Hanna was sitting at a picnic table
in the well-kept greenery of the sculpture garden nearby her
college. Her brown eyes stared at a rainbow take form from the
mist of a fountain, its colors blending in with the leaves of fall. She
wore her usual silver-framed glasses but took off her tiny brown
wristwatch and let down her well-groomed hair. Her hair was normally worn piled
up when studying earnestly at school.
She smelled the fresh
air, looked down at the table’s surface illuminated by the sunlight,
and took John Muir’s The Wilderness World from her square brown
haversack. She opened the book and found a yellow post-it she had stuck there
earlier, speaking of the beauty of nature. She read, and reread it. “People
need a relaxing time…”she said to herself.
“Especially…” she murmured, thinking
of her mother’s hysterical voice - Stop wasting time and get on with your
work! - Hanna’s mother seemed proud of having her busy life. She worked
perfectly as a lawyer. But she didn’t work as an ideal mother for Hanna.
Hanna’s mother spent plenty of time working outside, leaving Hanna at
home, even on weekends. Hanna visualized her mother getting mad and
scrunching up her face. Hanna had just given up recognizing her mother by
telling herself that they have a different thinking way. “See, how beautiful
nature is….” Hanna was feeling a breeze on her face for a short time.
Suddenly Hanna heard steps behind her, and
she noticed there was a little girl, with her curry short hair, studying a
flower with a plate giving the plant’s name.
“Sedum, Herbstfreude,”
the girl said. Then, she tipped her head to look at Hanna. “Where is the
sunflower?” She asked Hanna with her pure black eyes.
“Well…” Hanna held her book, crouching
down to meet the little girl’s eyes, and said, “Sunflowers are taking a rest,
preparing to meet you next summer.” But the little girl looked still confused,
staring at the flower as if she was waiting for the sedum to change into a
sunflower. While watching the little girl, Hanna heard more footsteps, getting
close to them.
“Sarah,” Hanna heard a low gentle voice,
calling the girl. Hanna recognized at once the voice of the speaker and rose,
catching the breeze on her body. Hanna knew the old man’s black face,
with its down-slanting eyes.
At first glance, Hanna couldn’t help watching his
unlined forehead, even though his hair was almost white.
“Hello, young lady,” he said, with an
apologetic smile. “I just saw you with my little girl. Nice to meet you.” The
old man offered his left hand to Hanna. She quickly looked away
embarrassed, but found herself unable to stop watching his face. Hanna
hesitantly smiled to him. When Hanna’s hand was about to rise, the girl called
Sarah stood up and ran toward the old man.
“Daddy,” she said, grabbing his left
hand with her right hand. Hanna thought the old man looked too old for being
the little girl’s father. But they seemed they didn’t care about their age gap.
There was affection between them. The old man took the greatest care of
his “daughter” and hugged her tenderly.
“We are going to see all the sculptures in
this garden,” he said gladly, “Have a good day,” guiding Sarah’s hand, taking a
step towards the Golden Path that wound through the area like a ribbon, tying
in features around the gardens and presenting its viewpoints.
As looking at their backs, Hanna was remembering
when she was in her kindergarten. Her mother’s youthful hand used to hold
Hanna’s little hand and led Hanna to their warm home. Hanna noticed that she
was hoping to see her mother’s wizened face broke into a broader smile at
that time.
Hanna’s attention was brought back to her
surroundings by the fountain’s splash on her hand. She sat on the bench and
looked at the fountain. Hanna was not surprised that there was still a
rainbow shining in the garden.
