WEBVTT

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Welcome to end to the night.
I'm Nari, your guide on to day's

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excursion down a twisted path. Be
careful not to get lost. Be it

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dark or light, it's easy to
lose your way. Are you ready?

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Then let's begin? How does your
garden grow? Part? One? For

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as long as she could remember,
Mary Reynolds loved plants. When she was

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a little girl, she watched her
mother care for the flowers and vegetable gardens

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on their property, and she delighted
in helping any time she could. She

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learned early how to tell the difference
between weeds and desired plants, and soon

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her mother trusted her to tend the
gardens alongside her. Mary, you have

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a natural knack for growing things.
Young Mary would smile and bask in the

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attention her green thumb gave her.
She loved the time she spent with her

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mother, and as an added reward, her mother planted Mary's favorite flowers and

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vegetables. Your bachelor buttons are coming
along nicely, aren't they. The bright

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blue flowers brought a whimsical feel to
the little girl's garden patch. Yes,

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mamma, they make me happy.
Colleen Reynolds didn't mind indulging her daughter's love

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for flowers. She loved them herself, as had her mother and grandmother,

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and she delighted in the joy Mary
found in them. It's good for a

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person to nurse her plants and to
dig in the soil. It keeps us

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connected to the earth, and too
many children these days don't get outside enough.

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Mary didn't know much about other children, but it made her sad to

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think that not everyone bonded with nature
the way she and her mother did.

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Say my nursery rhy Mamma. Colleen
smiled at her little girl and took her

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by the hand, swinging it as
she recited the poem Mary Mary contrary,

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How does your garden grow with silver
bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all

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in a row? Mary giggled,
and Colline wiped a wisp of hair from

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her daughter's face. Only you are
a very good girl, and not contrary

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at all. Colleen put her arm
around Mary. Now, how about we

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go inside and get lunch started.
Mary nodded happily and skipped alongside her mother

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as they walked across the lawn to
their farmhouse. Mary hopped up each of

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the porch steps while Colleen patiently held
her hand and waited on her to make

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it all the way to the wooden
wrap around porch. The little girl looked

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over her shoulder for one more view
of her flowers. Bees and butterflies flitted

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from blossom to blossom, and a
gentle breeze carried the earthy smells of fresh

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dirt and early summer. Mary watched
the breeze move through the leaves on the

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basswood tree. Its boughs waved back
and forth. She smiled and waved back.

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Colleen held open the screen door.
Come on, let's get you inside.

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Do you want to help me make
cinnamon rolls after lunch? This caught

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Mary's attention. Cinnamon rolls are my
favorite. I happen to know that.

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The two of them laughed, and
Mary made another hop up the step into

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the house to the kitchen. My
little hoppy frog. This made Mary even

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happier. She loved frogs and didn't
mind the comparison one bit. Now as

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an adult, Mary treasured those care
free childhood days for the rest of her

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life. I was lucky to grow
up in the country with a mamma who

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devoted herself to me. Not everyone
gets to enjoy a simple, happy childhood

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like mine. Warm days working in
the garden or picking wild flowers in a

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field, making cinnamon rolls or cookies, and having the freedom to just be

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a kid. Those are experiences every
child should have. She stood on the

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wooden porch, remembering countless childhood memories
spent on the farm. Nearly all of

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them were Goody brought about many changes, however, and now her mother was

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ill. Colleen's decline was the most
difficult change to accept. At eighteen,

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Mary left home to attend college.
She'd married at twenty two and divorced at

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thirty two. She'd lived many places, but this was always home. Carrying

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for Colleen in the house she grew
up in was not what Mary had expected

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to be doing at this point in
her life, but it was where she

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was supposed to be. I'm so
glad I have a career that allows me

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to work remotely. Mom has done
so much for me, and I need

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to be here during these last difficult
years for her. It's where I belong.

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She looked out over the farm.
The red Yankee barn stood starkly against

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the blue sky. The basswood tree
at the far end of the side yard

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loomed large. Its canopy of branches
provided shade for her as a little girl,

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and it still made the wooden yard
swing beneath it look inviting. The

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vegetable garden was smaller than usual this
year, but Mary couldn't worry about that

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right now. Between work and the
care she gave to her mother, Mary

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simply didn't have time to grow a
large one. The flower gardens, however,

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were a vibrant reminder of years passed. The blooms were in full glory

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now, and Mary made a habit
of bringing her mother fresh bouquets to brighten

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her days. Her mother's voice had
weakened in recent weeks, and Mary was

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thankful they had thought of a way
she could summon Mary for help. The

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gentle tinkling sound in the background alerted
her to her mother's call. The small

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silver bell by the bedside was Colleen's
signal to Mary that she needed help.

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Sometimes she needed another dose of pain
medication, Sometimes she simply wanted to talk.

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Mary brought the bouquet of flowers she'd
picked with her in a vase as

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she entered her mother's room. The
picture window sat slightly open, and the

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curtains billowed in the breeze. The
lilac paint on the walls matched the purple

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hues and the floral duveay covering the
bed. As sick as Colleen was,

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she still found comfort in the beauty
around her. Yes, mamma, it's

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a lovely day outside. I can
smell the freshly cut grass and the flowers

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through the window. That breeze is
wonderful. Colleen took a deep breath and

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smiled. It's a beautiful day,
mamma. I brought you a new bouquet.

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Colleen sat up to smell the flowers. Those are gorgeous. Thank you.

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The bachelor buttons she had a pretty
splash of blue. Are you comfortable?

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Do you want me to bring you
anything to eat or drink? Colleen

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patted the edge of the bed.
No, I just want to spend some

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time with my girl. You're in
luck, then, because I would love

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to spend time with you. They
both chuckled. We've used that line for

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years, and it's still true.
Colleen squeezed Mary's hand. It will always

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be true. She looked around at
the plants filling nearly every corner of her

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room. It makes me feel better
to have them with me. This practically

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looks like a flower shop in here. Maybe we could open one on the

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side, She teased. I wouldn't
want to part with any of them.

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Each one is special. A tear
escaped her eye. It's so sweet of

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you, Mary, to make my
room such a comforting place. You know

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how much I love plants. I
wish, Mary patted her mother's arm.

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I know, Mamma, I wish
you could garden again too. I'd love

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to feel the dirt in my hands
and the sun on my face. I

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missed the shade of the basswood tree. I played under it as a little

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girl, just like you did when
you were young. That tree has watched

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over our family for a couple of
generations. Colleene looked wistfully out the window.

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From where she lay. She could
see her favorite tree swaying in the

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wind. Just look at how peaceful
and inviting it is now. Mary had

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a tear in her eye. We
both love the base would very much.

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I can't help but think that it
loves us too. Colleen turned her head

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and looked at her daughter. I
do too, Mary. We're lucky to

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have it here with us. Say, would you mind bringing me some soup?

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I think I'm up to eating now. Of course, chicken noodle or

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vegetable beef chicken noodle. After all, it's no one we knew. The

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two women broke into laughter years ago. A farside cartoon brought that line into

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their family vocabulary. Mary remembered the
frame well. One chicken lay under the

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covers in bed, and another stood
in the doorway holding a tray with a

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steaming bowl of soup on it.
The caption read number one, it's good

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for you. Number two it's nobody
we knew. Mary and Colleen laughed many

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times through the years over that one. I'll be right back with your soup.

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Ten minutes later, Mary returned to
Colleen's room. Her mother peacefully slept

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with her face turned toward the open
window. The breeze blew whisps from Colleen's

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hair across her forehead, and her
hand gently held a long vine that extended

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from the philodendron's plant growing on the
stand next to her bed. Its stems

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and leaves intertwined with Colleen's fingers.
A slight smile spread across the sleeping woman's

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lips. Mary gently closed the bedroom
door and turned to take the soup back

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to the kitchen, sleep well and
sweet dreams, Mamma. Mary leaned against

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the wall and closed her eyes.
If only there was a way I could

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bring her back to health. She
misses her garden and taking walks through the

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countryside. It breaks my heart to
see her so lonely for nature. Her

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mother's sadness weighed heavily on Mary as
she quietly walked down the hallway. Feeling

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a bit hungry, she heated leftovers
from last night's dinner and went to the

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living room to relax and enjoy her
meal. She turned on the TV and

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flipped through the channels. A commercial, one of those pharmaceutical ads, caught

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her attention. It wasn't the drug, she noticed, however, it showed

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a smiling woman being pushed down a
path to enjoy the outdoors. That's it.

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I'll build a path from paving stones
and we'll take Mamma for outings around

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the farm in her wheelchair. Why
haven't I thought of this before? Mary

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made a list of the materials she
needed. She knew it would be time

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consuming and construction materials weren't cheap,
but she had a plan. I'll build

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it one section at a time.
Mary went to the door to the porch

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and looked out across the field.
I know exactly where I'll built the first

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path to the basswood tree. It's
branches swirled excitedly in the wind. Yes,

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sweet basswood tree, I'm excited too. Mary laughed aloud. If anyone

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heard me talking to myself and the
basswood, they cart me off to the

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looney bin. She didn't care how
silly she sounded, though. For the

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first time in months, she knew
of a way to brighten her mother's last

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day. She may not have much
longer, but I'm going to make sure

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she's happy during the time she has
left. After making sure Colleen finally ate

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her bowl of soup, Mary reheated
for her. She hugged her mother good

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night and went to bed. Visions
of the projects she had planned played through

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her mind as she drifted off to
sleep. Thank you for joining me for

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this episode of the Into the Night
Anthology podcast. Written by Caroline Giamanco,

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narrated by Nari Kwak. Theme music
by Nico Rodriguez. All other original music,

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sound design and editing by Omenhawk Studios. You can find our links in

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the show notes. Into the Night
is on your favorite podcatcher, so make

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sure to like, subscribe, and
leave a five star review to help other

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excursionists to join us. I'll see
you next time, and remember, whether

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in the shadows or in the daylight, all twisted paths lead you into the

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night. Into the Night Anthology is
a creative typo entertainment production