(no subject)

[moonflower77]

this is another image from my childhood memories which i managed to place the other day. it is a shrub that seems to have been very common in sochi, and perhaps still is - kerria japonica, or japanese yellow rose (the pleniflora or full-flowered variety). it has bright yellow pompom-like flowers that grow almost from the bark, sometimes in large heavy clusters that can make the branches droop down to the ground. they have a delicate, powdery fragrance with an aspect that makes one think of antique roses. i have no idea why, but we used to call them yellow jasmine, though they and jasmine (whether yellow or not) have nothing in common. i think it could be because they grew together with ordinary white jasmine and blossomed at the same time.

i have this image of initran and his wife standing one late evening beside some white jasmine and yellow rose shrubs that are in full bloom. it is dark. initran is wearing his white formal robe with the two armbands and a sword hanging at his side; as usual, he is super neat and looks splendid. his wife could also be wearing a traditional white dress or, possibly, something in a boho/hippy-chic style, made from a semi-transparent gauze-like fabric with a floral or paisley pattern. her clothes are slightly more disordered than his, but not by much. the black headscarf has slid backwards somewhat and a few stray locks of hair are falling onto her forehead. the pavement is made of miniature square tiles in a dark gray and a dirtyish, subdued pink, each with several straight grooves running across the surface, which form a simple geometrical design. it is glistening with rain. there are rounded white and thread-like yellow petals everywhere and the air is laden with the two scents mingling into one. sunim wife picks one of the wet yellow flowers and smells it for a while with a thoughtful expression. she looks up and sideways at initran, smiles in a way that is, at once, sincere and a little shy (perhaps a little like fred does on ats), says something amusing and brushes him playfully over the face with the flower. the two of them laugh. this could be one of his most cherished memories, and i think it is this that he would be reminded of when he is driven through the mountain pass.