Flash Fiction
Banished to the Basement for Eternity
The fresh flowers mock me with their blushing petals and budding folds…
I cannot believe what is happening. Another wedding bouquet has just entered the room, along with a young bride. They are both in bloom, radiating spring and exuberance.
But this is my territory. I’ve been displayed on the bedchamber dressing table ever since the moment mistress clasped me close to her bosom and walked down the aisle to be joined in matrimony with the man of this house — The doctor.
After the ceremony, mistress had carefully placed me beside her vanity set. Then gradually the seasons turned into years whilst the air dried my petals and stiffened my stems. Each day I drooped a little more, and likewise mistress became time-worn and withered. It was inevitable that the morning would come when the dawn light shone through the pane, and she didn’t open her eyes. Her body looking shrivelled and spiritless.
That evening, the undertakers came and took her away. I felt scared I’d be discarded too. So was thankful when the doctor let me be.
For several months, the glow of the mid-afternoon sun gave me hope. Until now — when the new bride arrived.
The fresh flowers held by the young woman’s plump hand mock me with their blushing petals and budding folds. The bride stares at me in surprise.
She sees a picture of the past mixed with the horror of the future, and shrieks out for the doctor.
The moment he enters the room, he knows I’m the problem and nonchalantly grabs me by the stems, cursing my existence. Before we have even departed, the new bouquet is set down on the dressing table, adding colour and beauty to the surround.
Directly, I am placed in the basement with some old trunks that belonged to mistress.
As the doctor closes the door, darkness falls, and I know I have been sentenced to endure the gloom of the cellar for all eternity.
This was inspired by a scene from the book Madam Bovary.
It can be a challenge to write from a non-human POV. Why not try it yourself and tag me? How about it Kristen Haveman, Smillew Rahcuef, Paul Mansfield, Michael Williams and you…
Another story from a non-human POV by May More
