chapter 6: flower

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Rose

The cabin was cozy. With each step, my feet sunk into the thick carpet lining the floors and I sank a little further into the freedom that was these four walls.

I found the tiny bedroom — one bed and a dresser — and unpacked my clothing into the wooden drawers that creaked when opened. The photo of Caleb and I sat on top, the only decoration needed in this room.

The only reminder of my life back home that this room needed, too.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep and he was alive. That was the thing about dreams: they were a gateway to a different world — a world where Caleb was still mine.

Tonight, we were laying on sand as waves lapped at our feet. I could feel the sun kissing my face, warming my skin as Caleb's fingers stroked idle circles on my stomach. Even in sleep, his touch still burned through me.

I would have been content to sleep my life away if it meant spending the rest of it with him. But as the bright sunlight seeped into my bedroom window this morning, I quickly said goodbye to Caleb and welcomed the new day.

My first day of freedom.

The heat slammed into me as soon as I stepped out the door. My denim shorts and tank top clung to my body like second-skin. I pulled my hair up into a pony tail as I walked the small distance to the edge of the tree line.

It was an hour past sunrise. The world still seemed still, like the trees and the animals living among them were sleeping, the grass snoring as it swayed lightly. Soft wind blew tendrils of hair around my face as I walked deeper into the forest.

I wanted to explore this area I would now call home for the upcoming weeks. I was sure there had to be more to this forest than just trees and bugs. Beauty would be hidden deep within and I was determined to find it.

Twigs snapped beneath my feet as I walked, the buzz of insects was my exploration soundtrack. I stopped for a moment and peeked through two tree trunks, a dash of yellow catching my attention.

Pushing away the large branches, I stepped into the small clearing where a small yellow tent sat with a single chair outside. I was eyeing the tent curiously when the zipper began to pull down. A head with a mass of long brown hair popped out. A hand reached out quickly to brush the hair back. A pair of dark eyes stared back at me.

"Sebastian?" I managed to squeak out

His eyes widened as he cleared his throat. "Rose! What are you —"

I stifled my laughter as Sebastian climbed out of the tent, quickly zipping it up behind him. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of black sweat pants. I averted my gaze from his bare chest quickly as he ran a hand through his long hair.

"I woke up early to explore," I said, realizing how lame the words sounded.

Sebastian smirked, his gaze altering between myself and the tent behind him. "Explore?"

I gestured to the mass of trees around us. "Explore," I repeated. "Become one with nature. Maybe bird watch. I'm still deciding."

Sebastian's laugh seemed to wrap around us. "How was your first night?"

"Clearly not as interesting as yours," I teased, nodding to the tent behind him and his half-naked self.

His eyes widened as he caught what I was implying. Pink heat rose to his cheeks as he tugged a hand through his hair. A nervous habit, I decided.

"No. I wasn't ... There isn't—" I chuckled as Sebastian's struggled to speak. He sighed and picked up a t-shirt off the chair, tugging it over his head as his hair stood up statically. "I like to sleep out here sometimes." He said simply.

"You don't need to explain yourself." I reassured him, smiling. "I'm just teasing."

"So, this exploration ..." His voice trailed off as he eyed my sandals with raised eyebrows.

I crossed my arms over my chest defensively. "What's wrong with my shoes?" They were brown and comfortable, my favourite pair.

"Nothing" he replied quickly, clearing his throat. "Except that you'll fall and hurt yourself."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine."

"I have a pair of boots you can —"

"I'll be fine," I repeated. I quickly tapped my feet around like a lunatic and ended my routine with jazz-hands. "See?"

Sebastian shook his head as he smiled. "Be careful."

"I thought you said the ghosts only come out at night time?" I teased as I took a step back. Sebastian's gaze flickered back to the tent behind him so quickly that I almost missed it. "I'll see you later."

I began to walk away, trying my hardest to make it seem like walking on uneven ground in these shoes was easy, when Sebastian called my name from behind me. I turned around slowly. He was watching me, his hand in his hair once again.

"Is this exploration of yours in need of a tour guide?" He asked shyly. "I happen to know a guy."

My heart did this weird jolt in my chest when he smiled at me, his hair falling over his forehead ... I cleared my throat quickly and took a step back.

"Solo exploration," I clarified, returning his smile. "I'll let you know if I run into any ghosts!" I called behind me as I walked away.

* * *

The first time I ever painted was when I was fifteen. I had just started dating Caleb and his beauty was what drove my inspiration. I could run my fingers down the dips and curves of his face all day. My room was full of sketchbooks full of his silhouette, his eyes, his body. He seemed to live on forever in those pages.

After he died, I had stopped. I would stare at the blank paper or canvas for hours, hoping the inspiration would come. Each time, I came up empty. It felt as if Caleb died and took all the good parts of myself with him.

But as I walked further into the forest, I wanted to paint everything. The way the light shone through the canopy of trees, casting the grass in a golden hue. The way the cloudless sky seemed to stretch on forever like the sea. If I had a paintbrush with me, I could have wasted the day away trying to capture all this beauty.

I walked along a worn out path, following the older sets of footsteps still printed into the soil. My feet throbbed with each step I took but I refused to turn back, there was still so much more to see.

I made a mental note to take Sebastian up on his boot offer.

My mind drifted to him as I walked through the trees. Being alone with my thoughts, it was kind of difficult for them not to. He seemed frazzled this morning, like he had been caught doing something wrong. If only I could have peered into that tent to see what, or who, was laying inside it.

It wouldn't make a difference, I reminded myself. My heart belonged to Caleb. Even with his passing, it was still his.

I doubted I would ever see the day where it became mine again.

The trees started to become denser until the sun was blocked out completely, making it difficult to see deep into the wilderness around me. I looked at the ground — the path was gone. How long had I been walking in the wrong direction?

A fierce wind blew, rattling the trees and making goosebumps rise on my arms. I turned around and headed back the way I came, walking as quickly as my sore feet would allow. The worn out path came back into view and I followed it to the tree line until the yellow roof of my cabin was visible in the distance.

I sighed in relief. I wanted to rip my shoes off right there and walk barefoot. But my pride was way too high for me to admit defeat and confess that the sandals hadn't been the greatest idea.

The clearing with the cabins was empty as I walked into it, aside from an elderly woman sitting on the porch of the fourth cabin. She was knitting.

Miss. Williams, I recalled from my conversation with Sebastian yesterday. She was the one with a knack for telling ghost stories. Just as I was about to avert my gaze and walk away, her eyes lifted and met mine. The woman smiled and, from this distance, I shivered.

Her hand gestured for me to go to her. I looked at Sebastian's cabin quickly, silently hoping he would come outside and rescue me. A moment passed and, when the door remained shut, I took a deep breath and walked towards the older woman, my feet aching with each step.

"Hello," I greeted as I walked up the path to her front porch. Her hair flowed down her body in grey strands, the tips brushing against the wood.

She set the ball of yarn down in her lap as her eyes latched onto mine. I sucked in a breath. Her eyes where the lightest shade of blue I had ever seen. They looked nearly white. Her dark brown skin was decorated with wrinkles, crinkled into every inch.

"You're the newest flower." The woman replied. Her voice sounded far away.

I felt my eyebrows draw together in confusion. "Excuse me?" I asked.

The woman chuckled, a mystical sound. She picked up the yarn and continued to knit as she spoke. "Rose," she murmured. "Like the flower."

I sighed in relief. "Sebastian must have told you about me." I smiled at the woman. "He told me about you, too."

I decided to leave out the part where what he told me was more of a warning, above anything else.

"Did he?" She asked, not removing her gaze from her lap.

"Yes," I replied hesitantly. "He said you like ghost stories."

The woman's hands froze as her eyes snapped up to mine quickly. What I saw in them made me gasp. "They are not stories," she spat. "Skeptical, naive man." She said under her breath.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a cautionary step back. "Then what are they?"

The woman smiled at me, exposing a mouth of crooked, yellow teeth. "They are as real as you and I. As real as the creatures crawling in those woods you walked out of." She picked up her yarn and continued to knit. I stood there frozen, watching as her fingers weaved and she hummed a slow tune to herself.

The wind picked up, blowing her long hair around her face like leaves. The woman's pale eyes were locked onto her lap, completely ignoring me standing before her. As the wind began to fade, I took a step closer to hear the words she was singing to herself. I immediately wished I hadn't.

The trees are alive, she sung to herself, repeating those four words over and over.

"Rose?"

The woman chuckled as I shrieked at the sound of my name being called. I turned to find Sebastian walking towards us. Thank God. I breathed a sigh of relief.

His eyes were watching me carefully as he approached. Sebastian's hair was hanging wet over his face, droplets of water falling onto his t-shirt. He gave Miss. William's a weary look. "Are you alright?" He mouthed to me. I nodded sheepishly, rubbing my arms to get rid of the goosebumps.

"Knitting again, Merelda?" Sebastian asked kindly as he stood beside me. His right hand landed on the small of my back. I let out a shaky breath.

The woman, Merelda's, eyes glanced at Sebastian briefly before searching behind him. She was looking for someone.

"Where's your flower?" She asked absentmindedly, her attention turning back to the yarn on her lap.

Sebastian's body went rigid beside mine. His hand dropped from my back. I turned to look at him, his jaw was locked into a hard line.

"Flower?" I whispered to him. He merely shook his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about." His voice wavered as he spoke.

Merelda's hair fell behind her as she laughed loudly. I took a step closer to Sebastian. "You cannot hide, Sebastian. Not from me and my eyes."

What was she talking about? What kind of people did Sebastian rent these cabins out to? I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming. I needed to get out of here. Now. I didn't know what nonsense Merelda was referring to, but I sure did not want to find out.

"Have a nice night." The tension in the air could be cut with a knife as Sebastian said goodbye to Merelda. He grabbed my hand quickly and tugged me back to my cabin, not stopping when I stumbled over my own feet.

I swore under my breath. Stupid sandals.

Sebastian's eyes were wild as we reached my cabin's porch. They frantically searched the area around us as he took quick, shallow breaths.

"Are you alright?" I asked. No response. "Sebastian?" I took a step towards him and reached up to place my hands on his shoulders. "Hey, breathe." His eyes locked onto mine and he blinked before noticing my hands on his shoulders. He took a step back as I awkwardly crossed my arms over my chest.

"What did she say to you?" He breathed, running a hand through his wet hair. Water dripped off the edges and splattered onto the wood beneath us.

"Why does it matter? That woman is crazy." I laughed, shaking my head back and forth.

"Rose," Sebastian's voice pleaded. "What did she tell you?"

"Uhm." The urgency in his voice took my by surprise. "A bunch of crazy nonsense. She said that her ghost stories aren't stories..." My voice trailed off as another chill rocked my body. "What did you tell her about me?"

"What?" Sebastian asked quickly, his eyebrows raising.

"She said that I'm the newest flower, Sebastian. You told her my name? What else?"

Sebastian's mouth dropped open. I could see the horror shining in his black eyes. What he said next made my blood turn cold.

"Rose, I never told her your name."

___

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