6: EVERY SHAPE AND SHADE

Throughout the day, as the seconds and minutes slipped by, the mother’s gifts were revealed in all their exuberant profusion. Not one of anything, but multitudes, all alike, each unique, like the children themselves.

I give you Water, the mother’s voice would say, and there would appear before the children not Water, but the waters, in all their myriad forms. Rain, and river; cloud, and spume; great surging seas and a single drop of dew; ponds and puddles and streams and springs and rills, frost and snow and sweat and steam; and tears: Water, and the waters, in every shape and shade.

And, I give you Stone, the mother’s voice would say, and Stone appeared, and all the things made of it. Granite and goldstone, dust and diamonds, sand and stars, cobblestones and steppingstones and tombstones; stones that nestled deep on the ocean floor, and stones that soared to the sky at the pinnacle of great mountains: Stone, and stones, in every shape and shade.

I give you Bird, she would say then, and there before them appeared Bird. But not one only; rather, riotous thousands, flock upon flock. Hummingbird and heron, mynah and meadowlark, vulture and owl, flamingo and finch; and not just finch, but housefinch and goldfinch and zebrafinch. Bird, and birds, bright, dark, large and small, in every shape and shade.

And there was Tree, and Twilight; Fire, and Flower; and not one of anything, but multitudes. 

Not Flower, but thousands of flowers: The lily and anemone, buttercup and broom, and rose. 

And not just Rose, but roses, in every imaginable color. 

And not just Color, but a rainbow: Purple and red and yellow, green and blue. 

And not just Blue, but gentian and violet and heather; aquamarine and sapphire and slate; and the blue of the sky, at midday and at dusk, after the rain and just before sundown.

So it was with all the mother's gifts, for she gave lavishly, extravagantly, with both hands. I give you Dark, she would say, and Light, and every shade and shadow between. I give you Joy, and Sorrow; Pain, and Pleasure; Winter, and Summer. I give you Love, she said, and Fear. I give you the gift of Life, she said, and also Death.

And always, every shape, shade and shadow between.