Blue Mountain Forgets You Not

In a land far, far away, in a village high up in the Himalayas grew these beautiful blue flowers that bloomed just once every 70 years. The mountain folk called it ‘neel kush’ or ‘blue joy’ because when the flowers bloomed it was as if a million blue skies had descended, drenching the hillsides in a vibrant blue, so that the mountain and the sky seemed to merge as one.

The glorious mountain burst open her arms to exotic birds, butterflies and bees, who feasted on her sweet, sweet nectars. And as the gentle spring breeze blew downhill, the mountain trembled with such joy that when you dropped to your knees and put your ear to the ground, you would hear a sweet melody – a melody that was heard just once and never to be heard again. And so the kids that rolled and frolicked in the verdant meadow heard the song of the mountain, and hummed it in their lips and hearts.

As many winters came and went, and the children grew up, they soon forgot all about the blue flowers and the mountain that turned into the sky.

And the song that once burst from their lips lay buried in their hearts, like seeds, long forgotten. And so the tale of ‘neel kush’ became legend, legend, myth.

More years passed, when one cold winter night the freezing wind blowing in from the north was particularly fierce, howling so loud that it drove the children to seek the comfort of their nana. As they huddled close, warming their tiny shivering bodies in her soft folds, an old memory stirred in nana’s heart, and soon the children lost themselves in the strange tales of the blue joy mountain that their nana spun in their hearts.

As they gently nodded away, a familiar tune sprung from nana’s lips, one she had heard many many years ago. And when she hummed and sang, lulling the kids to sleep, a strange thing happened – the frozen mountain that had been in a deep slumber for 70 years heard her own song, and was roused, for she knew in her heart that spring was just around the corner. And the seeds that lay asleep in her belly would soon birth a blessing of a million blue flowers.