The Roses

It was a cold, snowy night, the Johnson’s were getting ready to watch the new year come and finish the previous year. Last year was not a fine year for the Johnson’s, their beautiful Juana, soon to have been a mother of 3, had passed away. Her youngest son, Henry had taken the loss too hard. 

“A toast everyone!!” Henry exclaimed. Everyone at the flower-covered dinner table looked at the boy in awe. Since when did Henry ever make a toast? What was this all about?

“A toast to my mum! May she always rest in peace! I vow to never EVER feel any bit of sadness about her ever again!” A tear came down little Henry’s eye, he missed his mom. From the day she left him.

Joseph, Henry’s big brother had patted him on the back. He knew that this loss was very hard on Henry. “Henry, I am so proud of you. Our mum will always be with us. I am happy that you can move on,” He said.

The thing was, that Henry had not moved on, it had been almost a few months since his mother had passed away. Henry wanted to find some way to get his mother back... maybe just for a second! He knew this would have been impossible, but sometimes the impossible is possible. He had learned that from those kids’ movies he had been watching. He knew that they were fake, but this was his last chance. He wanted his mother! “Let’s lift our glasses into the air,” he said, trying to fight back the tears in his eyes.

As everyone lifted their glass of beverages from the table, a piece of a flower, a rose petal, flew up into the air. It almost flew up and out of the open window and out of Henry’s wood-made hut. It couldn’t though, it just fell right back down to the table. Henry looked at this strange sighting most peculiarly. He decided he should go for a walk with his father, Benjamin.

They lived near a pond, which was about 5 miles away. Henry knew it was cold, like almost 35 degrees! It usually isn't cold during these times. He wondered why. On his walk with his dad, he tried to spark a conversation, about his mother.

“She was such a great woman.”

Benjamin, assuming that Henry was talking about his wife said, “Oh yes… yes.”

Benjamin hadn’t enjoyed talking about his love, Juana. It had been almost 5 months since his beloved had passed.

“Why haven’t you talked about her much lately?” Henry asked.

“Well, I was afraid that you would get upset if I spoke of her,” Benjamin answered, “I would have teared up as well, and no one would be happy in the end,”. 

“Is it okay to cry?” Henry questioned.

“Well, of course!! You should always cry whenever you feel like it! Let your feelings out. Don’t be afraid to show it!” Benjamin exclaimed. To him, it was very important to let feelings out, especially after Juana had passed away.

With that, Henry started to cry, cry so loud that the southern part of the U.S.A, north of where Henry was could hear a little, tiny faint yelp. 

“I want my MOM!!” Henry demanded. “I want her NOW!!”

Benjamin had no idea how to calm his son down. Only Juana had a way with him. She would tell him to breathe in and out, up and down. Benjamin never really understood how this would help Henry. When he tried it with him, he would keep crying, even more. Benjamin wanted to go home by now but he decided to keep walking. He felt that Henry should see that pond for some reason, like it was calling to his son. So in heavy, heavy amounts of clothing, they continued to walk the 3 more miles to the pond. 

On the way towards the pond, Henry saw the sky, it was filled with clouds! Usually, where Henry lived, the sky would be as clear as mint condition glass. This was not a normal day.

Henry walked by a path of roses, when we walked by them, a gust of strong wind blew against his back. Henry had no choice but to keep moving along. He was walking quickly now because of the wind. The wind had made him tear up inside, he held back the tears. He felt as if the wind was screeching at him saying,

“Get Away!! Stop It!! Get Out!!”

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to wail. His father must have heard Henry whimpering. 

“WHAT NOW?!” Benjamin shouted.

Henry looked in shock at his father.

“I-i-i-i…” Henry started to shudder.

“Look, Henry, you got to learn to get a grip! Your mum may be gone, but she is still with you!”

“How do you know?!” Henry questioned.

“You just have to trust me!”

“BUT HOW DO I KNOW?!?!” Henry exclaimed.

“Henry just stop it! Get your mind away from your mum, and just get out of your slump!”

Henry now knew that his dad hadn’t cared much about his wife. He must think that it is so easy to lose a loved one!! He doesn’t know what it is like! He never lost his mum! What would he know?!

“We are almost there,” Henry said glumly.

At this point, Henry felt that his father had no respect for what he was feeling, his mother may or may not be watching out for him, and he was even sadder than when he lost his pet dog. He loved that dog! His mum knew what to do when he was sad, his dad just stood in the corner, trying not to notice him, some parent he was.

All that walking had finally come to an end. Henry had made it. He made it to the pond. It was 9 at night, and the sun was beginning to set. Henry sat near the top of a hill so he could have a clearer view of the pond. He wanted to see his mother more than he wanted anything in his entire life. He knew he couldn’t, and there was no way that Henry could just “believe” that his mother was with him. He needed to see it for himself. He refused to believe that his mother was with him until he was sure!

Henry started to sob, he had never felt as sad as he did in his life. Henry wanted his mother.

Then, a breeze blew right behind him, he turned around. 

He saw the snow, which had risen to a record-breaking point since he and his father left their home. He kept looking at the snow, the rises and falls, the fast and the slow, he started to think calmly about his mother. Maybe she was with him! That is what she did when he was upset! Somehow, it would always calm him down. 

Slowly, Henry began to realize that his mother was all around him. In nature. Henry finally understood why his mum had to leave him. It’s all-natural, and now that he knows this, he can use it to teach others. He can be a better person!! Suddenly, Henry heard a voice from the wind come into his ears:

“Y-you w-i-ll b...e okay…”

Henry made sense of what he had just heard. He understood, his mom was everywhere. He just never took the time to notice. 

On the way back home, Henry said to his father:

“I love you.”

“I love you too son,”

“If you ever pass on...” Henry started to say, “You won’t see me get upset and cry as much.  I know that you will be everywhere and will always be with me.”

Benjamin took a few moments to process this information.

“What? Really? You serious?” he exclaimed.

“Yeah!” Henry said with a gleeful smile.

Benjamin said a little quick prayer in his heart, smiled at the sky, and back down at Henry. Oh, how he had grown! Such a wonderful child, bright, kind, and sensitive. Who wouldn’t love this little bundle of joy? 

Henry opened the door to his house after 3 hours, Joseph came running.

“Where were you guys! You’ve been out for so long! It’s almost midnight!! I got worried!”

“Oh, we are all better now!” Henry said, knowingly.

“Yes, all better indeed,” Benjamin agreed.

“Well come on! We haven’t finished our dinner yet! It got very cold,” Joseph said.

“That’s ok, let’s eat!!” Benjamin said.

The family of 3 went to their table and finished their delicious dinner. Henry started to clear his plate. Then he saw it. The rose petal. It flew up again up and up and up. It looked like it would hit the ceiling, but it didn’t. It flew out the open window. Henry ran to the window to see where the rose petal was. He saw it. It was flying, higher and higher into the sky. For five minutes it flew until Henry couldn’t see it anymore. He felt a wave of relief flow over him, like five months of sadness, anger, and confusion just… fade away. 

Henry looked out the window and saw his mom. Everywhere. As he went back inside to hug his family, he knew now that he was truly never alone.