Big words. Big themes. Large plots. Larger than life characters… There are extraordinary works that make us undeniably awestruck by their sheer grandeur.
And every now and then, along comes a story which is simple in its idea, simple in its telling; yet manages to reach such depths of your heart, you wonder how the writer did it.
I recently read author Ian Stout’s short story, The Lilac Bush, as it appeared on the site ‘CommuterLit’ and that is exactly what the story did to me.
The Lilac Bush is the story of Bill and Mary - one, a car salesman and the other, a clerk in a drug store (yes, ordinary people with ordinary names and ordinary jobs). It is the story of how they met and how they lived through all the tough times that financial scarcity brings. It is the story of how their love blossomed - not through grand gestures or exotic escapades, but rather through a drive in the country or a stroll through an antique store. It is the story of how an annual trip to a full bloom of Lilac trees on an abandoned farm became the foundation of their immortal love and commitment to each other.
No one climbed any mountains. No one broke off stars from the sky. A common thread just became an unbreakable bond. And a simple gesture became a monumental symbol of everlasting love.
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