Dandelion by Amihan Florentino-Kernan
ne sunny morning, Lilly woke up. She was planning on playing on the tire swing her Dad had built for her. He had made it out of an old tire he found at the dump.
When Lilly walked out the door, she found the yard full of dandelion seeds. Lilly thought of one clear night when she sat on the porch swing with her Mom. Her Mom said that if you blew on a dandelion seed and all the tufts came off, your wish would come true.
Now her Mom was dead and Lilly was living in their house with her Dad and two aunts. What Lilly wanted most was to see her Mom again. Lilly had photos of her Mom, but that didn't satisfy her. She wanted to see her mother again.
Lilly walked around the garden and picked a perfect dandelion seed. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and with all of her heart whispered her wish: "I want so much to see my Mom again." She blew hard on the dandelion seed and all the little tufts flew off and floated over the garden. Then Lilly stood still, really still. All the colors around her started blending into each other. The sky turned a deep shade of purple-blue.
Minutes later, the colors began to clear up. She found herself staring at her Mom sitting on the porch swing, reading a book.
Lilly looked all around her. The garden was different. No tire swing. The garden was full of flowers.
Lilly looked down. She was still in her old dress. In her hand she was still holding the dandelion stem.
"Lilly honey," her Mom called out. "Come sit with me!" She said, scooting over to make room for her.
Lilly ran to her Mom, skipping the steps up to the porch. She sat on the porch swing and leaned her head on her Mom's shoulder.
She started to think of what had just happened. She had traveled through time! Here she was, sitting on the porch swing beside her Mom!
Where was Daddy? What would he think? Would he be looking for her? And call a search party to find her?
How was she going to get back? Would she be stuck here with her Mom? Was she going to live the past few years of her life with Mom all over again?
After sitting a few minutes with her Mom, Lilly walked back to the garden and picked another dandelion seed. Again she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, blew hard, and wished she could go back to her Dad.
The colors became blurred. In a minute or two she was back in her own time, standing in the same place, holding the dandelion stem.
As Lilly walked back to her house, she glanced at the porch swing where she and her Mom had sat together for a moment.
The porch swing was empty.
Then Lilly knew her life had changed. Now she has the power to travel back in time to visit her Mom. All she had to do was wish
for it.
© Amihan Florentino-Kernan
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