Flash Nano 28 - The Solstice

 THE SOLSTICE

Flash Nano PROMPT DAY 28: Write a story that includes a bizarre ritual. 

Ciah (See Ah) was aghast when she entered her mother-in-law’s house where she and her new husband were living while finishing their degrees.

Her full name was Boudicca, after the British warrior queen.  Ciah’s mother had given it to her so she would be a strong woman.

Originally Ciah didn’t use an H in her written nickname, but kids teased her about being a U.S. government agency.

Because her mother, who taught pagan cultures at a small Vermont liberal arts college, Ciah’s childhood had been different from the majority of modern children.

Although not a witch, her mother followed regular wicca holidays in honoring the cycle of the seasons with special events. Ciah planted and harvested, watched the days growing shorter and longer, made corn dolls and tiny maypoles throughout her childhood and loved every minute of it.

Had she not met Jonathan, she’d still be in Vermont instead of Brookline, Massachusetts and living with her in-laws. He had attended the college where Ciah's mother taught. He was intrigued by their philosophy while still standing in that of his own childhood.

Their love for each other made them decide to work through both cultures, not that different from a Jewish girl marrying a Catholic boy.

Ciah worked at the Brookline library while pursuing a Masters in Library Science at Simmons. Her mother had also created an overwhelming love of reading in her daughter. Thus when confronted with her in-laws’s lifestyle and a major city, she embraced both while feeling nostalgic for the natural rhythms of the planet.

She’d been looking forward to the winter solstice as much as her mother-in-law was looking forward to Christmas. However, when Ciah walked into the living room on December 1st, she did not expect to see a Christmas tree, an aluminum Christmas tree with only blue decorations. 

Jonathan sympathized with his new wife but felt she was overreacting when she told him that without bringing in a green tree on the 20^th, they were threatening the return of the sun.

The morning of the 20^th they woke to see out their bedroom window. Snow had fallen, not a lot, just enough to make the world look new and beautiful.

Ciah dreaded this day, remembering the joy of all her other solstice celebrations. “It’s like my heart has a chamber missing.” She was in bed watching Jonathan dress. Classes were over and she wasn’t scheduled to work.

“Get dressed,” he said.

They caught the T to Quincy market. Evergreens and decorations were everywhere. Taking her hand, Jonathan led her to a tent filled with trees for sale.

“We want the tiniest tree you have,” he said.

The man showed them ones that was still too big to pass his mother’s exacting standards for her house.

As they were about to leave, a woman who worked there said, “Wait.” She brought out a live tiny tree in a pot. The tree was more like a twig.

Jonathan and Ciah exchanged glances.

“We could keep it in our room,” he said.

“I could take it home when we visit for New Year’s.”

“You could replant it in your mother’s garden. Or in the woods behind the house.”

Ciah threw her arms around him.

Twenty years later, Ciah and Jonathan lived in Vermont on a small farm. She was the village librarian. He'd given up law school and become a farmer and did odd jobs.

There were 19 evergreens planted in various stages of growth, creating a small grove on their back land. Those trees had helped the couple celebrate each solstice of their marriage. 

Another evergreen their first, one that was twenty years old, was taller than their 17 year old daughter.The tree was happy behing behind Ciah's mother's house.