Exitium

🌹 o n e

🌹 o n e

♛

Nafplio, Peloponnese, Greece - 2 months later

A lone flower caught her attention. Stopping her in her tracks, her worn sneakers rubbing on the bristly sediment underneath her.

There, lying on the all too familiar ground she walked on everyday was a flower she didn't remember inventorying yesterday. Her azure eyes narrowed to see what flower it was.

A narcissus. A single daffodil.

She took a step towards it, but as she took another one she felt another pair of eyes on her, eyeing her every move. She shrugged away the idea, finding the thought absurd. But still, she eyed her surroundings looking from left to right if there was anyone. Sensing that there was no one, she bent down to pick up the flower.

The spring flower meant rebirth and new beginnings. She personally liked the symbolism of the flower but what she couldn't grasp is the way its being presented. When presented in a bunch it would mean good fortune however if it's lone it meant misfortune. Great. She just started her day and the universe it seems was telling her that she would have a bad day or perhaps days.

It was almost too ethereal to look at, like it wasn't meant for human eyes. Her wary eyes caught movement from her right and she almost give herself a whiplash when she stood up and turned to where the movement was. But there was no one. The only thing there was a brick wall. The elegant Venetian houses stared at her, the cafes luring her with its intoxicating smell and the other shops that seemingly smiled at her as it opens for the day, all fits in the same block lining the narrow streets. No suspicious man was there. She sighed. Perhaps it was the effect of disregarding food. She should've taken that breakfast her mother had made her.

She smelled the flower and it was unlike anything she smelled before. It felt like she was smelling the feathers of an angel, the pine trees after the rain, the midnight encased into the moon and then... then nothing. Who could possibly left it here? Was it for her? Or perhaps one of her customers had dropped this while leaving on a haste? She didn't know. But she gripped the flower in her hands, sniffing it once more, a smile grazing her pinkish lips.

Her feet moved. She reached for her keys in her clutched bag and quickly opened her shop's door. The bells chimed and she was met with the familiar scent of her flower shop. The intoxicating scent wafting up to her nose, inhaling it as it furnishes tranquility that seemed to traverse down her system, letting her know she's home. She let a smile spread on her pale visage, making sure it lingers as she started her day with a relaxing music to help her loosen out for the day.

She caught the flower on the counter top. Chastising herself for neglecting it, such a piece of efflorescing beauty doesn't deserve to be overlooked. Grabbing a new vase her mother had gifted her for her 18th birthday, she gently pour water and place the flower on it, displaying it for the world to see.

The bell by the door chimed indicating that her first customer had entered her shop. It wasn't much but she took pride in building it herself, with the help of her mother of course. She could've taken a job that pays well, or open a different shop that suits the public's interests, but flowers for her is a dream. Despite having a young age, still so much to learn at 23, she knows you can't be committed to work when you don't enjoy it. Much like finding yourself a husband whom you don't love. But from the moment she was born she knows her dream was this. When she finished her studies, she finally built her shop. Days of hardwork when she was still studying, juggling work and education at the same time, her savings and determination gave her the shop and she was more than happy to have it. This meant everything to her. Her mother had helped her, sustaining half the capital even when she told her she didn't have to and that she can do it but she would do anything for her child even if it meant her little one could do things now by herself.