Start your story with your character(s) going to buy some flowers.

Posted in Spring on Mar 24, 2023

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✍️ 78 stories

“Of Hasty Conclusions and the Gift of Flowers” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #191

Of Hasty Conclusions and The Gift of Flowers I was in such a bad mood on that day, for a number of reasons, some serious, some just plain foolish. I should have kept my sarcasm and nasty attitude to myself, where they belonged. But no, I had to let all the nastiness spill out. I even shocked myself somewhat, with what I said, which is saying something. If I had heard someone else saying the words that burst out of my mouth, I would most probably have though...

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“A Bushel and a Peck” by Jaelyn Phillips

Submitted to Contest #191

"And a hug around the neck, is how the song goes babe." I shoulder my bag, wobbling a little at the weight. I should've left it in the car, but I was insistent on bringing it in. He holds the door open for me, grabbing the bag despite saying earlier I had it. "Which commercial was that from again," he follows after me into the shop, "it's been on my mind since we got up this morning?" I pull out my list and start gathering some flowers. "It was for one of those commercials on life insurance I think. Can you grab some of those bluebells pleas...

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“fake it till you make it” by Eline Pols

Submitted to Contest #191

tw: homophobia (no slurs), non-graphic violence, some insensitive dialogue, name calling.**"I would like to buy this bouquet please", Kaz politely said.He was going to a swimming competition from his little sister.It was supposed to be a really big deal. Kasey had called him at least 5 times to tell him that this competition would either make or break her swimming career. Which Kaz thought was very dramatic for a high school kid.Anyways he imagined buying flowers was a safe option. If Kasey won, it would be a nice celebration gesture. If she...

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“Verus” by Naomi P

Submitted to Contest #191

Content Warning: self-harm, insanity, mentions of abuse/harm, and death Fluffy and her sister Penelope entered the florist shop. Flowers were everywhere: on the shelves, hanging from the ceiling, and laid out in rows on the floor. The whole building smelled sweet. There were many different kinds of flowers in the shop, but the cats needed only one. In Catonia, flowers were everything. Red roses symbolized love and hyacinths were an apology. Petunias, however, symbolized hatred. The anger they contained could destroy you. When Fluffy and Pene...

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“Flowers for Jordan” by Emily Brown

Submitted to Contest #191

The shop smells like cut stems and lemon-scented Lysol. It’s one of the few places in this decaying city that stays the same, year after year, even as the lifespan of its patrons shortens and the yellowish haze outside grows thicker. “Six pink carnations, six white daisies, and some green,” she says to the florist. With the middle-aged woman distracted, she browses the half-empty rows of overpriced plants. She detaches an arm of a miniature succulent and pinches a yellow pothos stem off the vine with her fingernails. A scrawny lemo...

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“Sakura” by Gabriella Anderson

Submitted to Contest #191

Spring has come to a small town named Floresdane, secluded from traffic and the hustling crowds of people, somewhere on the corner, a young man named Lucas is opening up his vivid little flower shop with welcoming smells of pollen with his beautiful extravaganzas. While the world around him slowly wakes up, like a flower bud bursting back to life and opening up its petals, to welcome the warmth.*BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. *Lucas almost dropped a small pot of delicate violet lilacs out of his hands due to the sudden sound of a vehicle nearby, tearing ...

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“Lilacs for Lucas” by Katie Vogts

Submitted to Contest #191

IV Boston has a flower shop, a good fifteen-minute walk from our house. The flowers remedied the constant aching in my chest. Effectively melting off the shell of misery I had harbored behind since the hot summer months and into the current awakening spring. “Can I get some lilacs, please!” A man bursts through the door of the shop. I see Diana recoil, startled by his booming voice and obnoxious disposition. He wears an expensive-looking business suit with a Bluetooth device clinging to his ear. He began leaning on the counter, putting t...

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“for the boy at the sushi bar. ” by S. M.

Submitted to Contest #191

I go to the market to buy flowers for the boy at the sushi bar. He told me the sun only glows for a lifetime, before the skies are washed out with star-tears and too blue lattes, (their cloud foam all evaporated). I guess I took that as a way of him telling me he remembers only his affinity with time, so flowers seemed an appropriate gift. They live for just a single breath of golden dust, after all. And so: A yellow rose– to convey a sense of friendship; for all the temaki he would sneak to me after the leftover miso stained ...

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“That Morning” by Camilla Germeus

Submitted to Contest #191

Maria woke up feeling great today without even taking a sip of coffee. She slept for a total of 8 hours and is feeling completely well-rested, and ready to start her day. She knew from the moment she woke up she would want to treat herself and go to her favorite flower shop to buy beautifully smelling flowers. She goes about her morning as follows: A shower, which she spends in cold water because the heating stopped working that morning, however, that didn't deter her. She then proceeds to have breakfast, which ends up with her breakfast bei...

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“FLOWERS ARE DANCING” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #191

FLOWERS ARE DANCING “ Roses? Red roses? They are beautiful but…too obvious….white roses then? Or yellow roses?” Paul wondered, he couldn’t decide. His grandmother Ida was turning eighty and he wanted to bring her a floral tribute but he was undecided about which flowers to choose. ROSES…it’s obvious to think of roses when thinking of a floral tribute to celebrate ( to pay homage to) someone, but perhaps it would have been more original to choose other flowers…Orchids perhaps? Or tulips?” Paul found orchids too sumptuous a...

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“Sometimes I buy flowers for myself ! ” by Sasan Dosi

Submitted to Contest #191

When I entered the Walmart, except a family from Puerto Rico having several children of different ages, a few people shopping in different sections and Walmart employees moving from one side to the other with little feeling and arranging the shelves, I didn't see anyone else. Undoubtedly, this emptiness was normal since the morning. I went to the flower shelf and began to walk around the bouquets having been decorated with special beauty and on them, a small paper had congratulated Valentine's Day: "Happy Valentine's Day." While I was moving...

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“Flowers for the Dead, A Long Road for the Mourning” by Jacob Weber

Submitted to Contest #191

The world is a dry place in these strange times. If you want to honor your dead the old way, you’ve got a long road to walk. River City and its spring blooms await the weary pilgrim. The path stretches long and straight across the cracked soil of the high plains, grayish-red bricks a counterpoint to the muted yellow of the surrounding grassland. I’ve heard it said that the Pilgrim’s Road was originally laid by scouting parties preceding some conquering Roman legion on its long march across the countryside. This seems an obvious falsehood,...

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“Can You Buy A Man Flowers?” by Christopher Gunn

Submitted to Contest #191

THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF ‘VINCE’S RELUCTANT NIGHT OUT’It’s still pretty cold, which makes me wonder where this little stand gets their flowers. The bodega owners wheeled it out last weekend to commemorate the first day of spring. My eye went right to the splash of colors in the salt stained downtown, with it’s old mills and dirty canals. Any day now we would get that vernal rain which would finally wash that salt away. Not yet, though, which makes these vibrant blooms so striking. I haven’t bought flowers in so long; I’m not entirely sure w...

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“April” by Nico D.

Submitted to Contest #191

Author's note: I apologize for any formatting issues. I kept trying to fix the paragraph indents in Reedsy's editor but they just wouldn't save for whatever reason.It was ten in the morning, and Trader Joe’s was packed to the gills. The electric heat from outside seeped in through the automatic doors, and the sheer amount of people inside the store didn’t do its climate any favors, either. Darren had been waiting in line for a good fifteen minutes now, wondering how such a popular store in this part of town could be so woefully understaffed...

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“My Beautiful Sunflower” by Anna Frederiksen-Washington

Submitted to Contest #191

My Beautiful Sunflower It was early April and one of the last very rare Indian Summer Days where the light and warmth dressed the city in a final promise of summer. Lisen was looking through the florist window on Jetty Road, trying to decide what flowers to buy for her friend Carina’s funeral. She felt sad and strangely weak inside and somehow the flowers did not bring that sense of comfort and strength she had hoped for. She looked at the roses; red, pink, yellow and white and thought of Carina walking through her rose garden with the se...

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Start your story with your character(s) going to buy some flowers.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 78 stories

“Of Hasty Conclusions and the Gift of Flowers” by John Steckley

“A Bushel and a Peck” by Jaelyn Phillips

“fake it till you make it” by Eline Pols

“Verus” by Naomi P

“Flowers for Jordan” by Emily Brown

“Sakura” by Gabriella Anderson

“Lilacs for Lucas” by Katie Vogts

“for the boy at the sushi bar. ” by S. M.

“That Morning” by Camilla Germeus

“FLOWERS ARE DANCING” by Mara Masolini

“Sometimes I buy flowers for myself ! ” by Sasan Dosi

“Flowers for the Dead, A Long Road for the Mourning” by Jacob Weber

“Can You Buy A Man Flowers?” by Christopher Gunn

“April” by Nico D.

“My Beautiful Sunflower” by Anna Frederiksen-Washington

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who is starting to open up to life again.

Write a story about a character who’s late to witness a special event.

Make Japan (or Japanese culture) an element of your story.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “I feel alive.”

Contest #191

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

276

Contest entries

170

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: