Paul H. Williams, Contributor

In her garden were many species of flowers that she tended to daily. Amid the flowers, in a patch where she planted seasonal sunflowers, was a big white river stone. On the stone, etched in bold black letters, was the word, Elysium.

Elysium in Greek mythology is a place of ideal happiness.

Her husband quarrelled with her from time to time for ignoring him for the flowers. This went on for years until the children were grown and had moved out. Their moving out even compounded the problem, for the flowers were now more like her children. She praised them when they bloomed and chided them when they looked poorly and unimpressive.

The Sunday morning when she peeped through the window and saw the sunflowers glowing gold in the morning sun, and rushed through the doorway squealing as a moribund pig was the worst. She twirled around the patch several times before finally stopping at the Elysium stone. She stooped and swiped her fingers across it daintily. The sunflower ritual had started, again.

watching closely

Her husband watched her through the window before marching off to prepare his own breakfast, sardines and scrambled eggs, instead of the usual kidney and bananas.

The fuss intensified throughout the entire blooming season. Then the drought came. Some of the flowers lost their grandeur; others sweltered. The hardy ones lost their leaves, but stood firm. She complained from morning until night about her now unattractive garden.

She got up early one morning to prune her plants before going into town to buy garden supplies. She was in a joyful mood.

Upon her return, she shouted for her husband to help her unload the pickup. No response came, though the doors were open. She stormed inside, but no husband was in sight. She surmised he might have been sleeping in the bedroom. She went towards it. It was a mess.

Her husband's drawers were empty and his personal effects were missing from the dresser. The bed, though, was neatly covered with white sheets. She stood gaping. For, in the centre of the bed were a single dried sunflower and the Elysium stone.