Steemit Challenge s28wk3: When Hope Returns

Ronny was in bad mood and hopeless as he had taken a long leave from his job after a breakup and he's sure he will not be in any relationship with anyone. That day he was sitting on the balcony, watching the city below moving on as usual, facing a strange storm inside him.

His friends had stopped calling after a while, and silence became his only companion. He would wake late, stare at the ceiling, and wonder if love had simply been a trick of fate. He had learned his lesson. He was sure that he would never be in another relationship again. Hopelessness kind of seeped into his life.

One morning, while walking through a park, Ronny noticed a gardener trimming the branches of a dead looking tree which had no leaves.

He was curious, "Why are you working on a dry tree?"

The gardener smiled and said, “This tree will bloom again when the season comes back.”

The words struck him deep as he looked at the tree once again. That tree stood bare, no color, no leaves, yet the gardener had a firm faith in his words.

From that day on he started walking to the park every morning. Slowly, something shifted inside him. He began to notice small things like, the smell of wet soil, the warmth of sunlight after rain. Grief no longer ruled him. Weeks later, as spring arrived, the same tree burst into soft pink bloom.

Ronny returned to work, feeling calm for the first time in months. He met a new colleague, Nina, who had just joined his team. Her laughter reminded him of his old flame Sameera but quieter, genuine, and full of life.

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The days of working with Nina felt like a strange, wavering time to Roni. Nina's smile was very beautiful, but instead of bringing joy to Roni, it always scared him. Roni often sat at his desk thinking, Am I stepping onto the wrong path again? Can a heart that has been shattered once ever be forcibly mended? All sorts of such thoughts continuously swirled in his mind.

Since they worked in the same office, Roni often found himself looking at Nina, only to immediately avert his eyes. He felt as if she were made of glass. A little carelessness and she would shatter into pieces again. After his breakup with Samira, he had built a stone-hard wall around himself, but Nina was gently tapping on that wall. And this was Roni's greatest fear. But the way fate is written, no one can change it.

That afternoon, clouds had gathered, darkening the sky. One by one, everyone in the office left. Raindrops hit the windowpane, just like thousands of questions striking Roni's mind.

Nina came and stood in front of Roni, holding a cup of coffee with steam rising suddenly. In the midst of the sound of the storm outside, Nina's voice sounded very calm. Suddenly, she said, "Roni, you know? There really isn’t much difference between humans and trees."

Roni stared in surprise. Such words, suddenly, without any introduction? How did that happen…

Nina pulled her chair closer. Taking a coffee, she looked out at the darkness beyond the window and said, "My grandfather used to say, in winter, when all the leaves of the trees fall, everyone thinks the tree is dead. But the tree is actually not dead. It grips its roots deep in the soil and waits patiently. It knows this emptiness is temporary. Spring will come." It will be able to return to the form of that day.

Roni listened to Nina's words in a trance. It felt as if someone had lit a candle in the dark nook deep inside his mind. In a soft voice, he asked, "Your grandfather… turned into he a gardener?"

Nina smiled. There was no deceit in that smile. 'Yes. He is the one who takes care of the park next to our office. Even when everyone else gives up, he doesn't. Remember that dead tree in the corner? When all its leaves fell, my grandfather used to water its roots every day. He would say, ‘Nina, you must have faith. You can't judge by the dry branches above. If the roots are alive, flowers will bloom on the branches.’’

For a moment, Roni's breath caught. The gardener in the park... that dead tree... and this very conversation today. Could this be just a coincidence? Or was nature giving him some kind of sign?

Roni realised that all this time he had been thinking of himself like that dead tree. He thought all was over for him. But he had forgotten that his roots, his will to live, were still alive beneath the ground. Nina or the gardener hadn't saved him; they had merely reminded him that he was still alive.

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As he walked out of the office, lost in these thoughts, the rain stopped. The air was heavy with the wet, earthy scent of soil. Roni and Nina walked side by side. When they reached the tree in the park, full of pink flowers, Roni stopped in his tracks.

He looked into Nina's eyes. In those eyes, he saw no demand, only a sky full of trust.

Roni said, "Nina, I don't know what the future holds. My hands still tremble, and there are many wounds in my past. I may not be perfect. But today I feel... I'm ready to embrace the change of seasons again. Can you trust me on these broken roots of mine?"

Nina said nothing. She simply held Roni's hand gently. In that touch, Roni felt that winter is not eternal. Life is not meant to stop, but to bloom anew after shedding its leaves. Then the tree above them swayed in the wind in its own mind, as if the tree was testifying, yes, hope returns like spring, again and again, inevitably. Whether you want it or not.

Now I invited my friends:- @suboohi @josevas217 @solaymann