Marygold (Short Story)

Chapter 13

The sun was brightly shining. There was not one cloud in sight. Chiffon and Marygold stopped by the farmer's market for things to eat, then  Chiffon dragged Marygold to her house in search of a blanket. By the afternoon, they had competed their going away picnic and they went around town counting every marigold they came across. There were still some hours left of the day, and throughout the entirety of it, Chiffon had a feeling this was the last day she was going to be able to see Marygold. Marygold seemed like she was not the kind of person to let someone know shocking news a few days prior before it happens, she did not look too immersed in the actions of the future. Of course, because she had given up on that a long time ago.

They returned to the flower shop. It was where they had first met, and Chiffon wanted Marygold to look at the flowers she seemed to like one last time.

"Marigolds can come in lots of colors." Chiffon told her. "Not all of them are yellow. It's the same thing with sunflowers; some say they can even be blue."

Even though the smile on her face was contagious, she could not help but think about Marygold's departure. There was no way it could be real.

Then again, it was Marygold.

"I don't think I'll be able to look at these the same when you're gone. Hopefully you'll think about visiting." Chiffon said as she smiled at her, "If you and your family decide to come back, I promise I'll be one step closer to my dream."

Maybe so.

"Wait outside Marygold, I have a present for you."

And so Marygold did as told. The burning heat was nothing to her, and she waited five minutes before Chiffon came outside again, obviously holding something behind her back. She smiled shyly. "I was waiting to give this to you at the festival. Since you're not going, now is definitely a more important time."

She revealed the present. She held out a bouquet of flowers for her. They were the marigolds that Marygold always looked at, a lot of them in one big cluster. As Chiffon was holding them, Marygold could not help but gaze at them.

"They're for you to take to your new home." Chiffon said, "Put them in a vase and water them at least two times a week. Your new friends will be super impressed!"

Marygold did not know how to take care of plants. Chiffon assumed she would figure it out, "It's easy." She said, "Don't think too hard about it. Just treat them nicely."

The cicadas churr in the summer heat.

"I hope you grow to understand the beauty of nature, too."

What else did she wish for her?

"I'm sorry if I'm telling you a lot of things. It's just...we met in a such a short span of time, and you're the only friend I have to spend time with... I still have not befriended anyone who likes flowers as much as I do, though you seem to accept it, and I am extremely grateful. You're a great friend, and I'm going to miss you when you leave."

Chiffon started to feel sad again by her own words as she started to tear up. Marygold noticed, and gave back the bouquet she had just been given.

"You need them more than I do." She said, keeping her eyes at the ground.

Nineteen words.

"Marygold, you really just talk when you want to?" Chiffon smiled and wiped her tears away. "I think I get what you mean. Okay, I'll keep them. Let's visit my house for a bit, I'll give you another present there."

They left shortly after. The day was almost coming to an end. Marygold sat on the couch in Chiffon's home as Chiffon rummaged in her room for something to give her; she could not just let Marygold leave empty-handed. That would be awful.

Chiffon rushed back into the living room with a gift wrapped in cheap Christmas wrapping paper.

"Open it, Marygold!" She said.

Once Marygold did, who could have guessed it was the picture book Chiffon had that contained a variety of flowers and different kinds of plants.

"I don't care if I need it more than you do, I want you to take that. Please."

"Thank you."

Twenty-one words.

The sky suffused with warm shades of orange and pink. The two sit outside on the porch. Marygold was still holding the book, looking out into the field of grass. Chiffon felt herself start to sniffle again as she watched the grass sway in the wind. Her only friend was going to be moving.

"Marygold, hand me your book."

Chiffon scribbled something on the first page which at first was left blank. "That's my address. Only if you want to write to me, feel free to do so. I won't ask for yours because I want you to write to me first. We can be pen-pals now!"

Frankly, Marygold also did not know what a pen-pal was.

Suddenly, she found herself being embraced into a hug. Chiffon tightly wrapped her arms around her. "It's been really nice being your friend, Marygold. When you go, please don't forget me. Surely I'll never be able to forget about you."

Marygold hugged her as well.

She was taking her leave with the book held casually in her hand. This was the moment Chiffon was dreading for the entire day, but once the time had come she was not as upset, or so she felt like it. "Write to me. I'll be waiting for your response." Chiffon said before she waved to her new friend, wishing her an extravagant farewell. Same with Marygold as she repeated the action, but with much less enthusiasm.

Just like that, Marygold turned the corner, and her shadow slowly disappeared until she was officially gone.

"Goodbye, Marygold."

Continued.