Ice Adonis

I should be in a flower farm where I would be well nurtured and be the haven of bees and butterflies, my petals ornament to cause the shine in human eyes, I should fill a room with the sweetness of my fragrance and be the envy of weeds but here I am lost within hard ground with no glimpse of light.

It was the peak of winter in Seoul, thick snow blankets covered the street while lamps and asphalt were adorned with frostings. Couples in fur jacket and hand knitted shawl walked hand in hand into the movie theater just opposite Hwarang floristry that glittered in the darkness of the night. colorful Christmas lights and beautiful pots of flowers gave distinct shimmers to the glass door that leads to the paradise like flower shop.

The florist was about closing for the day when a young man with almond brown hair dressed in a lilac colored suit walked into the store. At a glance one could tell he was excited as he was smiling from chin to chin while adjusting his glass in order to have a better look at the flowers that were neatly planted at every corners of the store. “Good evening miss, please I need a large bouquet of flowers that’s fit to win the heart of a princess” he said while he smiled shyly. The florist smiled back at him; “I Know exactly what you need” she replied as she began putting together different flowers. She suddenly got to a stop at the far end of the store when she reached a flowerpot containing an ice Adonis that it’s once beautiful petals had began to wither and it stalk limped while it’s head had fell with gravity.

She carefully plugged it and placed it between the bunch of flowers that were neatly arrange in the paper wrap on her hand. She proceeded to tying a multi colored bow on the bouquet before handing it over to the young man. “Wow! This is amazing” he said. He is caught back by a sickly yellow flower in-between the bouquet “why the donkey amongst the horses?” he asked pointing at the almost withered Adonis “there’s no perfection without a hint of imperfection… the bouquet cost a thousand won” the florist replied as she gave him a reassuring nod. Unbothered and pleased with what he had gotten, he thanked and paid for her service.

“Eun-Kyung would be please” he said as he got into his car and placed the flowers on the passenger seat before driving off to N Seoul tower to await his date who he seemed to want to confess his feelings to. Ellie_Goulding how long will I love you played all through his trip that he didn’t noticed his phone ringing. The healthy and vibrant flowers were dancing to the music as they affirm their importance of bringing love and calming nerves while the ice Adonis could only but leak its wound for being the thorns amongst roses. On arriving his destination, he picked his phone to reach Eun-Kyung and noticed the missed calls and messages from her “was she here already?” he asked disturbed before placing a call to her. He tried reaching her about five times, but each time, the call was diverted. He then took a break and decided to read the text she had sent.

The content could be seen vividly displayed on his face as he suddenly turned pale and teardrops flowed freely from his eyes. He could barely stand straight as he cried profusely while the content of the text replayed in his head. Hey! You seem not to understand class no wonder you think my being nice to a lowlife like you gives you the right to even consider nursing a feeling for me or dreaming that we could be a thing. You are and would always be to me a Duff. I never want to see you or hear from you again WEIRDO! Seconds after getting off the shock, he stood on his feet and dried his teary eyes with the collar of his white inner shirt. He angrily opened the passenger's door of his car, picked the flowers bouquet and walked towards a trash bin behind his car where he dumped them. Satisfied, he got back into his vehicle and drove deep into the night.

The other flowers couldn’t help but point fingers on the odd one amongst them. According to them, it was as a result of the ill luck it carried that cause them to end in a wastebin “I would wither in days without care” the rose flower cried out while the lily flower lamented of how an exotic had ended up as garbage. While drowned in their agony, a car lost control and bump into the parking lot crashing the garbage bin that held the ornamentals destroying all beyond recognition. When morning came, a garbage truck took what remained of them to a dump site where they were disposed.

The accident having no human fatality ensured the quick exile of tales about the parking lot crash and things got back to normal. No one noticed the flowers seedlings that were scattered on the snow or buried within frost and having been separated from their parent host prematurely, these seedlings knew that their chances to survive was less than one as not only were they under threat by the harsh winter weather, they were targets for birds and scavenging insets.

Days became weeks and gradually rolls to the year's closure. The world was launched into a new year and resolutions where made, dead were buried and new born were named. Within all these change, laid the fear of the lost and forgotten ornamentals as each passing day marked slow growth, disappearance of yet another and the sad reality of a blur future that awaits all. 

January like December carried itself in all its glory leaving behind its trails frost and snow beds. Snowmen still stood tall in parks showing the high imaginative capacity of children. Giggles filled the air on days when families arrived the N Seoul tower to have a fill of nature. Figure dancing and ice skating took over the large frosted arena and at this point the lily, the rose And the Adonis where buried deep within the snow where darkness and despair took over their being and left them hopeless. January gradually came to a close and the Ice Adonis lost the comforts of the other two seedings who had with it stayed alive all through December and tasted the joy of the new year as their inability to hold firmly unto mother earth for longer cause them to be slashed out by happy skate boots that cut through ice to keep it carrier gay. Lost in uncertainty, the ice Adonis could only dream while it await it's demise of the comfort of a flower bed and a floristry where it would be recognised, protected and treated with care but amidst the uncertainty and fear laid a tiny ray of hope that confirms it's need to survive.

It was a chilly February morning and though all January's tales and glory of winter were yet to melt away, a yellow petal in-between melting snow caught the eyes of a group of tourist who were captivated by the sight of sunlight and life admist frozen land. "It is a flower petal" a woman screamed within the crowd as she bends down towards this fragile yet beutiful flower that had miraculously found its was out and bloomed graciously. The ice Adonis stunned by the fact that it could finally be seen again tried moving to the rhythm of the wind and is identified by the tour guide who proclaimed that the yellow flower was an Adonis and it represents strength and hope admist the harshest of situations and not only does it conquer winters cold, it anounces Spring's arrival.