To Stop and Smell a Rose
What’s Lurking in the Garden?
Anna kneels in the garden, pulling weeds up by their roots, one by one. The frayed ends of her capris are caked with mud. Her dark hair is damp with sweat. The aromas of soil and roses dance around her as she works. Sunlight scatters the shadows.
Birds serenade her as she fertilizes her lilacs. Anna smiles at the delicate purple flowers as she waters; droplets shimmer on dark green leaves. The bushes shiver in the breeze. Anxious.
Over the years, the garden has grown quite large; she’d buried herself in the hobby when her husband went missing five years ago. Paul spent many hours in the yard, a green thumb by nature, and here Anna can feel his presence.
He loved his rose bushes, in particular, admiring their pink and white petals, trimming their stems, and ridding them of hungry aphids. He’d poured his all into their care. Tears. Sweat. And blood.
His favorite, the dural-colored “double delight,” has grown exponentially. It towers over Anna’s head, snatching pieces of her clothing if she ventures too close. Now, she stands in its shadow.
She squats down to admire a lovely specimen. Each petal is perfect; its colors are bright and pure. She cups the blossom in her hand and pulls it toward her face. It rears back, leaving deep cuts in her palm.
The air vibrates around her. It resounds like a forest quaking all at once, trees crashing against one another. She tries to stand, but the ground is undulating like a wave.
Starting at her ankles, a thorned stem snakes its way up her leg, tearing at her flesh. She falls, breathless, on her back, digging her nails in the dirt. The rose looms over her, staring with unseen eyes, its leaves rustling like a rattler’s warning.
Anna feels herself being pulled toward the thing. She screams and flails. Her calf is shredded; her skin hangs in a pulpy mess, the nerves and muscle exposed to cruel air. She feels a hot wind on her feet.
She manages to sit up, ripping at the vines, but to no avail. In front of her, a chasm is widening within the Earth. She peers into the creature’s maw and is consumed.
The birds are silent as it feeds.
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