PROMPT : BUNCH
“Lyla, grab a bunch of that, would you?” Grandpa stirred the cauldron, sniffing at the herbal aroma wafting out.
“Red, purple or yellow?” I called back, squinting up at the ribbon-tied bundles of herbs and flowers in the drying shed.
“Purple, I think,” Grandpa said, giving the cauldron another stir.
I jumped twice, snagging the lavender bunch on the way down. Holding it tightly in one gloved hand, I trotted it over to his side.
He smiled at me, his single eye twinkling. “Add it in, one stem at a time.”
I scrambled up on the little wooden makeshift table beside him. I wasn’t exactly short, but reaching out far enough to throw the herbs into the cauldron was a bit much for my arms.
He steadied me with one hand on my shoulder. “Take it one stem at a time and strip it the way I showed you.”
I nodded, tongue poking out at the corner of my mouth. I could taste the herbal-tinted air, even as my clumsy fingers stripped the leaves and buds from the dried stalks.
Scattering the handfuls into the bubbling syrup, I watched Grandpa stir it in with smooth, broad strokes.
“Will this help Mama feel better?”
He smiled, warmly. “She’ll be just fine, buttercup.”
(c) S. Harricharan