Blood and Roses

Today is a perfect day for everything!

Betty picked up the bouquet of red and pink roses on the floor. “For you, My Love.” It says.

“Aww…It must be from John.” She said quietly, but failing to hide her excitement. She smelled the roses like any women in pink dress would do. Sweet and filled with love. “Meeting my friends and have dinner with him in the evening. Oh, today is a perfect day for everything!” She stepped down the stairs and caught a Taxi. The yellow flash took her and the flowers to Sera Bills’ house. In her garden, Joanna Raven is taking small sandwiches to the table and Fiona Bright was taking pictures of the new bloomed snow drops.

Under the bright sunlight she said to them. “Morning girls!”

“Good Morning.” They all stopped and smiled.

“I’d say, Betty,” Began Fiona, “White flowers are the purest and most beautiful kind of flowers.”

“You saw this?” Betty waved her roses in white wrappers. “They’re from John.”

“What! You are so lucky, girl!” Joanna exaggerated, “Have you girls seen him. He is like a prince! Soft brown hair, dreamy blue eyes—”

“Oh, shut up.” Betty’s face turned to the color of her dress, and she took a sit beside Sera.

“That’s so prefect.” Sera leaned forward to her. “When did you start dating~”

“Well, we talked for like a week, and yesterday…” She paused so that Fiona would join the circle too. “He asked me out! He was like, in message, you have plans tmr night? And I was like, nope, @ home alone, cry emoji. And then he was like, wanna meet me at Charlie’s? And then I was like a big YES!!!”

While the silence filled the garden, there are more than quietness floating in the air. A mixed feeling of happiness for someone else. Perhaps it was as pure as the sparkles in their eyes when they look at that woman in love. It was like when someone says to give you a piece of chocolate and you wonder if it will be sweet, bitter, or bitter-sweet. Or neither, cause the chocolate has lost its original identity. But you hope it to be sweet. Or at least smooth and soothing with love’s bitterness.

“I hate to break this to you.” Fiona came closer, “First, white flowers are better than red. They are like blood.”

“Okay, fine, we know that.” Said Joanna annoyingly.

“Second, Betty.” She rolled her eyes on Ms. Raven and fixed them on Betty. “I saw John—yes your John Tellars—kissing Daphnia—”

“What, that whore!!” Screamed Betty. She could feel how she got totally out of control. Maybe it was because of love. Or maybe it was not. “Fucking Daphnia kissed my b- John! How dare she!”

Her hands slapped on the table shaking the plates of the sandwich.

“Wait, Betty, calm down. What’s wrong with you today?” Sera held Betty’s arm.

“Yeah, I haven’t even told you when that happened.” Said Fiona. “It was more than a month ago when I first see them together at Rose Pond. Then last week-”

“You’re so good at keeping these secrets, Fi.” Joanna said ironically, “Why didn’t you tell us sooner? It’s not like you better friends with them. Right?”

“Of course not!! Come on. I just want to say that he’s probably just joking, or something.”

“Really, huh.” Signed Betty. “Thanks a lot Fiona.”

She couldn’t stop thinking about this. How could he ask her out when he is still dating someone? Or maybe they broke up already. Maybe after they kissed, Daphnia confessed that she has been cheating on him, so he got angry and broke up with her. Or, maybe, John said to Daphnia that he actually loved Betty and don’t want to be with her anymore. There were so many possibilities, but none of them can convince her.

Dinner time came before Betty knew it. The dimming down sky is a diamond buried in dirt; its beauty is not dimmed for it still sparkles, softly and lightly. Betty said bye to the girls, smiling. Though in her smile, worries filled every corner of her lips. She didn’t know what to say to John, imagining the scenario for a thousand times.

She got out of the taxi a block before arriving at Charlie’s. She wondered through the street, noticing the lighted-up shops. A guy picked up a rose bouquet and gave it to her beautiful girlfriend. The girl smiled happily, smelling the roses, and she kissed the guy on the cheek. They went away, laughing and chatting like the love birds in spring. But then at next corner, another girl came and slapped the guy right on where he was kissed, Betty imagined. She looked into the guy’s blue eyes, forgive him almost too quickly, then screamed at the girl. The girl didn’t know that. She didn’t know he has a girlfriend. But she, still, was the villain. But not so villainy, she ran away, crying, feeling her heart has been crashed into dust.

“Betty.” John hugged her from behind, waking her up from her nightmare. In front of them, that couple shared a pink, strawberry ice cream.

“Hi John.” She smiled, putting her hand on his. She decided to forget all that Fiona said and enjoy the date. “You got me!”

Today is a perfect day for everything, she thought to herself, be happy.

Betty was so caught up in constantly smiling and laughing at John’s joke that she almost forgot everything. She stared at his dreamy eyes. She imagined sliding her fingers through his soft, brown hair and every gap between the buttons on his shirt.

“I’m taking you to a place,” John said after dinner.

“Okay. mmm, is it gonna be fun?”

“Of course it’s gonna be fun!” He answered and took her hand.

After a while, they were at The Rose Garden. A few little lamps shone like little stars, showing the faces of red and pink roses.

“Sorry I could show you here in the morning babe.” John said, “But it’s gonna be worth coming.”

Betty looked at the roses. Whatever happened with him and Daphnia, she thought, he must be serious with me. She took his hand and wrapped it around her waist.

“Are you scared babe?”

“No.” She could feel the warmth of his heart, so she could be sure that his love for her is like fire. “Okay, maybe just a bit.”

He held her tighter and led her to a pond. It was wide and cold. On the sides, there were neat grasses, with large brushes of rose growing on it. The brushes were hanged with millions of resting red roses, building up a red wall.

“This would hide us.”

They sat down.

“Do you swim here a lot?” Betty asked lightly, as his face was so close to hers.

“No, I don’t swim. It’s cold and deep in there. I have much better things to do, like workouts, football…” His sound faded as his lips touched on Betty’s.

“What’s the name of it?” Betty took a breath break. “This beautiful place.”

She waited for the answer, slitting every buttons out. A cold breeze spiraled on her spine alone with John’s cold thin fingers.

“So?” She asked.

“Rose Pond.”

“THE Rose Pond?” She stood up in rage, searching for the zipper on her back. She stepped away from that guy while pulling up her pink dress.

“Yes, what’s wrong babe?” John tried to grab her.

“This the fucking place you took Daphnia to!” She screamed. The pond was so close to her that the reflection of her pink dress waves in the water. “Is she still your girlfriend?”

“No, we broke up, Betty.” He came closer and closer to her.

“Really?” She asked and looked at his sincere nod. “Alright. I’m sorry.” She let him grabbed her and rolled on the grass with her

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.” She said, feeling the prickles of a lonely cane under her.

Suddenly, John’s phone ranged in his pocket. John stopped his moves.

“Just ignore it.” Said Betty. But John didn’t listen. He picked up his messy trousers and looked for the phone inside. He answered the call.

“Hey.” He whispered and walked away. “No, no I’m just with some friends. We’re just walking on the street, almost home. Fine, but they are going to laugh at me. Alright, don’t be angry, I’ll say it so lightly that only you can hear okay. Daphy babe, I love you.”

“Ah! How could you!” Betty gasped, standing right behind John.

“Wait, Betty, I can explain!”

Betty felt angry and sad and bitter and all that she could feel. She didn’t know how many there in the fire in her heart were, but she knew sweet love like the smell of roses was gone.

She pushed on John’s bare chest and he stubbled back.

He stubbled back and slipped into the pound.

“Ah! Help! I can’t swim!” He screamed. The phone with another women raging inside, dropped in to the pond, hitting the ground a while later. “Betty. Help me.”

She didn’t say anything.

He fell more; water started to go into his throat.

The roses.

She found that cane.

“It’s a shame the cane doesn’t have red roses on.” She said.

She gave it to him.

He had drifted far away from the shore, but he grabbed on the cane.

“Now it has.” She mumbled.

His blood leaked from the prickle’s cut. Forming red roses on the water.

“Pull it!” He struggled to say.

Pull it, she thought, but why?

Today is a perfect day for everything, she thought. Are lies supposed to be there on a perfect day?

She threw the cane into the water.

“For you, my love.” She whispered.

It floats.

With John.

She stayed at the shore for a bit longer.

And smiled.

Today is a perfect day for everything!