Adonis is a flower popularly known to symbolize beauty, sorrowful memories, and remembrance. In some cultures, it might even be considered a symbol of determination.
It is a flower that named after a handsome youth in Greek mythology who is loved by both Aphrodite and Persephone. When Adonis was killed by a wild boar, the Goddess of Love begged for Adonis' life with Zeus, and he decreed that the youth shall spend half of his year with Aphrodite and the remaining half be spent with the Queen of the Underworld.
His death and resurrection give way to the inherent meaning of the yellow flowers named after him. And it made me think of a short story that I would like to share with you.
He stood still under the pouring rain. It is cold enough that people are covered from head to toes with their umbrellas held above their heads but Daze did not seem to notice the cold nor the people slowly filtering out of the place.
He stayed even when the sky turned from blue to different hues of orange and pink to midnight blues. Just staring into the headstone, the stars watched over him sadly. His hold on the flowers on his hands tightened and he squeezed his eyes shut to keep the pain inside.
The nightingale sings a sad melody that he did not hear. He wished that this is only just a nightmare that he would wake up from any minute now, but the time for the funeral is long enough that he knows it is impossible.
He feels the wind circles him for a while as if embracing him and he finally lets the tears fall in time with the raindrops.
The flowers on his hands are beautiful. 'He would like this and hate this at the same time', chest constricting at the thought. Daze knows the meaning of the flowers he brought. but the yellow popping out among the white and purple flowers catches his attention.
"Adonis is a flower of beauty and remembrance", the golden-eyed man lectures.
"But it is also a flower of sorrowful memories. For people left behind, it is also a determination to move forward."
He remembers that day clearly, they were lying around gazing at the clouds overhead. He listens as his companion lists off different flower meanings, but something crossed his eyes when talking about the yellow flower. Now, Daze wonders if he knew what would happen in the future that he told him the meaning of this particular flower a few days before he left.
He does not know the exact details, no one knows. All he remembered is the phone call, rushing to the hospital, just in time to see the flat line. Oh, they tried so hard to bring him back, but the man looks so peaceful with his eyes closed and his mouth curved upwards as if he died seeing something beautiful.
Daze wonders about it as the last of his tears fall, and the rain finally letting up. He left the flowers at the headstone, pale hand touching the engraving of his partner's name. He does not know how to start facing the days without the familiar warmth his partner brings, but he knows that there was a meaning behind the flower lessons that day. And even if the meaning is unclear right now, he could always ask his sunshine about it, the next time they saw each other.
When the rain stopped fully and the clouds parted for the sun, the flowers swayed to the rhythm of the wind, and Daze is no longer there.
It is a short story that I wrote immediately as I think of it. I think sending and receiving Adonis is bittersweet. I imagine that this is one flower that I feel like I do not wish to receive.
I enjoyed writing this story a lot even though I feel sad about the characters. I definitely did not shed tears when writing this. I am starting to enjoy writing short stories a lot. I look forward to writing more in the future.
On a side note, Daze is a character in a webtoon that I really love called "Nice to Meet You" by Wishroomness. If you like light-hearted stories (not like the story above), I definitely recommend giving this one a chance. This webtoon has made me laugh and smile when I was in a bad mood or when I was overthinking.
I used his name here because I quite liked the sound of it. Take note that the character in this story is different from the webtoon. They just share the similar names (name twins!).
If you liked this article, you might be interested in my other works. You can find the list of all previous articles I wrote in the link below. Feel free to check it out.
https://read.cash/@ZehraSky/may-2021-articles-summary-59e3f5b8
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