winterlinge

they are the first flowers to appear here. so tiny that when you see them, you think, piece of yellow plastic, dropped by the wind, right next to the sleeping roses. you kneel down to pick it up, and it's only then that you understand: flower. not plastic. still you wonder how this little bundle of life is able to do this, to lift itself out of the half-frozen earth, to unfold tiny green leafs, and then raise its yellow head even before the calendar says february.

smile. and camera shy they are. didn't like their picture to be taken. then, when i finally got a good angle, the camera shut down. recharge battery, it said. still, this hazy photo is reflecting the magic of those flowers and also their name: winterlinge, they are called. winter-lings. like figures out of a fairy tale.