A Flower In Disguise

Warning: Slight mature content ahead.

A long time ago, in a peaceful land where everything was surrounded by trees and plants, there lived a farmer named Eric. He was a smart young man who's married to a beautiful woman named Ivy.

 Even though they had been married for more than two years now, they never did become a happy couple as others do. One thing he hated about his wife was her filthy mouth that would often throw harsh insults to his job as a farmer.

 However, he didn't say anything about it and just stood silent like a robotic husband. To tell the truth, he wasn't really fond of having useless arguments with her so he lengthened his patience for the sake of keeping their family intact.

  At first, he thought that Ivy's rude behavior was just part of her pregnancy. But even after she gave birth to their child a month ago, she didn't stop complaining about how foolish his job was.

 He endured all her verbal insults, not realizing that the anger he had been keeping himself was slowly being bottled-up like a bomb that was about to explode. So when Ivy tried to force him to sell the 3 hectares of his rice field for extra money, he burst out.

  “I said no!” he yelled for God knows how many times already.

 But Ivy didn't waver. “Eric, I'm suggesting this for our family!” she said, trying to make him understand the bigger picture. “If we sell the half part of the rice field, we will have enough money to provide our needs.”

 “Needs?” he exclaimed, as though offended. “I've been working my ass through day and night so I can provide our damn needs! Isn't that enough?”

 “The money you're gaining from your job is so little! Why can't you realize that?” she said. “Our child is growing up fast, Eric. Soon enough, I can no longer feed him myself.”

 “Then I'll work harder if I must.” He turned his back, telling her that it was the end of their argument. “Whatever you say, I still have no plans on selling the land that I inherited from my beloved parents. That's the only thing that reminds me of them.”

 “Is that more important to you than our son? Stop being too sentimental!”

 “Ivy!” He shut his eyes. “Enough. Let's talk about this when I cool down.”

 “Fine!”

 The moment Ivy rushed inside their son's room, he clenched his fists and groaned.

 I can no longer stay with a woman who's more insensitive than a villain. This should stop. She must die, he told himself.

 He would kill her—kill her in such a way that no one would suspect; something that no one would think of her death as a murder.

 He must came up with a good plan.

 After four days, he went to a wild forest to look for a certain flowering plant called White Snakeroot. He discovered about this plant from the books he read when he was still striving to become a farmer someday. He never thought that this kind of knowledge would help him to achieve his plan—to kill Ivy.

 According to the book, the plant has a long slender leaf stalk with sharply-pointed tips and its flat-topped clusters blossom tiny bright-white flowers during the fall.

 Behind its wonderful appearance lies inevitable toxicity that it is poisonous enough to kill someone once it's consumed. Meaning, when a living creature consumed the plant, it could also pass the poison to someone who'd eat its meat or drink its milk.

 So to make it less suspicious, he fed the white snakeroot to one of his cows and gathered its milk, just like what he usually does every afternoon.

 The next day, he prepared the milk for his wife during dinner.

 “Drink this milk, honey.” He poured the bottled milk into her glass and smiled. “This can make your face look whiter and younger!”

 “Aw, how thoughtful you are, honey. I badly need this for my skin!” She drank the glass of milk then nodded. “It tastes good, huh.”

 He hid an evil grin and continued to eat his dinner. “Glad you like it... Where is our son, by the way?”

 “He already fell asleep while I was singing lullabies for him.”

 He nodded. That was unusual. Ivy seemed to be nicer tonight, but still, there'd be no change of plans. A simple compliment won't make him soft again for her.

 The poison would probably take effect after a few more hours. He just needed to make it look like they're on good terms before she dies. That would lessen the suspicion of the neighbors once her death was announced.

 He cleared his throat. “About what you said last week... I think I'll consider selling some parts of the ricefield—”

 “Oh, about that, you don't have to.”

 “Why? I thought you wanted to earn more money.”

 “I've changed my mind.” She clung to him. “I'm sorry if I tried to force it. I know how much the fields meant to you.”

 What she said somehow moved him. If only her wife was like this since day one, he could've appreciated her more.

 “Are you sure?”

 “Yes, all I cared before was money. I feel like I've been a terrible wife.” She cupped his cheek. “I want to make up to you.”

 Their make-up thing turned into make-out on the bed. This wasn't part of the plan but he cared less. After all, this would be the last night he'd sleep with her.

 Once he saw her naked body, all his rational thoughts flew away. Scorching heat filled the room as their bare bodies fondled each other.

 He kissed her senseless and roamed his hands all over her body. His mouth reached her lips, her jaw, her neck, down to her chest. Her chest was so soft, sweet, and milky, turning him more on.

  His fingers slip inside her and muffled moans followed. She arched her back as their body slowly moved into a rhythm. Every touch sent shivers and hot sensation to the two of them—a sensation that went beyond their sexual pleasure.

 It was definitely a feverish night to remember.

 Too bad that would be their last, because the next day, Ivy was found naked and dead inside the room. Beside her was Eric who was no longer breathing too.

 Indeed, death and vengeance are not always found in the sharp blade of knives. Sometimes, they're flowers in disguise.