Cardinal Blessings

It was a few days after Betty's mother's funeral when it happened for the first time. It was December and kind of cold for Texas, no snow though. Betty had a heavy heart and went to see her mother. She lay down next to the still-fresh dirt and cried. Out of nowhere, a bird interrupted the cold silence with its song.

Betty paid no mind to the bird, at first, but after a few moments, its chirps turned to a whispering pitch as it jumped closer to the curled-up woman. Betty couldn't believe what she was seeing, a wild cardinal inching closer with every determined and adorable hop.

"Come with me to see her."

The cardinal seemed to whisper the line as it stood less than 2 feet from Betty. Betty's eyes were already puffy from crying, so there was not much change when she started crying again. Now she thought she was hearing things, which only increased the waterworks. She threw nothing at the bird and cussed as she recoiled into her jacket. The red bird jumped into the air, extended its wings, and flew away, leaving Betty alone to grieve her loss.

***

A few days passed and once again it was cold with an overcast sky. Betty was sitting in a chair on her porch. She was thinking about her mother, like most of the time now, and softly crying to herself. The red bird appeared once again, softly chirping.

A small smile spread across the woman's face. A beautiful red bird was just the thing Betty knew her mother would have loved. Oblivious to the true nature of the bird she chirped back while wiping a tear from her eye. The cardinal hopped closer before whispering,

"Come with me to see her."

This infuriated the woman who once again threw nothing at the bird causing it to flee. She burst into tears, harder than before, and flew inside her home. She locked the door and rushed to the bathroom. Was she going crazy? Her reflection told her nothing.

***

Almost a week goes by before the bird returns. Betty, wary of the red bird, reluctantly went out to meet it. She sat down in one of the chairs on her porch and let the bird cone to her. It flew from the red and green bush in front of the kitchen window, where Betty first saw him that morning. The bird landed on the porch railing and hopped the rest of the way, completely silent. When it finally stopped its hopping it tilted its head and whispered,

"Come with me to see her."

"Okay," Betty answered after she closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes they began to water. Laid out in front of her was a field of irises. Irises of every color slightly wafted in the warm breeze. The irises were surrounded by massive oak trees and in the middle of it all was Betty's mother, Ollie. Ollie was wearing a pure white dress and sitting on a wooden bench that sat in the middle of a dirt circle. A small trail etched through the irises, between the pink and red flowers, connected the inner circle to the edge of the field.

Betty followed the trail, almost running, tears spilling from her eyes, right up to her mother. She embraced her in a tight squeeze and cried into her neck. Ollie embraced her daughter and patted her back and kissed her neck. After a few minutes, Betty's crying started to subside and Ollie had the chance to talk.

"Hunny, have a seat here. Aren't these irises beautiful?" Ollie asked as Betty finally sat down.

"Yes, Mama," Betty responded.

"You got me worried, hunny. You're not taking very good of yourself …"

"I miss you!" Betty interrupted her.

"I know, hunny, but you still need to live," Ollie said as she pulled her daughter in for another hug, "I want you to keep living."

"How are you?" Betty asked, once again with her head on her mother's shoulder.

"I am not confused anymore. David and I get to garden every day and Bart is here, somewhere," Ollie answered as she motioned to the many birds that filled the sky. Betty still clutched to her, "I need you to let go …"

"But I don't want to let go." Betty interrupted again.

"Letting go doesn't mean to forget … it means to move on, and I need you to do that. Hunny, your family needs you to do that. I will stay with you, but you have to let me go."

"And if I don't? What if I just stayed here with you?" Betty asked.

"You can't, hunny," Ollie said as she started to rub Betty's back, "This was only allowed because you needed me, but you are strong enough to get through this."

"No, I am not." Betty began to tremble, seconds from a mental crash.

"Remember you were my rock, long before your daddy died," Ollie declared as she grabbed her hand with one of her own and used the other to move her face to face, "You are strong enough just look at what you overcame last year." They stared into each other's eyes for a moment. "Please, for me?"

"Fine, momma." Betty knew she had to agree, there was no denying her wish, "How do I get back home?"

"Just open your eyes, Hunny."

And within a wink, Betty was back on her porch. The cardinal faced her, chirped while moving his head around, and then jumped into the air and flew off. Betty would look for the red bird, often, but she never needed the bird to come back.