THE PURPLE FLOWER VINE

It was the time when the last streaks of the drowning sun were melting into the sky, dark ombre of purple, dark blue and orange hues intervening in one another only to form a sky that was simply phenomenal.

James Darren in his late 20s, exhausted as usual from his everyday work, with a steaming cup of frothy cappuccino hopped onto his balcony to take a seat and listen to his favourite podcast. The theory of being connected to everything in the universe.

With birds racing to reach back their homes and feed their baby hatchlings, old men playing chess at the corner of the building, children begging to their mothers for extra minutes to play outdoors. The mellow breeze with the scents of roses and jasmines was blowing swiftly, making the windows whimper. The moment his eyes closed and he was beginning to doze off in his comfy cane rocking chair, his coffee jumped inside the cup.

He widened his pupils to take in what just happened? In the next moment again his coffee pounced, two drops of water smashed on his forehead while the rest of them diluted his coffee.

Frustrated by the animus, he leaned on his balcony grill and lifted his head to see from where it was pouring on his humble abode.

Not to his much surprise, it was Emma blue on her balcony that was situated right above his, Emma was his neughbour for more than a month now, watering her plants after a very long time. Tormented by her voice and her face he decided to ignore the matter but before he did that, a thin line of water pooled onto his dark chocolate hair and then onto his polo t-shirt, which was his absolute favourite. Already drained enough, he didn’t have the strength to clean her mess.

“Emma! Emma!” he blurted from the top of his voice

“What is it now James?” she yelled at him back.

“Can you please see where the water is going? I know you get immediate productive thoughts just like watering plants after 80 years, but you need to be careful. It's getting everywhere in my balcony!”

“So what?”

“So what?. Hahaha, really?. I’ll tell you so what? So you have to come down and clean my balcony”

“It’s just James ….you’ll never understand. I know you don’t have the aptitude of being kind but can you please not be a blockhead for this once, for just today?” her voice cracked under her breath.

“Emma! I never meant to sound like that….never mind! What are you watering up there?”

“When I was little, my granny had this big farm, almost everything grew on it. But what amazed me most was the vibrant purple flower vine, it was so pretty and huge. It climbed their house till the top and it looked so mystical. Today is her first death anniversary, so I thought growing it will make me feel close to her”

“ good thing, I hope it would grow beautifully. But you need to take care of it, and water it regularly and most importantly be careful in not watering neighbours balcony and coffee”

“Hahhaa, that’s the most important part?’

“Mhmm” he replied.

 A week later

“Hey, James! What do you think? Why hasn't the vine sprouted yet? It should be after a week of the plantation.” Emma asked from above.

“I don't know, have you put the pot in favourable conditions and soil. Whatever the thing it needs? Are you doing it correctly?”

“I think so, I searched the net and did exactly what they told. Maybe it doesn't want to grow here, with me” Emma sounded heartbroken. “ granny always told me it requires love and patience to grow and nurture. I have put my love in there and am willing to be patient, but who knows how much time we have left?”

“ oh, here you go, going deep again. Why can’t you be not heartbroken once? Are you putting it in direct or indirect sunlight?”

“I placed it in direct sunlight.” and then it struck to her “ aah now I get it. The tiny baby sprout must have burnt under the scorching heat”

“Mhmm” he nodded back even though she couldn’t see him.

“ Emma!... I am going on a blind date today” he gulped the lump down his throat.

“Good for you. Enjoy yourself then.” she gulped down the tears in her eyes.

Sun was almost down when James came rushing back upstairs, into his bathroom he eloped. Standing in front of his bathroom sink he splashed two pints of water on his face. The thoughts were circulating his head again, that ached his heart. He never wanted the life to turn like that, he never wanted to leave, to escape the reality. He could be strong. He could be brave. To ditch the storming pool of negative feelings he grabbed the book from his countertop and headed to the balcony. It was dark now, dark was beautiful. It was amazing how without dark the stars would be simply stars, they wouldn't have such meaning. They would be just meaningless. Just like without death life wouldn't so beautiful. It would be just a word used for mere immortal existence. Things become pretty only when they could be compared to their counterparts.

He sipped water while reading the last paragraph of his favourite chapter.

“Date didn't go so well?. I guess” Emma blurted out from the top.

“No, I didn't go.”

There was a silence between them, cool wind with scent of curry that Emma was cooking in her home dwelled in air.

“Wanna hear something interesting? I read it back somewhere in a book”

“Sure!”

“Okay! It goes like this “we never die, nor our souls neither our bodies. Our souls become part of the universe while our bodies decompose in the mud. Flowers bloom in that soil, honey bees make honey out of those, the wind blows through them. So we stay here! We never really leave, we are all connected”

“Yeah, it is good.” he knew it because he was reading the same paragraph.

“What happened? You are not okay.”

“No, it’s just. Do you think in normal conditions we could have worked? His voice was in pain.

“Not a doubt” she assured him sadly with a smile.

Week 2

“I can never grow a plant from a zero level”

“What happened? It hasn't sprouted yet?

“No, its just I missed to water it for 2 days and it has dried out”

“let's get married! then I can water it daily and we’ll be happy together and we’ll read each other books…..

“James Stop!” she broke off him in midway “How many times do I have to go through this? This is not possible. I am dying! remember?”

“I am dying too, everyone is. Everyone has to die! Emma.” he blurted at her.

“ can you guarantee me that I will live longer than you?. We can be together and happy till it lasts, till you last. Till I last. We were together. We loved each other, we were happy together. Why cant it be same now?” his eyes were wet, teardrops raced to the bottom off his cheeks to his chin.

“ I am sorry, but can you please stop asking me?. Even if we get together the vine will never grow, you were never interested in growing plants” she chuckled away to ease the stiff air.

Week 3

She was gone for 5 days, she reached back her home in the haze of the dark night. All tired from her visit. When she walked past her balcony thoughts about the vine, about James, his weekly proposal started to engulf her. The good times when they both used to sit in his balcony together, both cuddling together on the rocking chair and hearing her favourite podcast. Sharing her headphones with him, hearing the words that explained how we all were connected in some way.

She giggled when remembered how she used to make him drink cappuccino which he hated the most. Tears started to fill her eyes when she eyed emerald green of her curtains, remembering how she gifted him a polo t-shirt of the same colour when he prefered to wear sweatshirts. She remembered and cradled herself in her bed and cried her heart out. she never wanted to finish things off. She loved him. Loved him more than anything and that was what ached her the most.

Birds were on her balcony chirping loudly, the thin green curtain was flowing freely with the mild sun rays glowing in her living room, roses and jasmines were wet with the rain last night. Kids of the neighbourhood were getting ready to leave for their schools. She hopped out of her bed, completely smacked by her appearance. Her mascara was smudged, eyeshadows seemed as if she was punched by someone, she was late for work. But who cared. It was not as if she would be working there any longer shortly.

She was sipping water from the bottle directly when she noticed something peculiar, something that had made its appearance before her for the first time. She couldn't believe what it was. Walking with her frozen face and numb legs towards her balcony, she pinched herself twice only to make sure it was not a dream.

She brushed her fingers over the bunch of fresh, vibrant purple flowers that had climbed up to her balcony, they were the flowers of her favourite vine. She leaned onto the edge of her balcony face beaming with utter happiness.

“Are you trying to tick things off my bucket list?”

“Was this on your bucket list? I wasn’t aware but it proves you that I know a thing about growing plants” james replied from beneath her.

“When did you start growing this pretty vine?” her eyes were stuck on the pretty flowers.

“The day you told me you were going to grow them, so I thought maybe I should give them a try too. So I visited the farm of your grandparents, took the seeds and instructions from the caretaker there. And boom! It sprouted like a weed. Do you like them?

“ Are you freaking kidding me? I love them” she sounded ecstatic.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Are you going to ask me about that proposal again?”

“No, I was going to ask how was your visit to the hospital?’ he lied.

“I finally got my reports and I had to sob the whole night.” Her voice sounded off.

“Uhhh... I am sorry. I wish….

“Why do you have to be sorry? it was not your fault that I was dying”

“no, I just wish...wait a second!..you just used past, you said you were dying? So does that mean...

“Yeah! I cried the whole night because I was given a second chance at life James. Doctor told me that out of 8 tumours 5 were benign and two were so mild that they could be treated next week” 

“Oh my god! Are you telling the truth?”

“Mhmm” she replied with a sob

“I know you told me not to ask you but can you marry me now then?”

There was the same silence between both of them, that existed for the past three months since they broke up when Emma was diagnosed by cancerous tumours. No matter how much she wanted to stay with him, her illness just seemed to get in the way. Now she got a chance what she always wanted to answer him with

“but that is certainly impossible for me to agree with”

“what is it now?” his anticipation to hear a positive answer just again drained out.

“you need a ring to propose, dummy!”