The mercury was in its early teens and the cold breeze blowing harshly on my face made me flinch.
Hands dug deeper into the coat pockets, and the feet increased pace.
I entered the hall and could feel the warmth return. As I slowly walked to the escalator, I passed the flower shop right underneath it. There she sat, surrounded by flowers and smiling as if one amongst them.
The fragrance around was intoxicating, and the only thing that prevented me from lingering more was the hefty price tags attached to each of those flower baskets.
There was an ease and charm about her – probably the result of being in the midst of all the wonderful flowers. Red roses, violets, daisies, chrysanthemums, lilies and then there was her.
Her eyes were fixed in a distance, and there was a serene calmness about her face. She imprisoned a smile that was yearning to break free from her lips.
So many people would have bought flowers from her. So many hearts would have spoken ‘I Love You’, ‘I Miss You’, and ‘I Care for You’ through her flowers.
What was she thinking seated amidst this abundance of flowing emotions? Was she thinking ‘When would someone gift me flowers?” Was she thinking “When would someone say ‘I care for you”?
I was watching her even as the escalator took me up and afar, pulling my mind distant from that of the stranger, like a mother pulling a child away from his favourite toy.
“Jason. Nooo” The young mother’s voice was too late. The toddler was already a fair ten pace ahead of his mom and before anything, had plucked a bright red rose from one of the flower baskets. I stood and watched as the mother came running to admonish her young. Little Jason looked puzzled and startled and what he did next was something out of the blue.
He walked to the flower lady, looked up at her and gifted a beautiful smile. Then he gave her that rose, just as if to say – I care.
The lady gave him a pat on his head, gave the flower back to him and guided him to his mom.
Seated in her wheelchair, the flower lady waved goodbye to the little boy. Little Jason was waving and jumping in joy as he walked away with his mom – the bright red rose in his hand.
There was a fragrance in the air. I didn’t know if it were from the flowers or from the joy around.
I slowly walked off to my apartment all the while thinking - Strangers we meet, strangers we part, and in between we enjoy it all - spring, summer, fall, winter and spring.
The night sky was getting colder, but nothing could steal the warmth from my heart. The warmth of what I had seen. The warmth of love unfold.
