Golden Drops of Rain

It was mid-September, her favorite time of year, right when the air started to become crisp and the leaves were teetering on the edge of transforming into their autumn colors.

The day was rainy with a slight breeze, but not too cool--a very standard fall day, one would think. The rain never bothered Marigold, who was actually quite glad to show off her lightly worn floral rain boots, one of her greatest clearance finds of last season. Her grandma liked to brag about her. "A true Midwestern young lady," she would say, "Always looking out for a bargain."

She was raised by her grandmother, you know. Her parents "just weren't ready for the responsibility," Grandma would explain, whenever the subject came up, and swoop Marigold up into her arms, or as close as possible to that, as she grew older and taller. Marigold had everything she wanted with her grandma, so she never really worried about her parents or their motives for leaving her behind. She was occasionally curious, however, especially whenever a rumor would catch her ear.

Sometimes Mom and Dad were rockstars in these rumors; sometimes they were on the run from the law. Which law, however, no one could ever tell her. "Mom and Dad," that's what she'd always called them, even though she never knew them. Marigold wasn't even sure anymore that the few faint memories she did have of them were ever real in the first place. Grandma was never helpful with this either. Her answer was always the same in these matters: "They just weren't ready. Here, have some cocoa. Porridge is on the stove. Maybe we'll talk about it when you're older." Marigold trusted her grandmother above anyone else, so she was usually content to put the matter aside, even when she finally realized how deflective the answers were. "I'm sure she has her reasons," she'd tell me, whenever I became angry for her.

But, I digress. Unfortunately for Marigold, this was not going to remain a normal autumn day. "The Beginning of the End," she'd called it at the time. And, in a way, it might have been.