The Pink Gerbera. A sign from above?

On the 26th of August 2002, I turned twenty. I was in the middle of a 4 week teaching prac, Chris gave me a diamond ring to rock me into my twenties, and in a nutshell; life was pretty tootin' perfect!

To celebrate my 20th birthday, we decided to dine at a local restaurant with our familes and a few close friends. Chris offered to drive so I could enjoy a few drinks, and he offered my best friend; Monica and his best friend; Nick {who were a couple of years into their 'happily ever after'}a lift as well. We picked them up just after the sun set for the day, and the night sky stretched across the horizon.

On entering Chris's car, Monica handed me a wrapped present smothered with streamers & miniature balloons, and another gift: a perfect pink gerbera blooming in a small black pot. Moni knew me well. The way a best friend does. And girlfriend knew that gerberas {pink to be exact} were my favourite flower. It was the first time I had been given a 'living, growing' gift....I thought that was pretty cool.

We enjoyed an evening of great food, a wine {or two} and the soul-energizing activity of being surrounded by family, friends & love. It was nice! And it was another element of my life that reminded me that I was entering my 20's in a picturesque world. Little did I know!

Later that night, we left the restaurant, all hyped up on life. And during that hyped buzz, when boys will be boys, Chris & Nick did what they loved most.....revved Chris's Subaru WRX, to yet again; prove it's power. Nothing dangerous or stupid.....but enough to cause my lovely new pink plant to take a tumble to the car floor and spew it's earthy contents of soil & clay all over Chris's car carpet. I was sad, a little annoyed. But scooped it all up and attempted to pat it back into place in it's pot.

The next morning, not only did I wake with a Bladder Infection but I saw my gerbera plant looking very sorry. Due to it's stack, it was already loosing it's vibrancy....it's life. After prac that day, I took a trip to the Doctor {it was a long, painful day.....dealing with thirty, 7 year olds, a mentor teacher & assessment whilst being almost crippled in abdominal pain} and I stopped into the 24hr grocer & bought a bag of organic potting mix. At home, I carefully, repotted my wilting plant and tenderly watered it, assuming this was enough to bring it back.

It wasn't.

A few days later, the plant was browning & sagging. The pink was now a musty golden orange and the leaves were curled & limp. I gave up on the plant at that moment. I put it outside, under our patio, against the brick wall, still in it's black pot and moved on with life.

Within weeks, the dying plant was so neglected that it eventually vanished. And there by our back door, sat a lazy black pot filled with potting mix, and potting mix only!

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Three months later, on the 11th of November, Nick was tragically taken from us. A plane crash in Manila whislt he was on a surfing trip, took ownership of his fete. I realised I no longer lived in this perfect world of diamond rings, late nights loving life, partying hard whilst balancing studying hard, long summer days at the beach & untouched happiness. There was more to life now. There was unexpected pain & questions & anger. Sadness engulfed our life. Chris lost his best mate, Monica lost her 'happy ever after'.....what the heck was going on? Our life, as we knew it, was turned upside down. Tragedy in all it's ugly glory, punched us in the face!

Those first few weeks after Nick's death are a bit hazy. I remember the significant things. Things like the way it made mine & Chris's relationship almost stronger, we knew we had to be there for each other. Things like his funeral, and the memorial ceremony down at the beach. Things like talking to his parents on the phone. Things like cuddling Moni in her bed whilst she was paralysed with sheer grief and pain. Things like crying on the phone to my Mum, cursing at the world & why this had happened.

And one thing that I do remember, that is still etched in my mind, is a miraculous thing Chris & I experienced about 2 weeks after Nick passed. Even though I saw Monica everyday & sat with her through our silent pains, I decided I would write her a letter to fully express it all. I was really pulling at strings to make things better. Better for her. Better for Chris. So I sat down outside, under our patio and began to write. A few paragraphs into the letter, I looked over at our neglected collection of plants. There in a row, was 4 pots. Three of them were the remains of once-growing herbs.....yet; now they were shrivelled-up lifeless vines {yes, I am no green thumb!}. And then, there it was....in the 4th pot......on the left......the black pot from my 20th Birthday.......was a blooming pink gerbera bud with 2 glossy leaves and a stem! I kid you not! A couple of months earlier, this pot was a barren, dry mess of soil. No evidence of life at all. And over those few months, it was deprived of all necessary 'plant growing needs'.....it sat in a position of insufficient light with definitely no water.

I called Chris to come out & look at it. We both questioned each other.....thinking that the other had bought a new plant to refurbish the pot. But, both us, denied....and stood there in shook at what can only be refferred to as a miracle.....or our theory: A SIGN!

I'm not an overly religious person and I rarely give thought to the concept of afterlife. But, on that day, Chris & I witnessed something special. Something just for us, and Monica. A little sign to say "Hey guys, check this out, it's all good, and here's something pretty-darn-cool to prove it!! Keep living, life is beautiful"

And then....just like that.....a few days later, the flower wilted, the plant died...and a black plastic pot filled with dirt sat at our back door for 2 more years!

A sign? A pure once-off coincidence? Or just Mother Nature doing her thing? Take it as you may! We're sticking with A SIGN! And on the 11th of November every year, I give {and will continue to do so} one single stem pink gerbera to Moni to acknowledge that cool thing that happened to the four of us, from August to November in 2002, with the magic pink gerbera!

All I know is....when something BIG happens. And you don't have the answers to all the why's, and you're hanging on to any slice of hope possible. It's ok to find a sign, a symbol, a message. It's ok to take it & run & use it to move forward!!

Do you believe in signs? Please share....