Fallen Petals

I woke up in a large cellar. I was surrounded by darkness itself.

We meet again, I murmured to the darkness. You will be okay Emily.

I sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in my side. I looked around. I see hundreds of containers that held dry flower stems, without any petals, except for the flower to my right. A beautiful rose, with no missing petals. I smiled in this darkness. I looked around further. I stroked the rose, that was once enclosed in a glass case.

What the heck is this? Beauty and the Beast??  Where I am, I have no idea. I see a door to my right, and I try it. It is a room, that looked like it belonged to someone’s daughter. Not anymore. Dust is blanketed on the comforter, and the smiling teddy bear, that has a missing button eye. Pleasant. I look around the dusty, dank smelling room.

I see a small rocking chair, with a deep crack in its side. If one more person was to sit on it, it would break. I leave the room, but not before peaking under the bed. I see a shoebox. I slowly pull it out, coughing as the dust billows around me. I open the box, and find old pictures. Pictures of girls smiling. They look like school pictures. I shuffle around until I see a picture that frightens me. It is my 6th-grade photo when I had braces.

I drop the box, and scramble up. I gasp again, this time causing me to shiver. Over the dusty, old bed is a picture of me. My 8th-grade current picture. What is this trick? I want to scream. I trace my finger over the picture frame. No dust at all, like it, had just been placed there.

I quickly exit the room. I stare at my surroundings, and I see a door in front of me, to my left, and to my right. I walk straight ahead, and I open the moldy door, to a small bathroom. I huff, what is this? I see the shower curtain is torn like an animal destroyed it. The sink has a brown ring around it, and when I try the sink, brown water drips out.

There is a picture of a crow over the toilet. I open the toilet cautiously and find no hidden shoeboxes. I throw the curtains aside, and gag at the sharp smell that hits my nose. There is a red splat on the curtain, that has dried, as I pull It back to its place. As I exit the room, I see a small cup of water next to a large fern, that is curling downwards, almost begging for water. I pick up the plastic orange cup, ad tip it over the fern.

Its normal green leaves, are tipped with a crusty brown color. The water drips into the dry soil, and the soil soaks it up. I walk to a small pair of steps, that leads to a locked door. I question what is on the other side. Under the steps, is a small cupboard that opens to reveal yet another small box. I open it, and I find old parcels of paper, that curl on the side. One reads,

Welcome to your new home, flower, or, make sure to water the plants! They are written in sloppy cursive. Next to the parcels of paper is a small pair of tweezers. They are rusty and cracking. I close the cupboard, and box, and decide to look around a bit further. Have I gotten kidnapped? Is the question bouncing around my head, as I open the third door.

It is a very small room, that I believe is a pantry. I pick up a box of open pretzels, that has an expiration date for last year. Is there anything good in here? I’m starving!! I decided to look later. The last room is magnificent. It has flowers all over the place, and hanging from the ceiling are so many different kinds of ferns.

It is the only beauty in this place, and even in this small room, so much color is reflecting off the pictures on the wall. I saw a crystal cased clock on the wall. It read at 11:54 pm. I gasped in surprise. Where am I going to sleep? The dusty bedroom came back to mind and the moldy shower. I huffed. No, I am not sleeping on the floor, and yes, I am taking a shower, I thought grumbling.

 I slipped out of my dusty clothes. I peeked out of the room, to make sure nobody was outside my door. I shivered, and wrapped my hands around my naked arms. As I scurried across the cold, dull floor, to the bathroom. I hated to do this, I grumbled as I stared in disgust at the peeling sides of the bathtub, and the torn curtain.

I stepped into the dirty shower, and cranked the shower on. I screamed, as the cold water gushed over me, and sent shivers all over me. After I finished and got out of the torture chamber, I scrambled back to the dusty room, and threw my clothes back again, until I saw a small box on the bed. Fear washed over me. I’m not alone.

 I slowly untied the red ribbon and pulled out a soft pair of pajamas. I run my hand over the comforter and blow the dust off. I pulled open the sheet cautiously, as I crawl in, and I wince as I pull the rough sheets up my legs. After laying in the bed, wide-eyed, I heard a creak. I sat up in a shot and tiptoed to the door, which was ajar.

The musty smell hadn’t gone away, as I peeked out into the shadows. I saw a man hovering over the glass case, which was the roses prison. He lifted the glass, and used his pair of tweezers to pluck a delicate petal from the flower, and he let it fall. He sighed sadly. I couldn’t make out what he looked like, for he was masked with the shadows. I wanted him to stop.

This is why all the flowers had no petals! He is doing this!  I couldn’t move. My feet rooted to the ground, and my mouth refused to open. The shadows hid me, as well as him. He stayed still for a few seconds, and then muttered,

“They go so fast, my perfect flowers, they keep losing their petals.”

He then became one with the shadows. Days passed, and I grew very hungry. There was no food. The man kept plucking one petal each night, and I dreaded the day they ran out. He stayed away from me, until one night.

I saw the man sitting on the edge of the bed, balancing a dagger on his middle finger. I let out a small scream, and scrambled further back on the bed. He looked just like me. He had cocoa eyes, and a dimple when he smiled to himself. He had the same dark brown, wavy hair. He also had dark cocoa skin.

“Ah, you're awake now Emily. Welcome home daughter!”

I gasped for breath, a fresh wave a fear crashing on me.

“Who are you? Where am I?”