Hearthwood was the home of a husband and wife who had loved each other for many years. They did everything together: taking walks, tending their garden, shopping in town, and more. The locals knew that wherever one was, the other was close behind. They had vowed to stay together forever, till the end.
One day, the husband left home to journey to the mountains to bring back a gift for his wife. A token, a rare beauty, the Passion Blossom Lily, that would display the sheer amount of love he had for his wife.
He had heard the story from a shopkeeper who recounted a tale of a special flower that grew at the summit of a distant mountain, where two lovers once sought eternal unity. Despite losing each other on the climb, their love was so powerful that it transformed the landscape into a lush paradise for the Passion Bloom Lilies to flourish.
Upon hearing the tale and despite his wife’s pleas for him to remain he set off. It took a day to reach the mountain and another to ascend to the summit. Peering into the depths below, he saw a sea of love lilies and descended into the cavern without hesitation. Weak and exhausted, he gathered as many lilies as he could carry, tears streaming down his face. Spotting an exit on the far side, he dashed through a tunnel and emerged back in the valley.
Ignoring the nightfall, he raced home.
As Hearthwood came into view, he pushed forward with renewed urgency, overwhelmed by a mix of emotions. Bursting through the door, he was devastated to find the his wife’s lifeless body laid out on the kitchen floor.
He wept over her cold body until the first glimmers of daylight shone through the windows. He crafted her a beautiful homemade coffin, laid her inside, and buried her at the edge of their property. He planted the lilies atop her grave, pack his things, and set off from the place he no longer could call home.
As time passed and the lilies blossomed in season, visitors would read the note he left on the headstone:
"To lovers who seek the cursed lover's lilies,
I leave this patch for you,
So you need not stray far from the one you love in an attempt to show your love is true.”
+++++++++REMARKS++++++++++
I’m unsure where the inspiration for this story came from. It was something I wrote a few months ago on a whim.
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[June 30, 2024]
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Comments (1)
This was amazing! It is such a simple tale of love and how it is the little things that matter most. I feel like this is the type of story that is passed from one generation to another! Well done!