With the publication of my collection of stories, Of Stars and Space, this is part 4 in a series of posts about the inspiration behind each of the twelve stories.

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to inspire a story. This is true of “Flowers for Every Day.” It is, indeed, a short story, one of the shortest in the collection, and a simple story about lifelong love.

So, where did the inspiration come from? A song.

The Gray Havens is one of my favorite bands. On their debut album, they have a song called Gray Flowers. The chorus starts with the line, “He brought her flowers every day.”

That’s it. That’s the inspiration.

Sometimes, that’s all you need.

You can read an excerpt of “Flowers for Every Day” below.

Of Stars and Space (and other stories) is available at Amazon in both Kindle and print formats. Kindle is immediate delivery; print is print-on-demand and may take a few days before the order ships.

“Flowers for Every Day” and Of Stars and Space, © 2020, Michael Bergman

Excerpt from “Flowers for Every Day”

The young man watched as the young woman stepped into the room. She stood tall, though she was of average height, and held her head high. Brown locks with waves of curls were pulled and pinned near her left ear. Her golden-brown eyes scanned the crowd until she found the two other girls she was looking for. Then she smiled and waved.

“Who is that?” the young man asked.

Another young man, shorter and stockier than he, glanced up. “I don’t know. Maybe she’s new. Wait, Robert, where are you going?”

Robert had already stood and moved away from their seats before his friend had finished. He smoothed his dress shirt and adjusted his tie. The school concert was set to begin in ten minutes, leaving him enough time.

A vase of fresh flowers sat on a table near the entry. He plucked one, a white daffodil, and approached the group of three with a smile.