Back to the Garden
Niamh shyly touched the stranger’s robe, overcome with astonishment.
“Blue,” Cian said gently. Niamh did not know the word, nor the color, nor any color except grey.
The old men muttered, the women huddled together. But the children were curious.
“Come, see.” Cian led them to the massive steel door which had not been opened in hundreds of years, since the floods, the blistering heat, the scorching wildfires. They froze, terrified.
“It’s safe now. Nature has healed the wounds.”
He opened the door to a miraculous world of fragrance and texture, color and light.
Niamh tentatively took the first step.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleHow to pronounce the names of the characters:
Niamh is pronounced Neeve
Cian is pronounced Kee-an
I love this Julie. Beautifully written, it feels so expectant and hopeful. Very nicely done!
Thank you so much, Carrie. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI am in awe Julie. I love the gentleness of the narrative leading to the child’s awakening. The image you’ve used is truly beautiful.
Thank you, Linda. I’m so glad you liked the image. I found it in the Creative Common section of Google. I like just looking at it – it reminds me to appreciate all the things we have in this beautiful world.
I agree with Carrie, Julie. It feels so hopeful. Like as I hope that nature will heal the scarcity that COVID 19 brought to us. I also love this, Julie. Very nice story. Great job.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThanks so much, Lotchie! Nature is the best healer, and is more powerful than we are, so there is hope.
You’re welcome, Julie. Yes, there is hope. ❤
A gentle story, as Linda noted, but sad that it might take hundreds of years to bring back what we should never have taken for granted. I hope we can change our ways now, and not be locked in a steel bunker for centuries!
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleLike you, Fuji, I hope humans don’t have to hide in a bunker. If we make some major changes NOW, we still have a chance. I’m thinking of things to do (and not do) every day.
A question, Julie. I tried reading your story out loud to a friend, but I don’t know how to pronounce the little girls name. Could you help me with that?
Ah, yes, Fuji. These Irish names can be bewildering! Luckily, I watched enough episodes of Ballykissangel to become adept at pronouncing some beautiful names. Niamh is pronounced Neeve (important to the allegory in this story). Cian is pronounced Kee-an.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThanks, Julie. Those pronunciations add another dimension to the story, and also help me read it aloud.
A beautiful story, Julie, a gentle reminder and full of hope. Nature is a wonderful healer and, if we can encourage a few more to work with her, such a miracle might happen before our descendants are forced into that grey world. Well done ?
Thank you so much for these kind words, Sandra. Yes, if we can just encourage more people to work with Nature instead of trying to rule her, we could avoid the fate of Niamh and her companions.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleAt the same time an optimistic and pessimistic take on our environmental situation, Julie. Your story is very well written with many small, important details thrown in. I love it that it is the children that are open to the new situation, while the old people are skeptic. While reading it, my mind went to Plato and his story about the prisoners in the cave. Do you know it?
Yes Christer, I know the cave story from Plato’s Republic very well. So many of us have, in times past and present, believed the shadows were reality. Poor Niamh and her playmates have never known anything but the puppet-shadows, mainly because their ancestors didn’t turn their faces to the reality that was right behind them. Please note the Irish pronunciation of the little girl’s name – it’s central to the allegory. Thanks… Read more »
Julie, I have tried to figure out what you are trying to tell us about those names, but sorry to say I am at a loss. This is all I can come up with: From Niamh/Neeve I can make associations to “never”, to “knee” or to Spanish “nieve”, meaning snow. From Cían/Kee-an, I associate to “keen”, to “can” or to the biblical name Kain with all its implications. It will be interesting… Read more »
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI thought everyone would catch the reference in the little girl’s name, but if you, our resident linguist, don’t see it then probably no one will! Niamh – Neeve – is the new Eve, returning to the Garden. Cian – Kee-an – as you said, is associated with “keen” which is Scottish for “to know”. It also means to be excited about something, so both meanings fit him. Thanks for being curious… Read more »
Despite the fact that there aren’t many words, this story is overall beautiful, and I think you’ve done an amazing job here!
Thank you so much, Lyric the Great! I like your name, by the way. Maybe sometime you could write a bio so we can learn more about you!
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with Google