Allyson Alvis
Stories (2)
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Between the Roots
The smell of earth clung to the stifling summer air as I ascended the mountain trail. As the path became steeper, my feet kept sliding on the muddy rocks and I had to cling to the roots sticking out of earthen walls to keep from falling. As I sat on the stone ruin halfway up the mountain, the sun was just beginning to ease over the opposite mountain ridge. I knelt on the familiar stones, feeling their carved surfaces and running my hands through the cracks in the foundation as I watched the leftover puddles from the afternoon rain refract the sun. The town glistened in shades of gold, pink, and red as if it were on fire.
By Allyson Alvis4 years ago in Fiction
Arranging Memories
I have been doing crafts for as long as I can remember, harbouring new obsessions and passion projects. I cycle through them every few months based on my inspirations. More than anything, the people in my life inspire me to do crafts, either because they have a special interest that I think would make a fun project, or because they taught me that specific craft. I’ve made hand-woven scarves and bookmarks based on my loved ones’ favorite movies, decorative instruments out of metal wire for my brother, and even attempted to crochet dragon costumes for my cats, though they refused to comply. I spend most of my time thinking of loved ones while I craft, relishing the memories I have shared with them. Few memories hit me quite as hard as those doing crafts with my mother and grandmother. I inherited both my creative passion and attention to detail from them. My mother has as many creative interests as I do and introduced me to many of my hobbies, but my grandmother had a specialty, she was a florist. My grandmother, on the other hand, was a genuine craftswoman. Maw-Maw was a florist. Though I never knew her as a florist, it was truly her passion and she maintained it as a hobby through the years, across careers, and into her retirement. Flowers were one of the main ways Maw-Maw connected with the world, both as gifts and by teaching her art to her family as a means to spend time together. My mother and I were two of her most avid helpers and students, as we enjoyed projects as much as Maw-Maw. To this day, when I think of Maw-Maw I think of flowers. Her voice rings in the back of my mind every time I caress a lily or catch a glimpse of a daffodil as I drive.
By Allyson Alvis5 years ago in Families
