The beautiful Flowers

The Beautiful Flowers

“Flowers are always so beautiful!” Winnie exclaimed staring down into the bouquet of flowers that Fred gifted to her. “Not as beautiful as you, my love,” he replied back to her without skipping a beat. Fred slid his hand into hers and the world felt right, he couldn’t wait to marry her in less than a week. Although they had only been courting for seven months it felt as if they had known each other their whole lives. Winnie didn’t know if soulmates were real, but she knew that if they were Fred was hers. As they strolled through the small town located somewhere in the lush English countryside, she recalled her previous suitor from many years back. He was handsome, but not nearly as handsome as Fred. He was kind and generous, but not nearly as much as Fred. Winnie looked up at her fiance praying he wouldn’t meet the same fate as her past lover.

“Just to be sure I’m not marrying a criminal, you’ve never been in trouble with the law before?” Winnie asked smiling up at her beloved Fred, she couldn’t help but think of James as the word criminal left her lips. Closing her eyes to repress the memory Winnie gazed at the ground awaiting Fred’s answer. “Why yes, of course, I am.” she heard him say, Winnie quickly let go of his hand, stopped dead in her tracks, and stared at him with a look of complete terror. “Don’t look at me like that, I was only joking,”Fred quickly said pulling her into a tight embrace not caring what others around them thought. Winnie quickly relaxed in his strong arms as she always did. She locked her eyes on his, noticing every shade of blue and slight hints of green in the kind eyes she had come to love. Fred smirked at her, “Let’s go to my place for now,” she widened her eyes, “Since it’s closer and then we can get your flowers into some water!” Winnie blushed realizing that her dear Fred was much more innocent than her.

After a long day out with Fred finalizing many details for the wedding, Winnie jumped backward onto her bed giving her legs a much-needed rest. She propped herself up and leaned over to smell the lilies Fred had surprised her with. Winnie layed back down on her bed closing her eyes and daydreaming about the future she was going to have with Fred. She pictured three loving children each with their own distinct features, but all resembling their father in a striking way. The oldest a boy named Fred after his father, of course, second a girl whose name would be sweet Lily just like the flowers that had been gifted to her. And the last child would be a daughter named Winnifred, the perfect combination of names. Winnie’s daydreaming soon turned into a deep slumber and she didn’t wake until late into the morning of the next day.

The days leading up to her wedding seemed to blur together and all of a sudden Winnie was waking up on the day she was marrying the love of her life. The light shone in on her room gave everything set against the window an almost heavenly glow. Winnie enjoyed the simple peace and the quiet morning always brought with it, but it didn’t last long. Soon the chattering of excited girls filled the room and dresses filled every inch of open space there was. Winnie couldn’t believe that today was going to be the best day of her life.

“Are you excited?”

“Are you nervous?”

Many voices asked those questions, but all Winnie could do was nod. As excited as she was to be marrying Fred, there was always a feeling deep down that something wrong/bad/he'd change his mind could happen. No, all she felt was excitement. “Come on girls, we have got a lot to do, and not much time to do it!” Winnie heard the commanding yet compassionate voice of her mother. Her mother was elegant even in her later years, she was someone Winnie had always looked up to. Time seemed to fly as people came in and out of her room. Winnie’s face felt caked with powder but as she peeked into the mirror, she resembled a porcelain doll in the best of ways. With her hair and makeup done, all of the other girls except for Winnie’s mother left the room. Her mother strode over to a large chest that held her wedding dress that would now be Winnie’s.

She effortlessly slid it on over her head, it was a perfect fit. It hugged her waist and billowed out into a beautiful skirt, her chest filled it out perfectly, and the scoop neck came down to just the right place. The off the shoulder sleeves came to her elbows and were adorned with lace just like the rest of her dress. “You look flawless.” Winnie’s mother said, placing her hands onto her daughter’s bare shoulders. Winnie turned around to face her mother and engulfed in a bear, which her mother soon returned. They both viewed the clock in the corner telling them that it was half-past noon, which meant that they must be off to the church for the service.

Winnie’s sweet old father met them at the front of the church and handed her a delicately arranged bouquet of lilies. She placed her hand on top of his, ready to be given away to the love of her life. The doors opened revealing a church filled of well-dressed people and fidgeting children. Winnie tried to smile at everyone, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off of Fred, who seemed to be crying. Winnie herself shed a few happy tears but tried not to, so she wouldn’t smudge her well-done makeup. She took the final step up to the altar and faced her beloved. “I’m at a loss for words you look so amazing,” Fred whispered to her. She smiled at him, longing for the wedding to be over so he could be hers and hers alone. From somewhere someone cleared their throat. It could have been the pastor, but Winnie would never know. She kept her fixed on Fred the whole time, allowing everything to fade into the background. It wasn’t until Fred was saying his vows that she remembered where she was. “Winnie, where do I start? I have loved you since I first laid eyes on you. You make me laugh, and your smile lights up my life. I can’t wait to share my whole life with you. I will love you until the day I die, and then I will keep loving you from heaven.” When Fred finished there were tears in her eyes and she nearly forgot that it was her turn. Winnie started, “If soulmates are real then you are mine. I can’t even begin to fathom life without you. I love your sense of humor and your comforting hugs. I can’t wait to have your children and share my life and everything in it with you, because Fred, I love you.” She said the last words louder than she had intended but didn’t care. She wanted the whole world to know how much she loved Fred. Winnie listened intently to the next part of the service so she wouldn’t miss her turn again.

“Do you Fred Smith take Winnie Anderson to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and health?” The pastor asked Fred, “I do.” he replied. “And do you Winnie Anderson take Fred Smith to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health?” the pastor asked Winnie, but before she could answer the doors of the church burst open. And there in the center of the doors was James. “He must have broken out of prison,” Winnie thought to herself. Her worst fears were forming into reality right in front of her eyes. She moved closer to Fred, her breaths shorter and shorter. “Stop right there,” James called out raising a gun aimed at where Fred was standing. Winnie tried to scream, but it was too late. The sound that came next was that of a pistol being shot. She froze at the sound unable to move, watching her almost-husband crumple to the ground, blood oozing from a wound in his chest. Winnie couldn’t hear herself scream, but she knew she did. She couldnt hear the footsteps and screams of her and Fred’s families. Her eyes started to blur with tears, but she clamped them shut as she fell to the ground next to Fred. Winnie threw her arms over him to give him one last hug. She heard a whisper in her ear, “I love you, and don’t ever forget that.” it was Fred’s voice, but it was his final breath. No, he couldn’t be gone, he still had to marry her. “Why couldn’t it have been me!” Winnie cried out to God. She placed a final kiss on Fred’s forehead and laid her head on his chest and continued to sob. The pain was endless. Dark and empty, there was nothing left for her. Winnie felt hopeless because that’s what the situation was. She felt herself being lifted off of his body, but she couldn’t let that happen. So she kicked and screamed, but no one seemed to hear her. Did they not know how much she loved him, and that now he was gone forever. There was no future left for her.

Winnie did not know how she came to be in bed or what time it was. She only knew one thing that Fred was gone… forever. The only light that came to her was knowing she would see him again one day in heaven, she couldn’t wait for that day. She began to cry again reminiscing on all that she had shared with Fred, knowing that now it was nothing but a memory. Days passed with nothing in them, they were as empty as Winnie was. Soon it was the day of the funeral, the second-worst day of Winnie’s life. The first being the day she thought would be the best of her life, how much more wrong could she be.

Winnie ran a comb through her hair and dressed in an all-black ensemble. As she marched down the stairs no tears would come. “Why?” she wondered. But she knew it was because all she had done since her wedding was cry and now she was empty and numb. Pain and misery were there, but she couldn’t feel it, Winnie was just an empty shell now. She reached the bottom of the stairs, and her mother placed a comforting arm around her shoulders as they walked out to the carriage.

During the service, Winnie heard the words but couldn’t listen, she just stared at the casket thinking of what could have been, and what she’ll never have. She never shared all of the intimate moments of husband and wife. She’d never feel his strong arms or have a passionate embrace with him again. If she had children they would never be his. She’d never be able to look into his eyes again. Winnie let a single tear roll down her cheek, not bothered to wipe it away. Her dear Fred was now nothing more than a memory. At the end of the service, Winnie stayed behind with her mother. She knelt down to place a bundle of lilies next to Fred’s grave. She stood there for who knows how long before her mother finally pulled her away. Winnie looked over her shoulder at the lilies that reminded her so much of Fred, “Flowers are always so beautiful.”