Nocturnal Garden
Concept, text and illustration by Vita Kiewiet de Jonge (2020)
Audio by Ruth van de Putte and played by members of het Residentie Orkest Den Haag (2020)
“It is time to go to sleep now,” mother rose said to her children. “But mom, we do not want to. Why can we not stay awake this year?” the little roses muttered. Mother rose struggled to think of the right reply. She knew, through years of experience, that winter hibernation was simply part of the deal. Overtime she had managed to get used to the natural cycle: there was a time for blooming and a time for sleeping. It had always been a part of her life, for sleeping provided her with much needed recovery.
The little roses shared no such experience with her. They still had to learn how to be a proper rose. It was to be a difficult process, perhaps even more so after this particular summer. Usually the roses got to bloom for at least a few months; meanwhile taking in the heat of the sun. Within these months they got to make new friends and experience life to the fullest. They would be visited by the bees, and hear all their stories about fields from far, far away.
To all roses regret, this particular summer had left them wanting more. It had been a strange summer. For the tiny roses it was not at all what they expected, having heard their mother’s stories. Mother rose was in the midst of figuring out what to say to the tiny rose buds. How could she comfort them? After giving it some thought, mother rose turned to her children. “Well, there is an ancient secret about the life of roses. I wanted to wait until you were a bit older but now seems as good a time as any, I suppose.”
The little roses slightly opened their petals and gathered around, curious to hear what their mother had to say. “Each year, when we go to sleep, it seems dark at first. But when you are ready, there is a whole new world to be discovered.” A little puzzled, the tiny roses asked: “But, if we are asleep, how can we go anywhere?” Mother rose waited a little while before answering.
“It is in our sleep that we travel the furthest, in our dreams. There are no boundaries. We can dream of open fields, of bees buzzing around, of warm sunlight and refreshing water, of growing and blooming.” “So, when I go to sleep, I can do anything I want?” the little rose asked.
“Anything you can ever imagine, it is right there in your head. It is a magical place, and all you have to do is…” Before she could finish her sentence, the tiny roses had drifted off, their petals closed in clumsy disarray. “Dream now, my little ones”, mother rose said, gently tucking her offspring in properly. She contently closed her own eyes, knowing that she would meet them in their very own nocturnal garden.