Life Garden

The church backyard in autumn looks colorful and peaceful. A woman in black is sitting on a wood bench and staring into the distance. She looks sad and lonely as she holds her woolen shawl tightly to the body. She is memorizing the happy old time with her husband and sorrowing the lonely life she lives now. Her husband is leaving her for another woman. She feels tired about the past conflicts and fights. Staying in a peaceful yard and not thinking about solutions makes her feel rested.

When Roger returned for his clothe, Emily was sitting on the window frame. The curtain and her white dress were blowing in the wind. She looked like a statue with such a steady posture. She stayed there and looked at the garden for a couple of days. She always loved this garden. She remembered his admiring eyes surrounding her when she walked in the garden.

He asked her "What are you doing over there? How long have you been sitting there?" She answered him without turning her head "Not long, just thinking." Without further question he walked into the room and started to pack. She knew he was walking out of her life but didn't try to stop him. His passion and tender feeling had shifted to a new lover, and any more action would only disturb him and push him to discard the beautiful memories of their past.

Therefore he left. Emily didn't make any effort to move on. The sorrow and not eating properly struck her down after a few months. When they took her to the hospital, she was very weak and had lost the will to live. Dr. Drake ws surprised at her hollow eyes and her emotionless face in the first moment of seeing her. There was no response when he tried to speak with her. He felt a strong desire to rebuild her. Modern medicine cured her diseases, but didn't help her revive. Dr. Drake hired a lady to take care of her. Each day the lady fed her with nutritious food and prepared a special herb broth to condition her poor health. Gradually Emily's pale face appeared rosy and her hair gained glowing light. When she could sit up in the wheel chair with help, the lady always let her sit in front of window to look outside at the garden during the day. When it was time to leave the hospital, Dr. Drake decided to take Emily home and let the lady continue watching her health.

Emily still didn't speak. It was like she forgot how to speak. In fact she couldn't think either. Everything she saw, through her hollowed eyes were like through an opaque glass, like a dream. She didn't have any feeling with her mind shrinking to a small hole to see this world. However she knew Roger didn't visit her at all, and Dr. Drake and the lady was taking care of her. Emily became more beautiful than ever. When she walked in the garden in her white gown, she looked like goddess in the forest. Dr. Drake was full of tender love for her - he fell in love with his rebuilt work. He didn't know what had happened in Emily's past, but he believed her life must have disappointed her to an unbearable extent. He wasn't sure if Emily would wake up one day or would just keep escape the real world by living in a dream. But he decided to take care of her for the rest of her life.

Roger finally got the news about her sickness, but she was gone when he tried to visit her. He didn't get the chance to talk with Dr. Drake that day, so he thought Emily's family took her to some other place for her recovery. He felt guilty about Emily's misery and that's why he cared about her news. But his life with the new girlfriend was both hectic and so exciting that he rarely thought about Emily. He didn't allow himself to think about the past. Love can fade, and everyone has to move on if that really happens. However, Roger didn't wait too long to meet Emily again.

Note: Thanks for the feedback from Los Altos Community Freelance Writing Workshop - This is so romantic and gentle. We hope we get to read more. I plan to continue from here and come out my first romantic story.