a dream in one actshortstorys
an experiment in destroying known symbols so that when
you finish the story you sit confused as to why something didnt happen.
The Black Rose
Red, white, blue, green, yellow, pink, purple.
Jonathan picked his way through the field of colorful wildflowers. Every color seemed to blend into the one beside it, forming a never-ending array of a myriad of different colors that seemed to stretch hundreds of miles beyond the horizon.
A small grouping of bluebells and roses stood out from the rest, as they were much taller. Jonathan made his way through the rainbow towards the tall, eye-catching flowers. He squatted down beside them and lifted a small bluebell. He lowered his face and slowly inhaled the sweet odor.
He carefully let go of the fragile plant and turned his attention towards the red and pink roses. Jonathan grasped a flower and smelled it. It was sweeter than the bluebell, a more colorful smell. He unwrapped his fingers from around the petals and reached down to pull the plant from the ground. He moved to hastily and a thorn slid easily into his ring finger. Jonathan quickly pulled his hand away from the plant and brought his finger up to his mouth, sucking the fresh wound in an attempt to clean it from all dirt and grim. Just then, as if by fate, he saw the most beautiful flower he had ever seen.
It was a rose, hidden down near the ground, the only one of its kind. But instead of the luscious red petals of his first choice, these were black petals, barely visible in the shade. A long stem snaked away from the flower and disappeared into the ground.
Intrigued, Jonathan pushed the rose bush away, careful not to touch any thorns. The light revealed that the black rose was even more beautiful than he had initially thought.
"This is the one..." he whispered to himself.
He reached down, and pulled the plant out of the ground by its roots. His fingers naturally grabbed the stem between the thorns. He brought the plant up to his nose. This one smelled even better. Jonathan reached into his pocket for his knife. He laid the black rose on a rock and quickly cut the stem off at halfway, careful to make the cut at an angle.
He hopped up and made his way back through the colorful field.
Jonathan adjusted his shirt collar as he made his way up the front walk of his girlfriend's house. He kept his left hand behind him as he knocked on the door. It was opened immediately by her father.
"Ah, Jonathan. C'mon in, she'll be right down."
Jonathan stepped inside the white hall and waited, patiently watching the stairs.
Then she appeared, dressed in a flowing white dress. She looked stunning. Slowly, she made her way down the steps, one hand on the railing, the other raising her dress so she didn't trip over it. She reached the landing and stopped in front of Jonathan.
Without saying a word, he drew his hand out from behind him and gave a gentleman's bow in one smooth motion. In his hand was the black rose, it's thorns now sheared off so it didn't hurt the one he loved.
She gasped and took the rose out from his hand. As Jonathan rose up from the bow, she took a deep breath, smelling the flower. A bright smile spread across her face and she quickly pulled Jonathan towards her and hugged him tightly.
"It's beautiful!" she said, and gave him a loving kiss.
Feb 20, Mar 1, Sep 17, 2000; Jan 7, 2001
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