” she cried. Kimberly nodded sadly.

“That’s why the bouquet’s ribbon today is baby blue,” Kimberly explained. Patty sighed sadly.

“Tammy Cat was so cute,” Patty said. “She was the best kitty in the whole world.” Kimberly’s hand was resting on the table, and Patty’s hand covered hers. Patty squeezed, and Kimberly gave a weak smile back as tears started to flood her eyes. Tammy Cat had been her loyal friend for five years, after all. Five years since…

Patty suddenly seemed to realize something. “You haven’t told me the meaning of the flowers yet! You told me you would last time, but we ran out of time.”

Kimberly jolted out of her sad state, and took a moment to let her brain catch up. Then, she smiled.

“The yellow rose means friendship and happiness,” she explained softly. “Thank you for being my friend. You’ve no idea how happy you make me.” Patty got that funny little smile again. This time, Kimberly noticed.

She said nothing.

Kimberly finished her last biscuit, and chugged the rest of her tea. With a satisfied sigh, she said, “I guess it’s about time I start heading back.”

Patty smiled, and stood up. “Thanks for meeting me here,” she said, hugging Kimberly as the other woman stood up as well.

“Always. See you next week?”

“See you next week.”

Kimberly smiled, and headed back into the forest. Forest critters darted around, rustling the trees’ branches, and birds called greetings to each other in sweet songs. The sun shined through the leaves, casting a green-gold light onto everything. Kimberly swung her arms as she strolled down the dirt path. Soon, the dirt path was replaced with cobblestone, and the trees with pastel-colored shops with smiling faces inside them.

The sun shined everywhere. All was well with the world.

In the meadow sat three biscuits on a plate, and a full cup of over-steeped, cold tea. The stone read,

PATRICIA EATON

BELOVED DAUGHTER AND FRIEND

YOU SHINE TOO BRIGHT FOR THE EARTH, YOU HAD TO ASCEND INTO THE SUN