Love is never humble

　　"Red roses symbolize love. Every year on Valentine's Day, my dad would give my mom a bouquet of roses, and then my mom's smile would be as big as a rose."

Love is never humble It was freezing in Seattle in January. For Julia, it had been a particularly cold and long winter.

　　On a Friday afternoon, Julia, a clerk in an office building, left work as usual and waited in her office for her husband, Roy, to drive her home. She had promised to take her 7-year-old son Billy to the ski resort on the weekend, so she had to hurry home to get her travel bag ready, and she had to ask Roy to turn around and go to the Mist Street supermarket to buy some food. Billy's little pink face came to her mind and a warm smile spread across her face: what a blessing to have such a lovely son and such a thoughtful husband by her side!

　　The clock's hand pointed to half past six, the sky outside the window had darkened, but Roy still had not arrived. She was wondering when the phone on her desk suddenly rang: "Is this Mrs. Cook? This is the central police station. Half an hour ago, your husband Roy Cook in the drive due to snowy roads, unfortunately, a car accident, please ......" Julia's had black eyes, then fell on the desk ......

　　Julia did not know how to face Billy, how to explain this tragedy to the boy with big fluttering blue eyes. For seven-year-old Billy, a bright and beautiful world has just opened its doors to him, how will his young mind bear the cruel reality?

　　"Mom, where did Dad go?" Billy looked at his mother in disbelief.

　　"He, uh, he's leaving us for a while. He's gone to another world, but is living happily as we are." Julia fought back tears and smiled as she answered.

　　"What's that place? Can I go to him?" Billy asked innocently.

　　"That place is called heaven, where flowers are everywhere and the sun shines. Your father became an angel, and he is free to go anywhere. Whenever you think of him, he will fly into your sleep and play with you."

　　"Is that so? Then wouldn't Daddy be a great god, and could he fulfill any of my wishes?"

　　"Yes," Julia stroked Billy's golden hair and said affectionately, "wherever the angel goes, the sky will hang a rainbow, the earth will bloom flowers everywhere, birds will sing softly in the forest, and people will feel sunny happiness. Billy, you must understand that affection is not something that can be separated by time and space; you are still Daddy's child, and you are still an angel's child."

　　"Really? I'm so happy to be an angel's child." Billy lifted his little face and looked at his mother with an innocent smile.

　　Julia, who had lost her husband, was not immediately relieved from her grief, and every object in the house made her miss her: the blue ceramic vase that Roy had given her for her birthday, in which the roses he gave her every Valentine's Day were placed; and Billy's little wooden stool that Roy had made for his son on his day off. Every ounce of air in the room was saturated with Roy's scent.

　　She wanted a change of scenery to relax and to be able to raise their child wholeheartedly. 10 days later, Julia moved with Billy to a two-story house in a residential area in the northern part of the city and started their new life. The house had not been lived in for a long time, and the small yard was overgrown with weeds. Julia was too busy with work to mow it, which made Billy happy, and he ran and jumped on the lawn every day, having a great time.

　　One day, sweating, Billy ran into the living room with his ball in his arms, but he didn't see his mother.

　　He faintly heard his mother sobbing from upstairs. Billy gently pushed open the door and saw his mother sitting at the desk with her back to him, holding a picture frame with his father's picture embedded in it, grieving alone.

　　"Mom, why are you crying?" Billy asked softly. Julia wiped away her tears and turned back to her son, "I just miss your dad a little." "Mom, didn't you say that whenever you miss your dad a lot, he will fly to you? Then why are you crying?" Julia was speechless, she kissed Billy's little cheeks and said, "You go play outside for a while, Mommy wants to be alone."

　　Billy went downstairs listlessly, and the sky outside was cloudy as if it was going to snow again. Suddenly, he found a wooden ladder erected at the edge of the yard, from which he could see the neighbor's yard. Billy Hing climbed up. It so happened that an old man from the neighbor's house came out of the flower room in the middle of the yard and looked up and saw the little boy on the wall. He smiled and greeted Billy: "Hi, kid on the wall, whose kid are you?"

　　"My name is Billy, I live here, and my mom just moved here." "So what are you doing climbing on the wall?" Billy pointed to the flower house in the yard and said, "I'm looking at the glass house, what's in there?"

　　The old man laughed and explained, "That's my flower room; it's full of carnations, tulips, lilies, violets, and red roses." Billy exclaimed, "My mother loves flowers too! We used to have a house full of flowers."

　　"Then you can choose a bouquet for your mom. Lilies symbolize purity and grace, violets symbolize eternal beauty, thyme symbolizes vitality, cactus symbolizes warmth and red roses ......"

　　"I know this one," Billy said smugly, "red roses symbolize love. Every year on Valentine's Day, Dad would give Mom a bouquet of roses, and then Mom's smile would be as big as a rose."

　　The old man nodded and said, "Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and I sell all my roses to people who love each other. You know what? The red rose is born with a charm that cannot be replaced by other flowers, it makes every ordinary heart feel the magic of love. In front of it, Cinderella will turn into Snow White in a flash."

　　"But I'm worried that my mom won't receive any roses tomorrow because dad hasn't been home for a long time. My mom says that dad is an angel and he lives in heaven. Mommy and I miss him so much."

　　The old man could not help but feel a touch of love for the child after hearing the well-meaning lie this mother told the child.

　　"And," Billy said with his little head hanging down, "I just saw Mommy crying, with Daddy's picture in her hand. She didn't seem very happy all the time."

　　"So that's it," the old man nodded thoughtfully, "son when you grow up a little more, you will understand your mother's intentions. What she wants most now is for you to grow up to be a man soon!"

　　"I think I can do it. I'm the man of the house when Daddy's not home! If mommy could receive roses from daddy tomorrow, she would be as happy as ever! But ......"

　　"I think you'll find a way, little man!" The old man winked at Billy, "The old gardener will be at your service any time!"

　　The crystalline snowflakes began to fall, and the snow on the ground became thicker and thicker. The snow that had fallen overnight finally stopped in the early morning, and the sunlight sprinkled into Julia's bedroom like wisps of broken gold.

　　"Mommy, Mommy, wake up!" Little Billy's voice woke up the sleeping Julia, "Oh my God, Daddy sent you roses! Oh, my God!" Little Billy danced around and pulled his mother to the window.

　　Julia looked down from the balcony and held her breath at what she saw. The small courtyard has been turned into a silver world, and the snow-capped lawn, painted with a red "LOVE", is in the sunlight, glittering. A closer look, that is actually by many bright red roses stitched together!

　　"Oh, Mom, I heard Dad saying 'Happy Valentine's Day to you!" Julia looked at her son in amazement, "Billy, that can't be true, your dad he ......"

　　"It's true," Billy looked excitedly at his mother, "it was an angel, no, it was Daddy who came by. Didn't you say that beautiful flowers would bloom overnight in the places he passed by? I also heard him say to me in my dream that he sends you roses every year and wants you to always have a smile on your face."

　　Julia looked at her son thoughtfully, and she saw that little Billy's shoes were covered with mud and water, and his pants and sleeves were stained with wet stains. She understood: last night, a little man braved the snow and wind to plant a garden full of roses for his mother!

　　"Thank you, son!"

　　"No, this is a gift from an angel." Little Billy's face turned red.

　　"But you, my son, you are the best gift the angels have ever given me!"

　　Julia hugged Billy tightly, and a big smile bloomed on her face.