Читать книгу Some Choose Darkness - Charlie Donlea - Страница 11

THE SWEET SCENT OF ROSES

THE WOMAN REACHED INTO THE GARDEN, PINCHED THE CLIPPERS TO THE base of the rose, and severed its stem. She repeated the process until she had six long-stemmed red roses in her hand. She climbed the stairs to her back porch, placed the roses on the table, and sat down in the rocking chair. Staring out over the field, she watched the young girl approach, climb the stairs, and walk up to her.

Her voice was high-pitched and innocent, the way all children’s voices should be.

“Why do you always take roses from the garden?” the young girl asked.

“Because they’re beautiful. And if they’re left on the vine, they’ll eventually wither and go to waste. If I prune them, I can put them to better use.”

“Do you want me to tie them?” the girl asked.

She was ten years old and the sweetest thing to ever come into the woman’s life. From her apron, the woman removed a twist tie, handed it to the girl, and watched as she carefully picked up the roses. Avoiding the thorns, the girl wrapped the tie around the stems, twisting until it bound the bouquet in a tight bundle.

“What do you do with the flowers?” the girl asked.

The woman took the perfect bundle from her. “Go inside and clean up for dinner.”

“I see you pick them every day, and I tie them for you. But I never see the flowers again.”

The woman smiled. “We’ve got work to do after dinner. I’ll let you do the painting tonight, if you think your hand is steady enough.”

The woman hoped the bait was enough to veer the conversation.

The girl smiled. “You’ll let me paint all by myself?”

“Yes. It’s time you learn.”

“I’ll do a good job, I promise,” she said before running into the house.

The woman waited just a moment, until she heard dishes clinking inside as the girl set the dinner table. Then she stood from the rocker, carefully arranged the newly bundled roses, and walked down the porch steps and out across the field behind the house. The sun was setting and the shadows of birch trees cut across her path.

As she walked, she lifted the flowers to her nose and inhaled the sweet scent of roses.