Story Saturday

I don't think I can call this Short Story Saturday anymore. The stories seem to be getting longer and longer...

Anyhow. Here we go.


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Emer sat, unsure what to do, or what she was supposed to do. The words that Ava had spoken to her rang with truth, and she knew it. One thing she knew for certain was that she did not want to die. So going back to Paris, and dying in two weeks was not an option to be considered. However, she did not necessarily want to go back to her small town, and try to live, with all those reminders of her parents around her. But she would not rule that out, not yet. That left her with one more option to explore. The place she was in, now. Closing the scrap book she got up, and went to look around a bit.
The garden she was in was the most amazing garden she'd ever seen. The flowers were thick and plentiful, without seeming overcrowded. The smell surrounding her was heavenly. After walking around awhile, just enjoying the garden, she found the small gate that led out. Taking a deep breath, she went out. Looking down, she noticed there were many twisting and turning paths that led away from where she was. She picked one, randomly, and started down it. There were houses here and there, all with magical gardens like the one she had just left. In some of the gardens were the people who tended them. All of them looked up, and waved enthusiastically at her. At the fourth house, however, a little, old wizened man waved at her to come into his garden. Hesitantly, she approached the gate.
"Oh please come in. It has been so long since I have had any company. Please" he entreated her. Seeing the hope on his face, she did as he bade.
"You are the young one staying with Ava, are you not?" he asked curiosity twinkling in his sapphire blue eyes.
"Er, yes. I am" she answered, thinking "does everyone know?"
"Yes, we all know" he answered. At the shocked look on her face, he laughed. "No I am not reading your mind. Your face is just very expressive. We do know that you are here, and, importantly, we know why you are here. You face a tough decision, and it must be made, soon. I had a feeling you would come out to explore our little world. It is an honor to have you in my little garden."
"Who are you?" she asked, curiously.
"Oh- I should have introduced myself. How rude!" he laughed at his own folly. "I am Sami. Ava is my cousin. I must tell you, Ava is the best of all of us, and if you were to stay here, then you would be learning from the best of all of us. Of course, we would all take you under our wing, but Ava would be your guardian.
"What would I be learning?" she asked, taken aback at his candor.
"You would be learning what you are meant to learn, of course" he answered. "Now, would you like to help me pick some flowers before you go?"
"Of course" she answered. As she wandered the garden with him, he told her the names of the various flowers, and their uses, if they had any. It was one of the more enjoyable hours she had spent in a long while. When it was time for her to go, he pinned a brightly colored Iris onto her lapel, and kissed her on each cheek. "Thank you for spending time with a lonely old man" he said.
"I loved every minute of it" she answered. Leaving the small gate, she was glad to note it was still mid morning, and she had some time left to make her decision. Continuing down the path she'd chosen, she looked around more at the place she was in. Children were playing hop scotch on the street, and, laughing madly, she took a turn at the game when they invited her in. When she was a little girl, no one had ever invited her into their games. After breathlessly hopping up and down the squares a few times, she begged her leave of the kids. One of them, a tiny, tiny red headed girl, presented her with a beautiful yellow stone to take with her. "Thank you so very much!" she said, appreciatively. "Are you going to stay?" answered the little one, hope in her big brown eyes. "I don't know yet" answered Emer, feeling slightly surprised that even the children knew of her dilemma. "What is your name?" she asked the tiny red head.
"Megan" she answered, then skipped away to rejoin her friends, who were now involved in a game of tag. Watching the children, Emer noted how happy they were, all darting around like brightly colored butterflies.
"I wish I had grown up here" thought Emer. Then she felt guilty, though, because she would not have been with her parents had she grown up here. And despite the miserable kids she grew up with, she'd loved every moment of growing up with her parents. She missed them a great deal.
She got lost in her thoughts, walking down the road. Thinking about her parents, her home town, and all that went with it. She'd left that small town for a reason, and she was not sure she wanted to go back. She also wondered if she could get Ava to give her more time...