The story of little purple flowers and the purple kettle

Rain in the early morning could easily bring back memories of my days as a young student. Dressed in my school uniform, wet hair from the cold morning bath dripping to my blouse; soft and comfortable ankle socks; the subtle smell of baby powder in my handkerchief, and a hot lunch box of big smelly fried fish buried in the heaps of white rice against my back in my school bag.

I remember the very first day of school. It was June and it was raining. I'm glad to have a sister just one year ahead of me to look out for me on my very first day but my mother, despite being busy, carved out time to go with us. I was recently told she was especially worried about me because of my introverted nature. I remember, holding her skirt until the last second to let go and then I turned to face this whole new world-- it was so scary.

On my way to my classroom, I saw these little flowers planted on the flower box to decorate the front of our room; clear and transparent little raindrops still clinging to their dark green leaves; its flowers are in a delicate shade of purple gathered on the top. It was so pretty. Later that day, as my sister and I walked back home, I saw a large bunch of the same flowers in one of the houses on our way. Theirs are planted on the roadside in front of their house. If I may say, looks like they have forgotten about it that Mother Nature takes over and arranged it in a beautiful tangle--the flowers are crawling everywhere in their yard, I stopped to appreciate it. It's like one of those scenes in the fantasy comics I was reading.

In my walks on some days like this one, I remember the flowers and the feeling of comfort it leaves me. I've tried to draw it from my memories and I wish I was a better artist, sadly this is all I can do. Then, I remember, after drawing it, a photograph I took years and years ago-- the same flowers, the same feelings. And somehow I find, coincidentally, the same shade of purple for my kettle that gives me the same warmth, literally and figuratively, for rainy days like this.