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The Maiden Flowers
By Katie Houston
Once
upon a time, a little girl named Julia resided in a cottage with her family on
the outskirts of a town that was part of a beautiful kingdom. The king and
queen of the land were genuine, loving leaders.
Each year,
the palace had a grand celebration honoring the calendar changing to a new
year. It was called “The New Beginning.” Thousands of townspeople gathered
outside the palace for the event. The royal
family selected one privileged young lady from each town in the kingdom to
represent her village at the ceremony.
The chosen girl recited a speech about the blessings received during the
passing year and offered one wish on behalf of her town for the New Year. The New Beginning ceremony was the most
anticipated event of the year and was treated with reverence and honor. Countless hours were spent adorning the
palace grounds with flowers of every color and variety that were picked from
the famous royal gardens.
In
addition to the honor of presenting before the entire kingdom, the king and queen
permitted the chosen young lady from each town to enter the gardens of the
palace once a year and pick flowers for the table of her home. The flowers from the royal gardens were
rumored to bring a spirit of peace and contentment into the home of whomever
possessed them. No woman in the kingdom
desired any greater gift than this.
From the
time she was a very small child, Julia dreamed of being chosen to represent her
town in the prestigious ceremony. As her
childhood progressed, she and her friends spent many evenings imagining what it
would be like. They sketched designs for fancy ball gowns they would wear for
the occasion. They debated where in their homes they would place their first
bouquet of flowers from the gardens of the palace. They giggled as they practiced bowing and
curtsying in all different manners for hours on end.
One by
one, starting at the age of ten years old, many of Julia’s friends were
selected to represent their town in the New Beginning ceremony. Every year, she noticed an increasing number
of beautiful flower arrangements on the hearths and dining tables of her
dearest friends. At each ceremony, Julia
happily watched her friends fulfill their shared dream; however, her heart
tugged silently with longing for her chance.
But she did not lose hope. She
knew she was up to the task and her turn would come. As the years passed, Julia practiced writing
speeches and delivering them in front of her looking glass. She sought mentors
to teach her grace and poise. She learned to weave intricate braids in her
hair, which she painstakingly did every New Beginning ceremony, hoping to earn notice
of the royal family. She focused all her
efforts on becoming worthy to complete the task of delivering the speech on
behalf of her town. But as each year
came and went, Julia began to wonder if this job was really meant for her.
After a
time, Julia was determined not to dwell on the wave of disappointment that came
when a new year began and she was not selected.
She began traveling from city to city, tutoring young children in
reading and writing. Though she still
longed for a turn to represent her city at the annual celebration, she found
purpose in looking outside herself. She
spent less time anticipating the ceremony every year and more time generating
ideas to help the children she taught.
She hardly noticed any longer the changing of one year to the next. There were no royal flowers adorning her
table; yet, she felt contentment and peace in her home.
Alas,
there were many girls in the town and not enough New Beginning ceremonies
before Julia’s youth ran out and the window of time to represent her town gently
closed. The leadership of the kingdom
was eventually passed from the king and queen of her childhood to their son and
his bride. As the years passed, Julia
grew to be an old woman with a rich and fulfilling life. Though she was happy, she couldn’t help but
feel a twinge of regret each time she saw a bouquet of palace flowers in
someone else’s home. Despite her own
contentment, she couldn’t help but wonder if her life could have amounted to something
greater.
One day
in late winter, there was a knock at the door.
A palace messenger delivered a letter requesting her presence before the
king and queen. Nervously, she embarked
on the two-day trip to the palace, with questions lingering in her mind the
entire journey. Upon her arrival, Julia
was immediately brought to an ornate hall trimmed with sapphires and
emeralds. Never before had Julia seen
anything so lovely. At the end of the hall sat the king and queen of the
land. “Your majesties,” Julia said, as
she carefully lowered her old, aching body to the ground. To her surprise, she found herself enveloped
in the hug of the queen who had risen from her throne and knelt beside the
older woman. “Julia, how long we have
waited to meet you!” the queen cried.
“Me?” Julia replied incredulously.
“How do you know who I am?”
The king
then spoke. “My parents often spoke of you and your contributions to our humble
kingdom.” Julia was aghast. “I did not
think they knew who I was,” she replied.
“I was never chosen to represent the kingdom at the New Beginning
celebration, nor have I performed any act of heroism to garner their
attention.” The king offered Julia a
chair as he and the queen returned to their thrones. “Julia,” he asked, looking in to her eyes,
“Do you know the process by which the royal family selects the young woman each
year to lead the New Beginning ceremony on behalf of her village?” Julia paused for a moment before answering.
“I always assumed the honor must go to the fairest, most poised and elegant
young lady from each town.”
The
queen then spoke. “My dear Julia!
Beauty, grace, and poise are certainly admired when presenting a speech before
thousands, but they do not determine if someone is worthy for the task. Allow me to explain the process of selection.
“When a
young lady is born in the kingdom, her first teardrop is preserved and used to
water a seed that is planted in her honor. The seed grows as the child does. The plant is unique from all others because
of the teardrop that waters it in its infancy. When the plant is full of
flowers and ready to be picked, the young lady for whom it was planted is
chosen to represent her town in the ceremony. Though all the flowers are
carefully tended, they do not all grow at the same rate.”
“Julia,”
said the king, continuing where his wife left off, “I took a particular
interest in your plant many years ago as a child. The stems were a deep shade of green that
caught my attention one day while playing in the gardens. Every day, I would come check on your little
plant. A couple times, little pink buds
appeared, and it seemed as though your turn to deliver a speech at the New
Beginning ceremony was fast approaching.
I would bring my mother and father to the gardens and excitedly show
them the progress. But then, shortly
before selection, a storm would come and tear the buds from the stem. I mourned the loss of the tiny buds and worried
about the resilience of your little plant.
Miraculously, however, the buds reappeared brighter in color after each storm,
eventually becoming a deep, magnificent red.
The stems grew thicker, making the plant more sturdy and capable of
weathering the storms that came.”
“During
the time the king and I began to court,” continued the queen, ”We took take
daily strolls in the garden and observed the progress of the plants. Together, we noticed something interesting
about yours.
“The
roots began to nourish the ground surrounding it. The other plants drew strength from its roots
and grew faster and fuller. Plants that
once struggled to bloom flourished. By
the time your plant was full of flowers, it was serving an important
purpose. We did not wish for it to be
harvested just yet.”
The king
rose and took Julia’s hands in his, prompting her to stand. “Julia, the time has now come. Your plant has fed those around it and given
them strength to thrive on their own. It
is now ready to be picked. We wish for
you to represent not only your town, but our entire kingdom by giving the
opening address in this year’s New Beginning ceremony.” Julia sank down in her chair and shook her
head sadly. “But I am too old now, your highness. My voice is no longer strong and I cannot
stand as tall as I once could. I am not
fit for such a royal honor. I will surely trip and fall or stumble over my
words.” As Julia looked down at her weathered hands and began to cry silently,
the queen left the room. She returned
shortly with a vase full of magnificent red flowers. “Here are flowers grown
from the seed that was watered with your tear so many years ago. Take the flowers
and place them in your hair on the day of the ceremony. You will draw strength from their petals.
They will sustain you and enable you to complete the task before you.”
Julia
could not speak. She carefully took the
vase extended toward her and slowly bowed before the king and queen. Her knees felt strong beneath her as the rose
again.
After
many years of waiting, hoping, learning, and growing, the day of Julia’s New
Beginning ceremony arrived. She was dressed
in an exquisite cream-colored gown decorated with pearls and a crown of deep
red flowers fit snuggly atop her graying hair. Julia felt courage emanating through her
body, just as the queen promised. She
looked over the crowd from the balcony of the great palace hall and calmly
began delivering her speech about the many blessings bestowed upon the land
during the past year. When it came time to beseech the king and queen for one
thing on behalf of the kingdom, Julia’s eyes panned the crowd before her. “My wish,” she began, “is that every
individual in our kingdom will trust in the timing of the harvest. Though raging storms will come that appear to
banish hope, we must remember that the ground, firm and steady, will yield
fruit in time.” She reached for the crown on her head and tossed it out in to
the crowd. The wreath fell at the feet
of a surprised young girl, no more than twelve years of age. The young maiden picked it up and, grasping
it in her hands, looked up towards the old woman standing on the balcony with
wonder in her eyes. “Someday,” she
thought to herself, “that will be me.”
