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Picaflor


This is the story about the unhappy wildflower…


One day while the gardener was tending to his garden, he noticed a lonely flower way out in the woods. “What a beautiful flower,” he thought. He stood up, wiped his hands on his overalls, and walked into the woods. What a curious thing, this flower was; so erect and confident, in the midst of the unruly woods. The gardener was tempted to bring her over to his garden, but felt that this late in the season  may ruin her, so he let her be. Instead he got some of his supplies and tried his best to make her comfortable in the life that she was already living. He  fertilized her, watered her, and wished her well.


The flower alone in the woods, sometimes felt lonely, but knew that this was her home. She knew she could never be tamed, for she was a wild flower. However, the fall came and the season got rough and the flower sometimes wished that she was covered and sheltered along with the gardener’s other flowers. Winter made her spirit falter and she felt that she would never live to see the spring. However, the flower was strong and she survived the turbulence of the seasons.


One spring morning when the gardener went to check on the wild flower, he noticed her companion, a little sprout. Amazed and bewildered the gardener congratulated the flower and tended to her and her sprout. The flower then did an amazingly selfless thing - she begged the gardener to move her and her sprout to his garden. Being the wise man that he was, the gardener hesitated and questioned the flower about her motives, for he knew that moving a wild flower could be imprudent. She explained that she was afraid for her little sprout and knew that a sheltered life would be best for him. Although apprehensive, he obliged, and committed to move them.


The morning that they were to be moved the flower felt a great relief – she knew that her sprout would now be safe and she need not worry anymore. The gardener came as he said he would, and carefully moved the flower and her little sprout. He chose the perfect location and put them near his most precious flower – a flower so precious to him that it inherited his name. The gardener knew that his lovely wildflower would be in great hands near his namesake. He knew that his namesake, a responsible and wise flower would do everything in his power to protect the flower and her sprout.


Seasons passed and everything seemed well. The sprout grew to be a lovely flower. He proved to be as responsible as the gardener’s namesake when three more sprouts came along. The former sprout-now flower, played the part of both teacher and playmate to the three new sprouts, and they all got along. The wildflower seemed happy and knew that she had done the right thing by moving to a sheltered life for the sake of her sprouts. However, her color was not as vibrant as it once was, and her posture faltered. One day when the gardener came by, his namesake called to him and requested that they speak in private. The gardener temporarily removed his precious flower and listened to what he had to say. It was not good; the gardener’s namesake was worried. He was worried that the wildflower was unhappy, that she was losing her color and with it her life. The gardener asked him what they should do. As sad as he was to say it, he did, “Send her back to the woods,” replied the gardener’s namesake.


The gardener approached the wildflower the next day and asked if it were true, if she was unhappy living at his garden. The wildflower admitted that although she was grateful to the gardener and the companion that he had chosen for her, she was indeed unhappy. She missed being untamed. She missed the unruliness of the woods and the seasonal birds that came and went. She mostly missed the Picaflor, the bird that fed of her pollen and whispered sweet songs of melodies. The gardener, being the wise man that he was, shook his head and explained to the wildflower that he was afraid that this day would come. He explained that he knew that one day she would become unhappy with the shelter that he provided and the companion that he had chosen for her. He then went on to say that the same way he knew this day would come; he also knew that one day she would regret leaving. Despite his warning and his advice the wildflower insisted that she needed to be set free, and as she said it, the gardener followed her gaze and saw the Picaflor. The bird had been waiting patiently by a tree, for he too knew that his persistence and temptations would soon wear the wildflower down. When he first started coming he thought that it would never happen, for the wildflower was in love with her companion and her sprouts, but when he saw her color fading he knew that his sweet songs would do her in. He came by every morning and sang to her until she faltered and he KNEW that she would then return to the place where she was fooled into believing that she belonged.


So with much sadness in his heart, the gardener set her free. He took his beloved wildflower and let her go back to the woods. He felt so sad to see her go, but knew that he would be there if she ever needed him…


The wildflower thought of no one, but herself as she straightened her stem out and felt the sunshine on her petals. She was free!!! She felt exhilarated and happy. She enjoyed the unruly woods and looked forward to mornings, when the Picaflor would come to feed off her pollen and sing sweet songs of melodies. When her sprouts took over her thoughts she begged the Picaflor to sing louder and he did, for he knew that if he didn’t she would soon realize that she no longer belonged. The Picaflor did everything in his power to keep up the charade because he needed the sweet pollen the wildflower brought. It was the pollen that he was really after all along.


One morning the Picaflor did not come to feed or to sing. The wildflower thought nothing of it because she knew that the Picaflor sometimes wandered off, but he always came back. It wasn’t till days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months that the wildflower began to worry. Her color was beginning to fade when the gardener paid her a visit. He always seemed to come when she needed him most. She cried and explained to the gardener that she had been so happy with the Picaflor, but that she now was so empty without him. She said that without his sweet melodies to distract her, she missed her sprouts and his namesake. The gardener listened attentively and smiled. He then explained to the wildflower that when she thought she was alone, she really wasn’t – they had always been there, watching from afar. They could see the façade and knew that her happiness was superficial. They knew that this day would come, the day she finally realized the TRUTH. Although born a wildflower she did not belong in the unruly woods where her beauty was lost and used by the Picaflor. She belonged in a beautiful garden where her exoticness stood out amidst the rest. She deserved the shelter that the gardener provided. The gardener felt raindrops and thought that if he were to move the wildflower, he must do it soon. However, he realized that it was not going to rain. What he felt were tears on his hand, tears streaming from the wildflower. She felt sadden by the realization that she had made her sprouts and her companion suffer for a dream that never existed. She wished she had listened to the wise gardener who always knew what was best for her, even when she didn’t. She was saddened to realize that the Picaflor was a liar. He tempted her and sang her songs of melodious lies.



By:Yvette Negron-Torres

1 comments:

  1. Woa, this story is so beautifully symbolic and so sad. I wonder if the wildflower is a lost women / mom who is tempted by a single life. Well done. I will come back to reread this story. It has captivated me.

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