Flowers of Winter

She sent Ruskin a quick text.

I’m painting the bedroom wall, don’t ask why x

Because she doesn’t know why. Her fingers examine the colours at the hardware store and she finds ones that reminds her of everything. She buys a litre and takes it home and grabs the rollers and brushes from the shed. Within the hour, the wall is blue. Blue like the sky and the sea, blue like the flowers in her mother’s garden and her father’s jeans. Blue like her brothers car, her sisters school uniform. Blue like whales and dolphins and peacocks. Ruskin’s favourite colour, the colour of his first tattoo. The colour of peace and youth, spirituality, distance.

One blue wall amongst a room of white. Roo smiled at her creation, she only hoped Ruskin would too.