Lemon Eyes - Bittersweet

Lemon Eyes

This piece called, 'Lemon Eyes' reflects the bittersweetness of the world's situation presently. The pandemic we are facing has created a social barrier between many, opening a door to a bittersweet reflection of the freedom we had in the past, and the challenges we face now.

The oxymoron, bittersweet, portrays the positives that come with the negatives, even through tough situations.

For example, in my situation, learning and residing at home 24/7 is some ways a positive, as I feel a sense of tranquility in the comfort of my room surrounded by familiar items. However, this positive is tainted with the sour separation from friends, overall freedom, and the breeze ruffling my hair on a sunny (or even rainy) day.

Furthermore, on the greater scale of things, countless people have perished all over the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially noticeable in the spike of deaths in Italy, with 13,915 lives lost as of April 2, 2020. But there can always be a slight mix of hope for the future, in the way you look at the situation.

We can clearly see the Venice canals losing man-induced pollution. Swans and even dolphins are now inhabiting the canal to some extent, which shows how much a lack of human presence can influence the environment in a positive way. It’s true, this is serious business, but no one should live in constant fear of the contagious virus. So, for now, we should hope that this pandemic will pass without becoming a record in future history textbooks, and for our polluted planet to regain some of its former, untainted shine once again.

Wash your hands! ;)

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Below is a short story that means to explain the significance of Lemon eyes. It tells a story of a girl who stands on top of a desolate hill, coming alive during the watch of the darkness and helping shed light in the colourless gloom.

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Lemon Eyes

The breeze blew about her hair, wisps of auburn strands floating through the blue, like strands of jellyfish wafting through water. On top of a hill of dirt and grass, she stood without once budging. The sun was not bright enough to divert her, and the warbling robins were not sweet enough to move her.

Her clothes were covered with the fuzz of leaves and debris, carried long ways in the arms of the sky. Her feet were tangled in gnarled roots, springing up from a distant lemon tree. And her unmoving figure could be observed from the neighboring village from dawn to dusk, through snow and sleet, always in the same position, always the same.

As the clouds dimmed, the bright yellow yolk sunk down into the wobbling line in the horizon, and the shadows slithered up from the depth of the world. The remaining light sputtered to a stop and only a wisp of smoke sighed, dancing upwards, vanishing into the darkness.

The silence whistled a melancholy tune as it shifted from tree to tree, hill to hill, house to house. Tasteless haze of tenebrous clouds littered the undistinguishable landscape, crawling about the ground, an army of ants. 'Hisss...' The sound of sizzling water on a hot pan echoed through the open air. A crescendo of a chorus of cicadas.

A beam of light flashed through the sky.

Blinking sluggishly, she had dragged her eyelids open. Every time the shutters opened, a light was released, dissipating tendrils of cloud matter. They sizzled into merely a glimmer of what used to exist.

Bright, dark, sweet, sour, light, inky. Her eyes flashed a lemon yellow, penetrating the dark, colorless chill enveloping her pale figure. And like a well-oiled crane, her head tilted back to face the mounting gloom above her head. Soft flickers of luminous light shone into the abyss.

The crease on her pale face formed a crescent moon, a silent smile inching forwards as she gazed into the darkness. Speckles of glimmering light shed into the night sky, and the glittering specks of illumination covered the sky, shining through the murk and raining down warmth into the chill of the night's breath.

The lights formed patterns from bits of eyelash and dust floating between the source and the destination. A glance up at the dark screen would have shown you a ladle, an eagle, a belt, and lemon eyes.