Parallel Universe - Malec One Shots and Short Stories in English 🔞

Flowers First 💐 - Part I

I can hardly believe that I actually made it out of the office on time for today. As a trainee, you have to expect to have a mountain of work pushed on you shortly before closing time.

All things that have the highest priority and have to be done before the weekend. The same monkey business every week. But not with me. Not today, on my little sister Izzy's birthday.

I had promised her that I would make it to her birthday party on time this year and that I would get her the most beautiful bouquet of flowers she has ever received from me.

Granted, it was outrageously expensive, but I was thinking the whole time about my sister's beaming face when I handed her this wonderful colorful spring bouquet. A true spring awakening.

All day long I could marvel at the flowers on my office desk and was constantly asked if I could be congratulated. Presumably I could have simply claimed to have a birthday in order to secure an even earlier end to my workday.

I bet no one would have been surprised by this statement, even though I had already baked a birthday cake for the entire staff last winter.

However, someone in my company is always baking cakes, and they often come up with absurd occasions just for that.

Ultimately, my colleagues are all sugar junkies across the board who become bitter and grouchy once their sugar budget is not topped up. The same goes for caffeine. The zombies from Resident Evil are nothing compared to my colleagues at work if they don't get their beloved coffee first thing in the morning when they start work.

Lost in thought, I stroll to the bus stop, enjoying the warm rays of the early evening sun on my face. Although I am deeply relaxed, I still have the feeling that I have forgotten something important. But no matter how hard I try, I can't get hold of the crucial thought. Maybe it was nothing earth-shattering.

There are only a few minutes left before bus line 513 passes my stop and takes me to my parents' house. Today is truly the perfect weather for a barbecue. Sure enough, my dad is already standing jittery in his bright red apron at the grill, treating himself to a freshly chilled beer on the side, while my mom charms the invited party guests with her fun-loving ways.

In the corner of my eye, I notice an elderly couple who seem to be waiting with me for the approaching bus. Both wear a blissful smile on their lips and hold each other lovingly in their arms. They seem happy. Nowadays, a sight that I think is becoming increasingly rare.

The lady is holding a pretty bouquet of yellow tulips in her left hand and I inevitably wonder if they are a gift from her husband, who is tenderly stroking her back. Such small gestures still have the greatest impact.

Looking at the flowers, the scales suddenly fall from my eyes and I finally get the decisive nod, head-on and with a sledgehammer, much to my chagrin.

I react with gasps and grab my chest convulsively. Stunned, I close my eyes and only with difficulty suppress my burgeoning anger and frustration at my own stupidity.

How nice that on the way here I was thinking all the time about my sister's birthday bouquet and only now it occurs to me that it is still standing most decoratively on my desk in the office.

'You've got to be kidding me!'
With evil foreboding, I squint at the wooden dial of my watch and at the same time see the bus with the number 513 pull up.

'Great! Desperately, I ruffle my hair and walk a few feet away from the bus stop, ignoring the curious glances beside me.

I'm torn between running back to the office once more and catching the next bus, or daring to stand empty-handed in front of my Izzy while congratulating her on her 18th birthday.