The Fourteen Flowers

  It all started when Madeline Scott opened her door on the first sunday in march. She had been noticing odd things like doors being open when she swore she had closed them, objects being moved about her home without her so much as laying a finger on them, but for some reason, the rose that lay staring back at her on her front doorstep that morning, scared her more than anything else. She had no idea how that one flower had managed to make its way to her house, but what she did know, the pit forming in her stomach was making her uneasy.

    From that point on, Madeline always woke to a flower on her doorstep on sundays. Each rose was always different. For every flower, one petal was missing. The first had fourteen petals. If the pattern continued, the last rose would have none. It would only be a stem. The thought of the day that the last rose- stem, should I say- would show up at her door scared Madeline. This had been going on for 10 weeks so far. A rose on her door every sunday. Madeline still had no idea where these flowers were coming from. She had no idea what they could mean, but she knew it was something. Her family members worried for her safety. The missing petals could mean something, and that was their greatest fear. They worried that they could be dealing with something much larger than a bunch of roses. The strange events that occurred in Madeline's home would haunt her until her dying breathe- which would be a lot sooner than one might think.

    As the weeks went on more things were moved. More doors were opening and closing seemingly on their own. This frightened Madeline almost as much as the roses that continued to show up. In two weeks, now, she was to expect the last rose. The rose which would have no petals left.

    Madeline had been dreading the day that the last flower would greet her from the step. She opened her door. She looked down to see no petals on the flower. She was surprised to note that nothing horrific had happened along with the arrival of this flower stem. She still did not know who was leaving the roses or what they meant, but she felt as though she was safe. It was over. Her family felt peace that their daughter and sister was alright.

    For almost a week nothing had happened. Objects had stopped moving around Madeline's house. She had not received any more flowers. Madeline was still slightly suspicious that something else was coming. She tried to brush it off, but it seemed to haunt her through out the days. She did not want to worry her family members to worry. She left it alone and did not say a word. Her family threw a party on a friday to celebrate the end. Little did they know, it was far from the end. This was the last time Madeline would be seen alive.

    Two days after her friday night party, Madeline opened her door that sunday morning to discover no flower, but a small note. She picked it up to read its contents, felt a sharp pain to the back of her head, and everything went black.

    Her neighbors found her cold, lifeless body laying on her doorstep that very same day. All fourteen roses had been scattered through her hair- including the stem. She had been killed by blunt force trauma to the back of the head. She had been murdered. Her family was devastated. If they had payed closer attention to her and tried to get her out of that situation, maybe she would still be alive. Maybe not.

    No one knew who it was that took Madeline Scott's life. A police investigation led everyone to believe that whoever murdered her had been stalking her from inside of her home. That would explain the moving items and the doors. Police think that they were using the roses as a weapon of distraction. If Madeline was focused on the roses, she would not be focused on the fact that she might not have been alone in her home as she thought she was.

    The note was discovered to say, “Madeline, you truly thought it was over. Such a shame. Maybe in another life, we could've been together. Maybe you could've loved me the way that I've always been in love with you. Alas, no such thing was to come of this life. If I can't have you, no one else can either. The pain that I feel seeing you live every day without even thinking of me, burns me to my core. I wish that I could've given you more than roses, but you do not wish for my company. The missing petals represented your time running out. The weeks were leaving you just like the petals were leaving the roses. I'm sorry it had to end this way. You should've thought harder about your actions. -H"

    After reading the note, police discovered that the roses were meant to be a gift. Madeline was right when she thought the petals meant something. She should have listened to her gut. Her family was allowed to read the note in hopes of identifying the person who could've written it. The first initial of H.

    Madeline had told them about a man who was chasing after her. Henry was his name. She had rejected him on multiple occasions. It is possible that Henry had been insulted by Madeline's lack of interest. That could have been the actions that he was referring to. They were still having a difficult time. They knew that it was Henry. It had to be. He had no alibi for the morning of the murder. Police searched the home for any of his fingerprints, but found none. They suspected that he had worn gloves when he was in her home. It had to be him. Yet, had no solid evidence that pointed to Henry. They took him in. 

     They had to let him go because of the lack of evidence. Many believe that it was Henry who killed her. The killer walks free. Many say that if he go to Henry’s small house on the outskirts of town, you can see him tending to his flowers. Roses, ironically.