Daisy

The meadows seemed endless, its magic making the sea of wildflowers dance to the gentle melodies of the birds, weaving into the soft hum of the morning. In the heart of it all sat Lily, legs crossed, eyes filled with wonder and curiosity as if this world belongs entirely to her. She spent hours there every day, in awe of the vast unknown surrounding her. During her daydreams, her best friend, Daisy, was always by her side. A creature with a shaggy coat and eyes like wet marbles, always following Lily like a shadow. They’d grown up together, in a way. From the second they were acquainted, Lily had taken it upon herself to feed the tiny goat. It was utter chaos, her small hands struggling as Daisy worked eagerly at the bottle, leaving a milk mustache that dripped down her chin and into a mess on the floor. As they got older, Lily had fond memories of Daisy getting into all kinds of mischief with her clumsy antics, stumbling over equipment, and knocking over pails of water. A mess, to some. But to Lily? Daisy was perfect.

As long as she remembered, it was just the two of them, the meadow, and the sky. That was enough for Lily. She had everything she could ever want, right there on the farm. She’d spend her days watching the wind ripple through the tall grasses, tracing patterns in the dirt with her bare feet, and whispering secrets into Daisy’s ears. Daisy was a good listener, her dark eyes blinking up at Lily with what seemed like understanding.

"Knock Knock Knock”

"Knock Knock Knock”

"Knock Knock Knock”

Her father eventually steps in, his familiar smile softening as he finds Lily engrossed in another one of hundreds of rereads of her favorite book, realizing why she didn’t hear his numerous knocks. “Hey pumpkin, sorry to startle you, but your mom and I wanted to talk with you”, patting for her to move beside him on the bed. As Lily finally looks up from her book and shuffles beside him, he continues. “Do you remember Uncle Joseph? The one that came over not too long ago for the barbeque. Tall guy? Well, he called me, and his wife’s parents are having some medical issues - so they need to go back and visit. The problem is, they can’t take your cousin Clara because they don’t want her to miss school, so I offered her to stay with us for a little while as they sort out their situation. I just wanted to make sure that you were ok with it. She would have her own room, but it’ll be the one besides yours, and who knows maybe you guys might even get along” he teases.

Lily pauses for a moment, taking in the information before breaking into a smile “Of course Dad, she can stay as long as she needs. It’ll be nice to have someone to talk to apart from Daisy”.

Relieved at her reaction, her dad grins ”Great, kiddo! You’re amazing. Uncle Joseph will be thrilled. I think she’ll be here on Wednesday, so be ready. I’m sure you want me out of your hair, so I'll let you get back to your book. But seriously, how many times have you read this? You should really try something new”. Her dad leaves, chuckling to himself as he closes the door gently behind him.

The morning Clara is set to arrive, Lily beats the sun, waking up before the first rays cast over the meadow. She puts on her favorite dress - the one that her dad got her for her birthday, adorned with a delicate floral pattern that reminded her of the wildflowers - then rushes outside, searching for Daisy. Her eyes scan the usual spots, and a wave of relief washes over her as a familiar figure trots towards her, shaggy coat glinting in the sunlight. Lily is glad to have her longtime friend with her, no matter what changes in her life. Side by side, they walk to check in with Lily’s parents. “Hey mom! Hey dad!”

“Hey bud, big day today huh?” her dad replies holding a fresh set of sheets as they get the room ready for Clara. 

Her mom comes in, carrying some pillows and some flowers, and adds “Are you excited, honey?”

Lily nodded, failing to stop the nervousness creeping into her voice. “Yeah, I hope we get along.” As if on cue, the sound of a car crunches down the gravel driveway. Lily swarms with anticipation as she rushes to the front porch, with Daisy close behind her. The car door swings open, and out steps Clara—a girl with curly brown hair and a bright, genuine smile stretched all across her face. For a moment, everything stilled—the meadow, the wind, the wildflowers. Then, with a rush of excitement, Lily smiled back.

“Thank you so much for letting me stay here, this - wow, this all looks so amazing I can’t believe you live here.” Clara begins taking in everything around her. 

“Of course, I’m sure the city is amazing too, but I love living here and it’s become special to me. I can show you the meadows if you’d like, they’re beautiful. Sometimes I even think they’re alive. They can talk, you know, if you listen hard enough.” Dragging Clara, Lily excitedly shows her the way to her favorite spot. Just like that, they spend the whole afternoon talking about whatever comes to mind. Sighing, Clara notes “it’s so peaceful here, and unbelievably charming. I could spend all day here.” after a bit of a pause, she wonders “Have you ever posted this? I mean you must have so many stunning pictures”

With a blank stare, Lily turns and looks at her “post?”

A bit surprised, Clara answers “Yeah, like on social media. If you have an account, you can share pictures and see what people you’re friends with shared as well.”

Just like that, Clara helps Lily create her very own account where she would share pictures of the meadow, and sometimes even of Daisy. As Clara’s visit continued, Lily loved the connection that social media brought to her previously secluded life. Pictures of girls standing in front of murals, their hair cascading like waterfalls, gave her a sense of what life was like for everyone else. Their pets—soft, clean, and perfectly posed. Daisy was not like those pets. Daisy was... scruffy. And suddenly, scruffy didn’t seem good enough. Daisy. Sweet, clumsy Daisy, who once brought Lily so much joy, now seemed like another mess in her life. 

Before long, Lily’s mornings became less about walking the fields with Daisy and she began living through the pristine lives of strangers. She’d sit in the barn, phone in hand, fingers tapping away while Daisy nudged her leg, wanting attention. Lily would sigh, brushing her off.

“I’ll take you out later, Daisy,” she’d mumble. But later never came.

She started looking at herself in the mirror differently too. The reflection she’d once smiled at now felt incomplete, wrong somehow. She tried to fix it—borrowed some of her mother’s makeup, practiced taking photos with her hair done as she’d seen the other perfect girls do so nicely, found corners of the farm where the light made things look better than they were. But nothing ever looked as perfect as what she saw on her screen. And the more she tried to keep up, the more her life felt like it was falling behind.

One morning, everything stopped. Lily went outside—setting up a shot by the wildflowers—when she noticed Daisy wasn’t there. Usually, she’d come running at the sight of her, her little legs awkwardly trotting across the grass. But today, there was no bleat, no familiar sound of hooves in the dirt. A sense of dread crept over her as she searched the field. Then she saw Daisy—lying in the grass, motionless. “Daisy?” Lily’s voice cracked. She knelt beside her, heart pounding in her ears. Daisy didn’t move. Her small, warm body, which had always been so full of energy, felt limp under Lily’s hands. “No, no, no”. The words tumbled out, jagged and quivering as her despair grew, panic shooting through Lily like ice as she screamed for her parents. They rushed over, her father kneeling beside the goat, his brow furrowed in concern.

“She’s sick, Lily,” he said, his voice strained. “We need to get her help.”

Lily felt the world tilt beneath her. “Sick? But she was fine! She was fine yesterday!” She stroked Daisy’s matted fur, her ragged gasps between each breath as tears swelled up in her eyes. “She can’t be sick, Dad. She just... she can’t be.” For a moment, time fell still.

Lily felt her mother's tender touch on her shoulder. “Let’s give her some time. The vet is on his way.” But nothing could make her feel better. Not until Daisy was ok.

Lily spent the rest of the day by Daisy’s side, waiting, hoping. As the hours passed, she thought about all the moments she could have spent here, in the meadows, with Daisy. Rather she had let herself be overwhelmed with the notion that she wasn’t enough, that her life wasn’t enough.

Before long, the vet arrived. He examined Daisy quietly, before finally turning to Lily. “She may be weak, but she will recover. She just needs some rest and a lot of care.” Relief flooded Lily’s body, but it was mixed with guilt as she faced the thought of the one thing that always thought she was enough vanishing.

Lily spent the next few days nursing Daisy back to health, never leaving her side. As Daisy began to recover, Lily realized something. The perfectly curated lives she saw on screens—they weren’t real. Not like this. Not like Daisy, with her shaggy fur and gentle heart. Not like the wildflowers and the wind and the sky that stretched on forever. Maybe her life was messy and imperfect. But for the first time in a long while, Lily felt whole again. She belonged here, with Daisy, in the heart of the meadows where things weren’t perfect, but they were hers. Her perfectly imperfect reality.

And that, she decided, was enough.