Prompt: Orchid | Word Count: 300 words exactly | Genre: fiction
Mar 24, 2020
He’d sent her an orchid. It meant the world to her. Each day she watered it, fed it special food, which would be harder to find with all this craziness in the world. Supplies were erratic, on expected things, sometimes on more unusual items. She assumed the flower food would eventually be in short supply when the manufacturer no longer produced and stockpiles ran low. She dreaded that day. Orchids were so persnickety.
So were people. She’d begged her son to come home. But he had refused, saying he would be as fine there as with her, stubbornly refusing her need. He liked his routines, his space. She worried. She called. Wash your hands. Her heart hurt being separated. Every time she looked at the orchid he sent her she felt comforted believing if it thrived, so did he.
Over time she learned new skills, which at her age was quite an accomplishment. She learned to use Zoom, What’s App, and FaceTime to stay connected and to see her boy. This eased her unease. She learned to meditate and find solace in the new quiet she cultivated in her mind. She traveled virtually to places she’d always wanted to go, Carnegie Hall, the Louvre, and others.
Social media alerted her to neighbors that needed help. She grabbed her sanitizer and made a point to help at least one person each day. She wanted to do more. So she sewed masks. She delivered supplies. She felt useful.
Amidst the world’s great tragedy, she found a way to make peace with her son’s choices. She found her own resilience. She found purpose in helping those near her. The orchid he gave her blossomed as she learned to release her worry to the wind and trust her instincts. She found a new normal.
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