In the Glow of Orange Lilies, Grandma Lives On

Whenever I see orange lilies, I see my grandmother’s face and remember her laugh. My grandmother grew orange lilies in her garden facing the pathway. She always found beauty in plants and stories. She also loved roses and tried to grow a rose bush despite it being too close to the house where the earth was not as rich in elements. But the lilies, they remind me best of my grandmother’s smile and warm touch. and the lilies remind me of her love for both.

This summer I spotted orange lilies often, in many gardens, in many villages we passed through during our walks or hikes. Orange lilies instantly bring her presence back to me: always positive, always with a good snack waiting in the kitchen, her hands forever busy but her soul never too busy to listen.

No matter how much needed to be done — like animals to be fed or logistics to organize with my grandpa about working the land, or getting my dad and uncle to help — my grandma somehow managed it all with energy and superhuman strength somehow. The lilies are a symbol of her wisdom and how she adapted to every change life had thrown her way.

When my grandpa died when I was ten, we were afraid we’d lose her too. But she rose up despite the grief, she started reading the bible daily and found solace in spirituality for a while. A decade later, when my uncle passed, we were certain she’d also fade quickly because the pain back then was even worse as it all happened more suddenly. Still, my grandma rose again, though she got smaller somehow. She held on long enough to watch me get married, and was the proudest of all because I’d found an amazing husband and married in church.

I wish so much she could meet my kids. Still, I know she’s watching over us from the heavens. Whenever I spot those orange lilies in summer, it feels like she’s smiling right there with her smile and wrinkled hands, big hands that had many times wiped my tears or offered me a tiny surprise from the garden.

I’d like to share with you a variety of orange lilies, a resource I found useful and perhaps you would like to learn more about these lilies. Every flower could hide a secret, a story, remind you of a loved one or trigger various emotions. Give flowers a chance to bring back some summer memories from your childhood, perhaps. Moreover, what could really make you melancholic are the scents of these flowers.

“When nothing else subsists from the past, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered...the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls...bearing resiliently, on tiny and almost impalpable drops of their essence, the immense edifice of memory” -- Marcel Proust

I think that's how orange lilies brought back this memory of my grandmother, through the senses. Let me know your experience!

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This piece was originally published on Dancing Elephants Press Saturday Magazine here.

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