Waves of Gold

Everyone needs their space from time to time. Whether it be for creating a musical masterpiece, a genius invention to make life easier, the next fabulous fashion trend or simply to get lost in our thoughts, we ALL need it. A place to feel safe. A place to breath freely.

Amelia had been searching for such a place for a long time. Being a very shy introvert meant that she often kept to herself. Most of the time, people thought one of two things about her (sometimes both). Either she was a weirdo or she was just shy.

Amelia didn't care about that though. Keeping to herself meant that it was less likely that she had to explain her awkwardness or feel the need to fit in. But thanks to her grandmother, Amelia would finally have a place to go where she could be free from judgment and be herself.

Grandma Daisy always loved flowers, trees and all types of plants since she was little, just like her mother. So it was a no-brainer that when a beautiful cottage on the countryside went on the market, she snatched it up right away!

It was a one story cottage with two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, a small kitchen and living room with a cozy fireplace. The outside had white walls with a burnt orange terra cotta roof. It was draped from roof to porch in yellow honeysuckle and lavender lilac blooms, wrapped in Kelly green vines. It looked like a dollhouse straight out of a fairytale!

The cottage was enclosed by a low wooden picket fence with a cobblestone path leading to the house, surrounded by dozens of bushes with a rainbow of flowers in various stages of opening everywhere you turned. The branches of a giant weeping willow tree to the left of the fence hung over the house and garden, lightly tickling the roof with every gentle summer breeze. But that wasn't even the best part!

After all the paperwork was done and Grandma Daisy moved in and settled, she invited Amelia to stay for the summer. She wanted to share her new home with her granddaughter. Amelia accepted the invitation without a second thought and couldn't be happier. She came as soon as summer vacation started.

Upon her arrival, Grandma Daisy was already standing in front of the house waiting for her. Amelia surveyed the front garden in awe. She slowly walked through the fence then closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the beautiful floral aroma. She walked towards the house and Grandma Daisy met her halfway, embracing her in a warm hug that neither of them wanted to break away from. Amelia dropped her bags and snuggled her back. As Amelia nuzzled her forehead into her grandmother's shoulder, Grandma Daisy looked down at her lovingly and smiled. After tucking a stray wisp of hair behind Amelia's ear, she whispered into it,

"This is not even the best part. Do you wanna see?"

Amelia looked up at her grandmother's sweet smiling face with excitement in her eyes. She nodded, picked up her bags and quickly ran into the house to put her belongings away. But before she could turn around, Grandma Daisy excitedly ran into the house, grabbed her hand taking her towards the backyard and said,

"Close your eyes, and no peeking until I say open. OK?"

Amelia nodded again, closing her eyes at the same time with a huge grin on her face.

As they went out to the backyard, the aroma was different from the front garden, although still very pleasant. Amelia's excitement could not be contained as she instantly recognized the scent. She wanted to see everything right now! She squeezed Grandma Daisy's hand and exclaimed,

"I know this scent! Can I open my eyes PLEASE?!?!"

Grandma Daisy guided her further to the middle of the garden, let her hand go and with a big smile said,

"Go ahead sweetie. Open your eyes!"

Amelia slowly opened her eyes to savor the moment and saw a blur of green speckled with yellow spots. She blinked a few times to and gasped with excitement as her vision cleared. Her jaw dropped and then she covered her mouth with both hands and let out an excited squeal as Grandma Daisy chuckled behind her. She saw a field of marigolds, her favorite flower, as far as her eyes could see. They were everywhere, sprinkled across the emerald grass that gracefully met the powder blue cloudless sky at the horizon.

While Grandma Daisy went to sit in her chair on the porch, Amelia walked further into the field, bending down every once in a while to gently caress a random little golden beauty. Each time she did, the still settled morning dew jumped out of the delicately folded petals onto her hand. Amelia turned back to her grandmother and said,

"This is amazing!"

"I knew you would love it, honey!" her grandmother replied.

Grandma Daisy smiled at Amelia as she skipped through the field scooping up marigolds, making sure that the stems and leaves were still attached. She let out a soft sigh and went inside to make them both something to eat. By the time she came out with the food, Amelia was already making her way back.

Amelia happily hopped onto the porch with an armful of marigolds and said,

"Mmmm! that looks yummy, grandma! Let's eat and then make flower crowns for each other like you and your mom used to make!"

"Sounds like a plan my dear!" Grandma Daisy replied. "And I can show you how my mom taught me to make them."

After setting up the plates and serving the food, Grandma Daisy turned on the radio and tuned in to a pop music station and started to bop her head to the music. Amelia snapped her head around looking at her grandmother with a surprised but happy expression and smiled. Grandma Daisy winked and smiled back as they continued to enjoy their meal.

After they were done eating they cleared the dishes and made beautiful braided flower crowns, placing them onto each others heads. Amelia's was a bit looser than her grandmother's but Grandma daisy wore it with pride until she was ready to go inside for a rest. Neither of them even realized how long they were sitting outside enjoying each other's company. It was already turning into evening.

Amelia stayed on the porch to watch the sunset, gazing at the sky as it changed from blue to streaks of pink, gold, orange and purple. The colors washed over the marigold fields, making the flowers look like they were dancing under the last fading rays of sunlight. She sighed contentedly, smiled and said in a whisper shout,

"This is the best.... spot.... EVER!"