A fragile bloom

I think she was 2 years old when the photo was taken. 

A little girl standing in front of her older sister. She displayed tear-stained cheeks and the most oversized clothes on wear.

What's up with that anyway, African, or is it Kenyan children- being overdressed almost always. It is not exactly flattering. The little girl looked more of a boy-child. Her head was shaven and she had perky ears. 

I wonder why she was crying. Could the click of the camera be the reason for her being frightened? Her sister stands behind her, not stand- holds her from behind.

Could she be falling? I don't think so, she looks old enough to stand on her own. 

I had a conversation with the little girl's mother. She said the kid was fearful of so many things. The reason for the tears was that, the poor girl thought that the flash was like an ass whooping. That scared her, moving her to tears. Oh, what innocence.

What catches my eye the most is the little pink, or is it purple, flower on the girl's hand. Is it that the petals of the flower comforted her? That it possibly brought her fear to stillness?

"Yes", the little girls mother answered. The flower indeed quieted her for the photo. 

I think that was the genesis of the girl's passion and love for these botanical organisms. Fast forward to sixteen years later, The girl is now 18. She sees a rose and takes a picture.

See, the church she attends has a subscription of Sunday roses. It so happened that on that Thursday of the first day of July, that the bouquet hadn't been thrown away and wasn't spoilt. 

She picked a pink one. I saw the post on her WhatsApp. A pink rose placed between her knees and her feet crossed at the bottom, displaying red-painted toenails.

Turns out the passion had blossomed to  lifelong passion. Now, she is in campus. Her friends compliment her on the perfect photographs of flowers she takes.

'I don't like picking them because, then they die', she would say. She later learnt that the flower is called bougainvillea flower.

The fear that was once in my eyes, yes the little girl is me, is now catalyzing my  love for these botanical wonders. 

Petals of hope I call it!