Written By: Johnny Roque

Growing flowers or any plant might take a certain green thumb, however it also depends on the love that the flowers receive verbally or lack of love.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://smirkfiction.wordpress.com/2022/01/01/flowers-grow-wilted/

My neighbors flowers look so beautiful. They grow effortlessly out of the ground, in boxes hanging, and even wildly off the tress in her yard. Every single one of them stand out shooting bright vivid colors into the sky attracting little birds and angels. They hover over the yard singing in delight. I see this everyday while I water my flowers. My sad flower garden that grow more stems than peddles.

I put effort into my garden. The best dirt, clean water, and an awesome playlist of music, but still every day nothing really stands out. Not the buttercups, nor the Peruvian Lilies, not even the petunias. The petunias! A large bed of petunias surrounding the dahlias haunt my dreams. Seeing the beautiful image in my head every time I close my eyes to only open them to a dirt patch makes me not want to open my eyes. I spend all my free time outside taking care of them and talking to them, sometimes hours at a time.

My flowers listen to me daily, sometimes twice a day. I tell them about the heartbreak I experience every weekend on failed dates. My tears pour out of my face. Each drop landing in the soil that now holds a piece of my soul. I just know that a good date starts with a fresh bouquet of flowers, but until these bloom my love life looks grim. I need to ask my neighbor her tricks, maybe over a cup of coffee.