When Lilacs Bloom

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. Could this be that spring is here at last? Twyla looks to those clouds and knows that it will only be a matter of days before she will see some wildflowers out on the farm. Perhaps the lilacs will finally bloom. Sadly, there is one stipulation. Twyla remembers as she lays in her bed watching the clouds form and move. She must fall in love before a single bud will emerge.

“Bummer.” Twyla sighs out before rubbing her forehead and slowly drifts off to sleep, dreaming about those purple clouds and flowers.

An old family legend that has been haunting her lately. It is said that when a Songbird woman falls in love, she makes even the most impossible of flowers bloom. Here in the near-tropical island of Crocus, these flowers would be lilacs. The bushes that she had planted with her mother when she was a kid has never had a single flower sprout on it. Her mother had warned her that no lilacs would ever grow here but Twyla had to have them there. So with out question her mother had planted them for her.

But that did not stop her dreaming about lilacs and their sweet smell, every night since she had her first sniff of them.

A few hours later, the sun rises and Twyla looks out at the beginning of the pink sky. This means that she has to get her surfer gear on and go to work. Her work is teaching people how to surf on the Daykona Beach. Another tut-tut from her mother sounds in her head. She can still hear her say,

“Honey if all you do is teach children how to surf, you will never find true love.”

Twyla sits up and rubs a hand through her long strawberry blond hair and shakes her head to be rid of mother’s voice. Truth be told, she does not care if she finds a romantic love because her love of surfing has already taken her heart. There is nothing better than dashing through the water, paddling yourself out towards the distance, and with a speed that seems impossible to take you fly through waves on the board. She stands up and goes to the window to see the lilac bush outside.

“Why can’t you bloom for that?” She says to them.

With a grunt, she goes to her closet and to get started on her day.

*****

Down at the beach, Twyla looks to the horizon and sees the sun come up. As soon as she hears the joyous cries of children coming on the beach she turns and faces them. It maybe just after 7:00 AM, but she can see that these kids are eager to get started. Their boundless giggles and the lively way they move their extremities, tells her so.

“Hi guys!” Twyla speaks in her most bubbly voice, trying to match these young would-be surfers’ energy. “Are we ready to become the new ocean riders?”

“Yeah!” Each one squeals with delight, jumping up and down.

“Alright guys! Grab a board and we will hit the sand first.” Twyla instructs and she walks over to her multi-colored surfboard that stands in the sand.

Three hours came and went quickly, thanks to the crashing of waves and the enthusiasm of the kids taking to them. Laying face down on the board, Twyla swims behind her charges who are making their way back to the beach. As soon as they reach the land, the kids pick up their boards and stand them up in the sand the way she had showed them how to earlier. She follows close behind them and slams the board into the ground beside theirs but still holds onto it.

“Now how was that for you guys?” She asks with a great smile. The kids cheer loudly but she could see a slight weariness on their faces. Perfect! That means they worked and played hard out there. “Okay! I’ll see you guys for our next lesson. Don’t forget to wipe down your boards.”

As Twyla cleans down her own surfboard, she hears a voice in the distance. It is calming, melodious, and male. And something that made her heart flutter more than even the biggest wave out in the ocean. She turns and looks where this voice is coming from.

“Hey Tim!” A man with startling blue eyes and dark blonde hair that is almost a tad too long jogs slowly up the beach. He stops as one of her students runs towards him and greets him with a hug. “How was class buddy?”

“So much fun Uncle Rob!” Her small student tells him with a sudden burst of energy. As he continues to share wild stories of crazy waves with the man, Twyla approaches the two of them.

“Hi!” Twyla says in a friendly manner and holds her hand out to him. “I don’t think we have met. I’m Twyla, I’m Tim’s teacher.”

He flashes a million-dollar smile at her and takes her hand gently. “I’m Rob and I’m this little waver’s uncle.”

Rob grabs his nephew’s head with his other arm and gives him a playful little shake that makes them both laugh.

“Tim is such a joy to have in my class. He is one of my best learners.”

“Because he’s a genius at boarding?” Rob asks affectionately holding Tim’s shoulders.

Twyla chuckles at them and speaks. “Well yes but it’s also because he enjoys it and to me that is the most important thing.”

Tim smiles up at her feeling the gratitude of having such a compliment from a teacher. Twyla looks down at her and Rob’s conjoined hands. The two of them have forgotten that they were still holding each other’s hands. Twyla’s face begins to heat up so much that she can mentally see herself turning beet red. She looks into his ocean blue eyes and wonders what he is thinking. With sudden anxiety, the two of them let go of each other’s hands.

Twyla looks to Tim and gives him her best smile. “I’ll see you for our next class right Tim?”

“Yeah!” He says and begins to walk off with his uncle.

Although she does not mean to, Twyla gazes at them as they go. Rob turns and provides her a friendly smile as he walks off. He gives her a mixture of a wave and a salute. She returns with a little wave of her own but finds that her heart still feels like a group of butterflies have built a nest in it.

*****

At her house, the lilac bush has new violet sprouts growing out which has never happened before. And yet, here it is. She is not home right now to see this but could it be the start of something special?