In Your Arms

The Rose in the Garden

Farrah reached into a large tin filled with rain water, scooping up the liquid with a leaking, plastic cup. She placed her hand under the damaged object, trying to save as much spilling water as she could as she hurried over to her garden. Once she made it to her destination, she bent down on her knees and placed her head over a small patch of strawberries. She then tossed the cold contents of the cup over her skull, making sure the excess water dripping off the ends of her hair landed right onto the fruit below her. 

This was Farrah's way of taking a bath and watering the plants at the same time. She didn't know when another storm would arrive, so she had to save as much water as she could until then.

She continued to do this for a few more minutes, passing by each plant she owned and making sure they were all in good condition. Towards the end of her routine, she caught sight of a beautiful rose bush sprouting out from behind her orange tree. It surprised her merely because she never noticed it was there before. Then again, it might have been there the whole time and she was too careless to spot it.

With a smile, Farrah hopped over towards the beautiful, single red rose. It was a deep, rich color and she didn't even have to put her nose close to smell its lovely odor.

The woman reached out to bend the flower slightly to her direction, but she failed to notice the pointy spines it was adorned with.

"Ouch!" She snapped her hand back, sucking her oozing thumb as she rolled her eyes and stepped away. Of course roses had thorns, why couldn't she remember that? Admiring the flower one last time, Farrah turned away and continued on to her next task.

"It's a hot day, isn't it?" She spoke loudly to no one in particular, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. "Hopefully everything cools down later on. I can't be walking around like this every day." She stared down at her exposed body, feeling absolutely no guilt standing out with no clothes on. Why should she feel ashamed? No one had ever crossed paths with her, and as far as she knew, she was alone for miles and miles away. The animals around her were naked, why couldn't she be also?

A small songbird chirping overhead caught the girl's attention, and she glanced upwards to gaze at the creature. Farrah was surprised at first to see how so many animals had managed to live despite what happened years ago. She was even more surprised to discover that everywhere she went, there were even more than there was when humans used to be the dominant race. In a way, she was a bit glad. At least no one would be harming the innocent creatures anymore.

Farrah began to whistle a tune as she went about her business. Though most people would think she didn't have much to do, the truth was that she had her hands full from day to night each day.

Showering/watering the garden, tending to the plants and picking out any fruit or vegetables that were ready, preparing dinner, cutting wood for a fire- the list went on. Luckily, Farrah wasn't the type who complained a lot. At least not anymore. If someone ever told her years ago that she would be running around doing chores in an isolated town, the woman was sure she would have laughed right at their face.

Her parents were the kind who spoiled her and gave her nearly everything she wished for. She didn't even do any house cleaning. Looking back upon those days, Farrah wished they wouldn't have treated her that way. She never really appreciated what they had to give, and she always wanted more. If there was one regret that Farrah had, it was not being able to truly value her family and the sacrifices they made when they were alive.

"There I go again, thinking about things I shouldn't be thinking about," Farrah whispered to herself, plucking a round tomato and inspecting it closely before tossing the vegetable in a plastic bag. She inspected each tree and shrubbery, collecting a few chilies and a potato towards the end of her daily round.

A stew would be nice to have for dinner, but Farrah wasn't so sure she really wanted to add meat to her dish that day. A simple meatless stew with potato, chopped tomato, and sliced peppers sounded much easier for her to prepare.

And that was how Farrah spent the rest of her afternoon. It was a boring, calm day and she was feeling much more lazy than usual. It had to be the heat, which was only getting more unbearable as the minutes passed.

Once she had finished setting up a fire with some spare wood she had chopped a few days ago, she tossed them in a circular pit she had created outside of her home. She owned a match box she had found when she was looking inside a lonely convenience store on the other side of the town. That was her go to place for many things, and she was grateful that it hadn't been plundered by anyone or anything.

Once the fire was lit, Farrah grabbed a large banged up pot and went over to her water supply. A few cups of dirty liquid were tossed inside the pot, then she returned and positioned it over the fire.

With a yawn, she travelled to her porch and rested back against an old rocking chair. Farrah began to clean and cut the vegetables as the water boiled, trying to ignore the heavy sensation settling upon her eyelids.

She rubbed her face, trying to focus on slicing the pieces of food on her hands. "Damn heat. Making me tired." She laughed like someone had responded to her, and giggled even louder when she realized how crazy she must have looked.

A wave of sudden darkness washed over her, causing her to drop the knife and potato she was holding on to. She gripped on tight to the armrest of her chair, inhaling sharply at the random blackout. The woman stayed put for a few minutes, trying to comprehend what had just happened and why. She had drunk water when she first woke up and although she hadn't eaten yet, she was sure that wasn't the cause of her problem.

Farrah quickly picked up the potato she had dropped and started cutting it again. She finished the tomato and chili as well, hoping to get everything in the pot before she experienced another unwanted sensation.

With the sliced vegetables in the palm of her hands, she shot up from her chair and jogged over to the boiling pot of water. Once she threw the food inside, then sealed the top with the lid, another even worse feeling of dizziness took a firm fold of her.

She collapsed back, regaining consciousness for a moment. Farrah attempted to sit up, but it was like some unseen force was holding her down, forcing her to yield and let out a cry of confusion.

As another black ocean hit her hard, she tried to go through a list of things that could have caused the horrible sensation she was feeling...

The rose...could it be? Were the thorns poisonous? No, that wasn't possible. Thorns didn't carry poison. Farrah's panicked thoughts subsided into nothing as her body soon became limp on the dusty ground. She was not dead, merely passed out from the flower that had bitten her.

From up above, the sky's bright colors began to drift away into a dark and cool night.