White Night Flower

It had been a few hours since the dream, the splinters of shining light shined under Cailade’s lids. Over the roof a morning sunlight hid. A sudden rush, then a moments breath. As she got up, she felt disappointment in her little brother Cane, who scratched the top of his head that was soft as a lions mane. “What took you so long to wake up?” Mother said, who was hardly awake herself, paying more attention to the fact that Luke was not sleeping while he steered the horse and wagon.

“I had that dream again.” Cailade remembered a meadow from the dream, -- a moment of peace. But her mother said no.

“Did not I say you can’t trust your dreams?” But she knew that she was not listening, Cailade’s soul was lost in a mental fog. She always felt that she could not measure up. And whenever she tried to speak, her father was locked up. As even when he could talk, he was usually to busy reading to his son in the last years of his life. Something that was always on his plate. No childish games, no flames of desire to dance the night away. Like a fire that would never go out. Even when she could he wanted to read to his daughter Cailade, he felt that his son needed it more than she ever did. And she felt like a chime on an alarm clock, an alarm clock that dropped onto a hard wooden floor.

Her mother brought her back to reality, by waking her up.

Cailade wanted to sing Mary had a little lamb to her father, but he shut her up mid sentence. “Can we sing a little later, we need to go ahead and unload the wagon.” he said, as he held his wife by her tender and soft hand. But her daughter was left to climb out of it on her own. She sat down upon the ledge, and gradually eased off. And stared into the valley -- it was a vast green expanse, the trees gave a certain illusion of an advance. Like an crowd living trees, in a game of chance -- life.

Later her mother greeted her at the village park. “I thought that you would do your best to be home for lunch.” But Cailade had a hunch, that there would be not much of a lunch.

At home she had her crunch, of a biscuit that was left over after lunch from an hour ago. Her mother did her best to keep it warm, but it had become a crisp. Cailade did not mind, as it was food. As she stared into the valley of the afternoon.

It was at night that she dreamed of the sky, of the valley where bumble bees danced in the fragmented bright. Her white night gown span sparkling in the light. She woke up restless, as the dream had began to become nightfall. And she felt that she did not want to be out in the forest after dark. But it was only a dream, and she saw only her shadow upon the wall. Cailade could hear her father’s voice, in the other side of the wall. He was singing to his son the song of picture books. Inside she fell back asleep, and she was running through the forest.

Cane had an unknown illness; his scan had began to become dry, and it was easy for the boy to loose breath -- and would sometimes heave to make sure that he got the right amount of air into his lungs. His little sister opened the door, as she wanted to visit him to check up on him. “You need to go back to bed sweetheart, you don’t want to become sick.”

“But I’ve been sick before dad.” Cailade said.

“Not this kind of sick, but I promise to read to you tomorrow.”

But tomorrow came and went, and then it was tomorrow after that. There was no singing to her, with her brother -- the sound of the songs of picture books. And when she dreamed her dream-full dreams, she stared into the distant valley. And saw a fallen horse, who had its face in sorrow upon it’s dead friend. She shape-shifted into another horse to stay by it’s side. Her mane raised up, with her mouth open with sorrow. She marched off crushing a white night flower.

When the morning came, she visited her brother. And by that point he had already began to start looking like an other, because his skin was so dry. And he was so out of breath, and it was all that she could to try to get him to stop heaving. “What do you think of dad reading to you?” Cailade said.

“I’m telling you to shoo,” he treated her like a speck of dust, and chased after her with his broom. “get out of my son’s room.” And she wept as he slammed the door, and could hear him also weeping. Luke wept till her could weep not more.

Another night alone.

In the wind, of forever into the light.

Cailade saw a lady in a white dress, who was blond and her eyes were blue. She fairy lady told her not to fight, as everything was going to be fine. And that she knew where she one could possibly find something to cure and treat her younger brother. Her smile gave her light, she had not had for over the week. “You want to know where the white night flower is?” Natures voice told her to leave in the early morning hours. Where the flowers will welcome her home.

She wanted to save her brother, at any cost. So Cailade stole her father’s wheel barrow. Maybe it would cause her to get in a little bit of trouble, cause him more sorrow. But to the little white flower, it was a chance for a tomorrow. Walking along her journey’s way, across the dirt road she rolled the wheel barrow until she met a frog by the side of the road.

“Do you know where I can find the white night flower?”

It hopped across the dirt road in the direction of the graveyard, to the place where the flowers grow in the valley of nowhere. Lifting a stone, she saw a white night flower. And it was crushed. Cailade her attempt to try to get a white night flower. She forgot her father’s wheel barrow as she walked back home. Luke had to retrieve it the next morning, which was to much for him to handle.

Her brother died of his illness, the next afternoon.

Cailade stood by the grave of Cane, and hugged the headstone. She wept through out the day her god arrived and took him away behind the shining golden gates. It was the next week that she got herself another white night flower. She made the mistake of not realizing that they grew during the night. She was going to go visit the graveyard to place the flower.

“Why aren’t you out there playing with the other girls?” her father said.

“I don’t know the other girls,” she tried to restrain her tears. “And I miss my brother.”

“Then go out and get to know them,” he crouched, and kiss her forehead. “Also I wanted to give this you, this is your brothers book. He is right here, he does not want to remember you like this.” And she leaned into his chest as he hugged her. It was to much for Luke to bare.

At the park, she sat with the other girls at the bench. She smiled as they smiled at her, though Janni could sense the fact that Cailade felt alone. It was in this false smile, that gave something away but she was not sure what exactly. “Do you want to come over?”

“Can I some other day, I’m reading a book.” Cailade said.

“It’s always open.” Janni said, walked off with the others. And the little white flower stared into the valley of nowhere.

The next afternoon after home school, they were going to visit the park. But Cailade wanted to do something else, something that her brother Cane had always wanted to. At the very least she could enjoy the breath of fresh air, with him with her forever in her mind and spirit. Janni and the other girls were having a lark about something else, and saw that she walked to the gate. Cailade paused for a moment, and turned around to see Janni.

“Why are you visiting the graveyard?” she said.

“I’m not, I am visiting the forest my brother always wanted to go.” Cailade said.

“You know there are ticks are there?”

“You think I’m afraid of a tick?”

As she walked through the gate, traveling to the world where Cane met his final fate, she knelt by the stone, and placed her forehead upon it. A moments passing, and there was a steady stream of tears. Her friend Janni walked into the graveyard to see what was wrong. She walked up behind her, and tapped her shoulder. It was as she got up, that she saw her friend’s that had wept. And why she did not want to be with the others, as she knelt covering her face ...

Cailade did not want Janni to know she cried.

“I know you did not mean to pick up the wrong flower, but the flower you picked up only grows at night.” Cailade did not understand why the fairy woman did not tell her earlier. She wanted to cause a fight, but instead the very idea of it filled her with freight. And then she gradually began to relax, when she realized she could just wait for the night to fall. The soothing voice of the woman in light, made her feel better. Though even that did not erase the itching feeling that she could not trust her. Because as she looked into her eyes, she sensed a certain lack of specifics..

As the fairy woman faded into the night, she was alone again. And when she woke back up during the night, she decided she would wait till tomorrow night to try to find the source of the flower. Even if perhaps it was to late to save her brother, she wanted to find it just for that fact that she wanted to know. Was the fairy lady telling the truth?

It was later that morning that she asked her friends, if they could play later. But the rest needed to be at home for school early in the morning. This left her largely to herself, but that was fine, she did not need them. Only needed to make sure that she alone had her way, no use asking her father as he would probably say no.

She could do this.

Cailade decided to go to the place where the white night flower grew, choosing to forget the wheel barrow. Even if her father had simply attributed it to death nerves, if she did it again she knew that he would be not so easy to dismiss it. As she walked through the forest, a shining light lit her passage into the night.

And she saw the flower, in the graveyard.

After gently plucking it, she went back home.

It was the next afternoon, that she had something to look forward after a long time of sorrow and loss. Something that she could admire, as she slowly opened her eyes -- covering them momentarily to protect from the lens flare.

“Where did you get the flower honey?” mother said.

“You know how she plays outside.” father said.

And they walked from the door, to have a conversation about something else. Cailade simply smiled, and found the sorrow that remained from the loss of her brother gradually began to fade back into the darkness. Cailade did not need the fairy woman. And she came to enjoy the valley, smiling at the flower in the bottle ...

Twinkling in the light from the window-glass.

It reminded her of her brothers smile, as she hugged him in a sense of everlasting love and friendship, a flower garden in the valley of nowhere.

The valley of the white night flower.

Subscribe