The Day it Rained Roses

The Day it Rained Roses

I’m staring at the sky and smiling, feeling sunshine warm my face for the first time in my life. I’m slowly spinning, taking in the light. I’m dancing across the crimson covered ground beneath my feet. The clouds begin to part, bringing more light and more petals. I’ve heard of this strange occurrence before. It’s been decades since the last time it rained roses. That was before hatred consumed our town. That was before the curse.

Beep. Beep. Beep. My alarm clock screeches at me that it's time to wake up. I hit snooze and close my eyes again. I could be thinking about a million things, but my mind wanders back to the vivid images from my dream. I can see the sky breaking open and pouring out dark red rose petals. 

When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to tell me stories about the day of crimson rain. She would tell me about how the sun used to shine every day and there was only darkness during the night. How every morning the town of Tenebris would wake up to a real dawn. And how once a year the clouds yielded rose petals instead of rain drops and joy spread through the city like wildfire. A day of peace and unity. 

But a spirit of malice and distrust slowly ate away at the people of Tenebris and the city quickly divided itself into two portions. A makeshift wall was constructed to divide Tenebris and to permanently separate our once unified people. This is how it’s been my entire life. And I’ve known nothing else.

I rub my eyes and sit up. Most mornings I can barely force myself out of bed. But today I have to go to the other side to reach the market and pick up food for myself and my Gran. I slide my legs over my bed and instantly feel soft fur come into contact with them. I look down and smile at Bonsai, my orange tabby cat. I scratch behind his ears like he loves and then stand up. I quickly slide into my favorite pair of jeans and throw on a shirt of one of my favorite bands, Alice In Chains. My dad and I liked to listen to them when he was still alive. 

After brushing my teeth, I go check on Gran. She’s already awake, sewing in her bed. 

“Gran, how are you this morning?” I say without much enthusiasm.

“Just fine, dear. But I should be asking you how you’re doing.”

“Why is that, Gran?” I ask without looking up. I’m fishing around in her dresser for her clothes so I can help her dress. 

“Alice, you know I don’t like it when you speak to me without looking at me.”

I roll my eyes but quickly paint on a smile and turn to face Gran. “I’m fine, Gran. Now, I need to get you dressed so I can run to the market.”

“Alice, there’s no need to rush. Market will be open all day. You always dread going. Why?”

I stare at Gran blankly. She knows why I don’t like going over the wall. She knows that I don’t associate with anyone on the other side. But she always seems surprised that I’m not eager to go. 

“It’s because you have to go to the other side to reach it, isn’t it?”

I’ve already found Gran’s clothes, but I pretend to be digging around for something. “Gran, you know how they are on the other side. They’re-”

“Animals,” Gran said, finishing my sentence. She shook her head. “You know your father used to say the same thing-”

“That’s because they were the ones that killed him, Gran!” I yell louder than I mean to.

Gran looks at me with sad eyes. “You don’t know that, dear. The police said it was an accident-”

“Of course they would say that. Most of them live on the other side themselves,” I say coldly.

Both of us are silent for what feels like an eternity. Then I turn around and finish grabbing Gran’s clothes. Sometimes it’s better to end the conversation before I say something I truly regret.

After I help her dress, Gran asks me to bring her jewelry box over. I pick it up but almost trip over Bonsai on my way back to Gran’s bed. I instantly lose my footing and the jewelry box falls from my hands and smacks the hardwood floor. It explodes and pieces of wood and jewelry cover the floor around me. 

“Are you alright, dear?” Gran asks, her tone full of worry. 

“Yeah,” I say, rubbing my knee. I begin to collect the scattered jewelry when I notice a necklace laying apart from the rest. It’s a thin gold chain holding a small ruby in the middle.

I hold it up and look at the ruby’s intricately carved details. “Alice, what is that you have there?” I wonder why Gran is asking me since the necklace was in her jewelry box, but I remind myself that her memory has been slipping for some time. 

“It's a necklace, Gran. It has a pretty looking ruby on it and-”

“Ruby?” Gran asks. “Bring it here, dear.” I carry the necklace to Gran and she takes it. She looks at it and smiles, like she’s seeing an old friend again for the first time in years. 

“This is a special necklace. I used to wear it when I was young. It helped me see the world differently.”

See the world differently? I look at Gran with one eyebrow raised. “What do you mean, Gran?”

“Why don’t you wear it and find out?” she said, grinning ear to ear. She takes my hand and places the necklace in it.

“Promise me you’ll wear it, Alice,” Gran pleads. I nod but don’t speak. I place the necklace in my pocket. After I finish picking up the jewelry, I tell Gran I’m heading out to the market.

Before I leave, I put on my sneakers and stand in front of the mirror on the back of my bedroom door. I hold up the necklace and decide to put it on. At first, I admire the way it looks on me. The ruby seems to have grown brighter after I put it on. 

“What’s so special about you?” I mutter. And then I let out a scream. I step back but manage to find my balance before I fall to the floor. I look at the mirror but this time move closer. I’m more than surprised to see my eye color has changed from light blue to bright red. 

“Are you alright, dear?” I hear Gran say from her room.

“Yes, Gran. I almost tripped. That’s all.” I glance down at Bonsai, who has stopped licking his paw to stare at me. As if even he could tell something was off.

“This day can’t get any weirder, can it?” I ask Bonsai. He meows in response.

I grab an empty crate that I use every time to hold our food and start towards the market. I look to the sky as soon as I step outside as if I was expecting to see anything other than gray clouds blanketing the entire town.

As I walk down the road, I pass my neighbor Mrs. Longley. “Hello, Alice!” she says cheerfully.

“Mrs. Longley, how’s the flower garden going this year?” I know what she’s going to say but I don’t know what else to talk about. I’m not the best conversationalist. 

“Not great. The ever present lack of sunlight makes growing anything nearly impossible. And the artificial sunlight doesn’t amount to much. At least they’re getting enough water with all the rain. How’s your grandmother doing?”

“She’s alright. I’m headed to the market to pick up our food for the week.”

“Ah, that’s wonderful. Well, tell your Gran that I said hi.”

“Will do,” I reply. 

“Oh, and Alice… Do be careful on the other side. Those beasts always seem to be doing more harm than good.”

I nod but don’t respond. Why on earth did she call them beasts? I stop in the middle of the street. Wait… When have I ever cared? 

While I’m walking, I start thinking about the other side and the wall. For the first time, I question everything. What’s with the wall? Why is it there? Usually walls are meant to keep things in or out. But our wall is only about five feet tall. Most people can see over it with ease. 

Gran has told me stories about when the wall was first built, back when she was a young girl. She said it was designed so that people on either side could look across at the people on the other side and despise them. Easier to hate someone you can see. And shout insults or throw something at them. 

It takes me almost a half-hour to reach the wall. When I do, I stop and stare at it for a few moments. I immediately notice that something is off. There are large cracks everywhere, as if someone has taken a sledge hammer to it. As if a strong enough wind could blow it over. I turn to see if anyone is nearby. Sure enough a man is walking on the road closest to the wall. 

“Excuse me, sir. Do you know what happened to the wall?”

The man studies the wall for several moments and then glances at me strangely. “What do you mean? There’s nothing wrong with it. Same wall it’s been for generations.”

I look back at the wall and the cracks stare back at me like lightning flashing across a cinder block sky. “But there are cracks everywhere on it. Like the whole thing is going to fall down or something-”

“You must need to have your eyes checked, girl. I don’t see anything wrong with it.” The man looked at me more closely. “My goodness, your eyes are red as that ruby hanging across your chest. Are you alright?”

I look away self-consciously. “Yes, I’m fine.” I end the conversation there and carefully climb over the wall. For the first time ever, I don’t feel afraid to walk to the market. The absence of fear feels odd. I pass by a man who has his arms folded across his chest and is glaring at me. My mouth curls into a smile before I can stop myself and I raise my arm and wave to him. I feel about as startled by this as the man looks. His jaw drops open and my eyes widen in surprise as I turn away. What the hell is wrong with me?

I move through the market in record time and have an entire crate of food to take back home to Gran within twenty minutes. Usually I take my time, but everyone from passersby to the vendors had been staring at me since I arrived.

Despite all of this, I stop to take in my surroundings before leaving. It’s almost as if I’m seeing human beings for the first time. I close my eyes and listen to the laughter. To the sound of a thousand conversations happening all at once. It’s beautiful. They’re all like me. Human beings. Not animals. Not aliens. Other people. Why do I hate you all? I ask myself.

Then the market is silent. I quickly realize that everyone is now staring at me. I come to the market weekly so it’s not like they haven’t seen me before. I wonder why until I notice the ruby on my necklace glowing. It’s nothing blinding or anything, but it’s bright. As if sunlight were shining down on it. I glance at the sky but nothing’s changed. Still the gloomy gray clouds as always.

“What is wrong with you?” I hear someone say from behind me. I turn around and see a girl that looks about my age staring at me with furrowed eyebrows. 

I stare back at her, speechless. Her tone is more than angry. It’s threatening. “You’re from the other side, aren’t you?”

“Yes. But I come here every week to pick up food for my Gran and I-”

“I don’t care. Leave now or I’ll throw you over the wall myself,” she said. Everyone standing in the market began to laugh. “You don’t belong here.”

“I’m not harming anyone else, I was on my way out any-”

The girl quickly walks up to me and screams at my face. “GET OUT! NOW!” Then she shoves me before I can move. I land hard on my wrist and my crate spills its contents onto the dirt in front of me. Again the air fills with laughter. I can feel tears welling in my eyes. 

For a moment, everything inside of me screams chaos. To erupt. To lash out and fight back, both verbally and physically. To curse the people surrounding me. To curse those hemming me in with their derisive laughter. But instead I begin to stand up. I start by getting to one knee. 

A single thought begins to run through my mind. A sort of mantra that is being spoken within me.

We are of one blood. All of us alike. I continue to rise. 

We are of one blood. All of us alike. Now I’m standing up fully and facing the crowd that despises my existence simply because I live on the other side of the wall. 

We are of one blood. All of us alike. The girl is staring into my soul, likely still cursing me underneath her breath. Her eyes reflect the bright light shimmering from the ruby. It continues to grow brighter.

And then I repeat my mantra aloud. “We are of one blood. All of us alike.”

“C’mon! Fight back! Show me what you’re made of,” the girl screams, but with less confidence this time.

A tear slides down my cheek. “You and I are no different.” 

Let love, peace and unity rain from the heavens like rose petals, I can hear Gran saying in my head.

 I extend my hand toward the girl in front of me and brace myself for more scorning. For another shove or maybe a punch to the face. Instead the girl gently places her hand in mine. The ruby shines brighter than ever and the ground rumbles beneath us. 

A moment passes and then the sky opens.

The gloomy clouds break and a burst of sunlight floods the market. Everyone covers their eyes and we all seem to stumble backwards simultaneously. There are murmurs and I keep hearing the words sun and light. Before I can process what is happening, I feel myself being lifted from the ground. Slowly I ascend until I’m hovering over the market. 

An orb of light surrounds me and I have to close my eyes because I’m afraid I’ll go blind. As fast as the orb surrounds me it vanishes and I slowly descend back to the ground. Everyone stares at me in amazement but I’m as surprised as they are.  

My Alice In Chains tee is shredded to pieces on the ground but my jeans seem to have completely disintegrated. In their place is a beautiful crimson dress. My ruby glimmers in the new light. 

“Look, mommy!” I hear a little boy say, tugging at his mother’s pant leg. Everyone else seems to have heard him and we all look toward the sky. It begins to rain. But the sky is red.

A million red shapes fall to the ground as gravity does its work. I bend over and pick one up. Although I’ve never seen one quite like this, I recognize it to be a rose petal. 

There are loud shouts of joy and excitement as the ground transforms to crimson all around the market and beyond. 

“The curse has been lifted! The curse has been lifted!” the crowd around me shouts. Things are going to be different now, I just know it. 

I am showered with food and gifts and given a cart to wheel it all home in. I can hardly contain the excitement of telling Gran about everything that has happened. 

When I reach the wall again, I see that it isn’t a wall at all anymore. It sits before me in a thousand pieces, utterly destroyed. I practically ran the rest of the way home, wheeling the cart behind me and moving faster than I thought I could in a dress.

I leave the cart out front and race inside. “Gran! Gran! You wouldn’t believe what’s happened-”

I stop in front of her door and look inside. Gran is standing up, for the first time in weeks. She’s standing in front of the bedroom window, silently watching the rose petals fall from the sky. “Let love, peace and unity rain from the heavens like rose petals,” she says. 

“Gran, I don’t understand. How are you-”

She turns to face me. “The necklace. I knew that it would open your eyes. And now look how our town has changed. The curse has been broken!”

I run over to Gran and hug her as tightly as I can without hurting her. Then I back up and look at her. “I wish dad would have seen all of this. The rose petals. The sunshine.”

“Maybe he is watching, dear. Somewhere out there.” Gran puts a hand on my shoulder. “You look beautiful in that dress.”

“You wouldn’t believe how I got it.” Gran smiles at me and we both laugh.

“The people from the other side… I saw them in a way I never have before. My hatred for them seemed to evaporate into thin air. I realized that-”

“They’re people just like us,” Gran said. I nod and smile. 

We continued to watch the rose petals fall until the sun set for the first time in forever.