Flowers For Martha

 “Andrew! Andrew! Wake up it’s raining Daisies and Daffodils,” a chipper voice shouted. 

  Fourteen-year-old Andrew rubbed his eyes and mosied himself towards the balmy window. He squinted as a warm glare of sunlight radiated across his upper body. When his sleepy eyes came into focus they experienced nature's bliss. The emerald green grass outside cushioned a shower of lovely flowers floating down. It was an oasis of tranquility, considering it was raining sandals early in the week. 

“You should go pick flowers for Martha, she would love them.” a soft voice begged.

“Alright out of my room, you overstayed your welcome.” Andrew escorted his little annoying sister out of the room before she could get another word in. He gazed out the window once more— She was right. Andrew pushed his legs through beige cargo shorts, smoothly pulled them up, and wrestled into a teal long-sleeve shirt. He fluffed his hair in the tri-fold mirror above his dresser and watched it flail into a mess. A hat it is. He opened his door with a bookbag loosely on his back and walked into the bathroom, separating his sister's room from his. Without dilly-dallying, he flicked up the light switch, wrapped his fingers around the thin green stems of roses in the vase above the sink basin, and pulled them out. Andrew dumped the vase water in the sink. Using a towel as a glove, he twisted and turned inside the vase; the minuscule cotton loops captured the scattered water beads. Disruption from downstairs caused him to hurry with his scheme. He brushed his teeth, rushed out of the bathroom, and knocked on his sister's room. The door opened up. 

An I told you so smirk was plastered on her face while standing in the doorway. 

“You going to see her?” she smiled. 

“Just take these… please,” he handed her a handful of Roses.

“Fill me in with all the details or else…”

“Fine, just tell Mom and Dad I’m going to hang out with Eric,” he said before shutting the door.  

Andrew walked back to his room slipped into low-top white sneakers and made his way to the staircase leading into the kitchen. He shuffled down the steps and tried to sneak past the dining room.

“Um, where are you going sir?” his mother questioned.

Andrew halted and turned to her, “I’m going to the park with Cameron”  

“I know you don’t have school today, but can you go over to Mr. Lanston's house and ask if he needs anything done around the yard or house?”

“Sure,” Andrew said as he grabbed a pancake from a stack in the middle of the dining table. He folded the pancake like a taco and scoffed it down on his way out of the front door. The sun's warmth embraced Andrew, and the earthy air revitalized his lungs. Majestic trees scattered across the dreamy meadows were home to colorful birds. Clear streams welcomed pink frogs and exotic flowers. The water reflected the lulling baby-blue sky above. Andrew was in high spirits. He punched in his security code to release his hoverboard from the side of the house. It was low on charge, but he didn’t need much to get to her house after tending to Mr.Lanston. Andrew laid the board down on the fresh-cut grass and placed one foot after another on it. The board beeped three times and levitated off the ground. With a small forward tilt of his shoulder, the board started cutting through the air, descending flowers slapped against his face and legs. Andrew marveled at all the women and men outside picking up Daisies and Daffodils. Their smiles and laughter were potent. This shower could last in the next five minutes or the rest of the week. Weather like this deserved undivided attention. Andrew approached the front of Mr. Lanston's house and leaped off the hoverboard. He carried it under his left arm and jogged up the porch steps. A meow caused him to recoil.

“You can’t keep scaring me like that, Shadow,” Andrew chuckled. A black cat with a shiny coat peered out of a basket and leaped onto the wooden porch. Andrew rang the doorbell and knelt to caress Shadows' chin.  There were some shuffling and clicks on the other side of the door and it opened up slowly.

“Hey there Andrew, what brings you here?” said an elderly man with a bad hunch and obnoxiously large glasses. 

“I’m just stopping by to see if you need any help around the house or yard.”

“ You can help me get these damn flowers off my porch,” he laughed.

Andrew followed up with a nervous chuckle. 

“ But seriously, I’m fine…but you look very anxious today. Special girl or something?” Mr.Lanston asked.

Andrew nervously avoided eye contact.

“ I know I’m an old fart, but I was your age believe it or not—-if you're planning on bringing flowers I can help you arrange them, let me find a vase”.

Andrew pulled a clear vase from his backpack before Mr. Lanston could rotate. 

“Oh you have one, perfect...meet me around the back.”

Mr. Lanston had a remarkable plot of land and such a small house. His land sustained his neighbors and became a commodity with the abundance of vegetation it bred. Even through the hardships of losing his family four years ago from a teleport accident, he still provided wood to keep that pit of optimism blazing. He believed they were somewhere out there in the universe despite the survivability odds. “One day we will meet again,” he’d say. 

Andrew pushed the gate on the side of his door open and admired the lines and plots of luscious greenery and greenhouses. Mr. Lanston finally made his way outside with a walking stick in hand. 

“Go to the stream over there and collect some water” he motioned with his free hand. 

Andrew jogged over to the stream that ran near the bed of carrots. The water was sparkling and inviting. He placed his vase down and formed a cup with his hands; His neck and hands simultaneously met and Andrew gulped the water down. He could feel the cool water flowing through his stomach and small intestines. It was pure and his organs loved it. 

“You get the water yet?” Mr. Lanston said from a distance.

Andrew stuck the vase in and filled it up halfway. He speed-walked to Mr. Lanston who was playing with 'Shadow. 

“Pour some of that water out and leave the vase right here in the sun, we need it to warm up some”

Andrew followed his instructions.

“You were young, but the last time it rained Daisies and Daffodils was 10 years ago. I had the same idea as you. My wife was sleeping that morning, I went out with my grandson and we picked flowers for her. She loved them. Whoever this special person is they will love it too.”

Mr. Lanston pointed to flowers on the ground that he wanted Andrew to bring him. Once Andrew captured enough Mr. Lanston arranged them beautifully into the vase. The daisies were sandwiched between the bright yellow Daffodils. They seamlessly fit.

“That should do it— I take it your mom doesn’t know you're going to see this girl," Mr. Lanston said.

“No sir, but if she calls can you tell her I’m here working in the back”

“You know I don’t like lying, but I also understand days like this don’t come around that often, promise me you will be safe.”

“I promise Mr. Lanston, I’m just dropping the flowers off and leaving.”

Mr. Lanston handed the vase of flowers over and Andrew headed towards the front of the house. He grabbed his hoverboard off the porch and took off for his next destination. Mr. Lanston burst out the front door shouting Andrews's name, but the sound of the whooshing wind deflected the yells. Andrew didn’t notice the amount of flowers descending was decreasing. A new shower was commencing. He arrived at her house, but the earlier breeze halted and the sky was now pink. An eeriness was cast over the land. 

“Anything but sandals or sardines again,” Andrew muttered while approaching her house. Knocking a few times on the door made the silent house come alive. A tall lanky man opened the door. 

“Hello Mr. Wilfred, is Martha home.” After a few judgmental scans, he finally smiled and said, “Martha a young man is at the door for you—she will be right down.” A cold breeze swept through, making the hairs on Andrew’s body stand.

An arm pushed aside Mr. Wilfred, “Oh my god Andrew are those for me” said an innocent voice. Martha was all smiles and her pale freckled cheeks were turning red.

“Yeah, I know you broke your wrist last week, so I thought this would help cheer you up.”

“Dad can we talk outside, it will only be for a few minutes.”

“Stay close to the house, the weather station isn’t clear about what will rain next,” he said.

Andrew and Martha walked a few feet away from the house, talking about annoying teachers and recent test scores. A lot of grins and goofy laughs echoed through the air. Martha looked up in the sky, “I wonder what’s dropping next, we didn’t even get a full day of flower showers”

Something darting to the ground caught Andrew's peripheral. He ignored Martha and followed his curiosity. He walked over to a black handle in the ground and pulled up on it. A knife. It slid out of the smooth soil with ease.

“Martha, run to the house!” Andrew shouted.

A barrage of knives came raining down with horrid intentions. Andrew tossed his hoverboard down and got on, zigzagging toward Martha. The front door flung open and her father was oozing fear. Andrew pulled Martha on the board and cleared the porch. Both of them launched through the front door.

“Oh my god, Martha are you okay.” Said Mr. Wilfred, while examining her body for wounds. She was fine. Andrew was unsure if he got injured, his focus was on Martha. It wasn’t until she pointed to the drop of blood dripping from his cheek. Mr. Wilfred tended to Andrew's graze and hugged him tightly.

“You saved my daughter, thank you.” 

Andrew looked out the window to see the vase shattered, and a knife pierced through a Daffodil. He was in disbelief. Why me? He wondered. An arm in a cast wrapped around his upper body.

“You saved me Andrew, thank you.” She cried.

In the distance, a bubble car deflected the falling knives and rolled towards the house. Once it got closer it revealed Andrew's mom and Mr. Lanston. Andrew figured he was grounded just from the look in his mother's eyes, but this hug was worth the punishment ahead.