Ocean Flowers

I remember the time when I took my parents to the Mexico sea-shore, a little trailer hut by the ocean beach, where Mom and Dad picking stones and seashells like little kids, until day grew dark. Their faces were glowing, with orange sunset beaming on the side of the cheeks. The plastic bag they used for holding stones grew too heavy, broke down few times, before we finally managed to haul all the heavy chunky treasures all the way back to our dwelling.

That day I saw bright golden sun-flower blossomed out of Dad’s rigid stern chest... he was beaming warm sun-gold inside and out, in a way that I only vaguely remembered before I reached 9 years old…. When days were still good, we were still living in a tiny house among a big community owned housing project by the textile factory he was working at. Everybody was equally poor, but days were long and filled with rich memories of flavors. Everyone knows everyone around, neighbors were still able to visit each’s house without the need to knock on the door... That way every time when my parents started fighting and quarreling, an old next-door grandma would be able to break into our house to break my parents’ fight apart. And then, this kindhearted grandma would be pacifying my crying sorrowful heart with a bowl of fresh orange flavored ice-cream or a pocket full of colorful candies, or big freshly cooked stuffed buns filled with garlic-leeks, shrimps, fried eggs and minced potato noodles...

But this very moment, it was the ocean doing the magic tricks, there’s no more fighting or mundane trivial struggles on earth. Mom said she found the place where she only saw in dreamworld before. That moment her whole consciousness merged into oneness with ocean flowers. She couldn’t tell the clear cutting-edge between dream or reality.

Overtaken by the swirling waves of

swarming fragrance and vivacious colors...

a vivid, surreal remembrance of a little six years old girl,

dancing and singing among flowery bushes,

chasing after her imaginary friends,

playing hide-and-seek with other kindred-spirits and

monarch butterflies.