“Promises and Petals” by Thomas 11S

A door slammed open on and out fled a boy, no less than his youth years with oak wood hair and bright orange clothing starting to rot He ran around the ripened front yard, mouth widening to take gulps of freshly sprayed lawn sprinklers Mid-July leaves dappled the chimeric town in shades of emerald jewels The crimson-flamed sun reflected by oily green grass gave off the summer heat Looking down the flat road horizon, the ocean blue that touches the earth was lined by a suburb of cartoony dreams He glided his fingers on the next-door metal fence to hear the repeated piano notes, and as his hands dropped down to feel the coolness of the damp soil a pair of eyes appeared next door Not menacingly but calmly, and batting an eye The neighbour’s girl, though his thought focused on mom’s fully grown bright golden roses blooming in the spotlight

A boy just past his teen years exited the doorway, followed by Ma, a drenched napkin in her hand and her face hot red He carried a dark green duffle bag no larger than the typical briefcase and wore Dad’s old maroon navy fatigue tucked into his wide jogging pants to fit his size George watched as Mom adjusted his collar and mumbled some words into his ear, and the boy finally moved his sight to meet his Heaving his luggage down the front steps and slowly walking across the lawn towards him carefully avoiding the over-puddled holes

“George! Little George ”

Pause.

“The man of the house huh ” with his hands tight in his pockets

The boy looked into his brother’s eyes in wonder and nodded

“I promise I’ll be back soon kid, and can you help out the house with ma? Not a pinkie one, a real one okay?”

A few nods later he heaved up with his hand on his knees and a silent groan A dark-coated no-labelled truck with dampened windows could be seen in the distance It seemed like early winter as leaves from sidewalk palms seemed to have shifted yellow, twisting to the tarmac ground.

“George! Come on here and stan’ with me ” His mother called for him “Wave bye to ‘Big’” She ordered

“Bye,” Two waves are greeted by one as he steps onto the flattened front wheels “See you soon, and George” Looking him in the eyes one last time, “say hi to gramps for me!”

He stared, with a sudden smile as a pink figure exited the neighbouring front door. Though a little petal snapped off in his heart.

A trim gloss of yellow caught his eye, a gift Mom’s roses can stay as a friend, he thought as he brushed its roots and stared it down The dampened seeds sheeted with oil, with shimmering teeth of yellow sticking out from all sides, glowing celestial object in the palm of his hands

The distant sun can be seen approaching the horizon, shifting twilight magenta Exploding shards of rainbow pixels across every dimension From the corner across the freshly cut lawn, the pair of eyes stared in wonder

“Hey! I know you're lookin’, come out, I ain’t hurtin'”

A bundle of hair slowly emerged through the cracks, bright in colour, curled at multiple angles as if the night was long, and skins of prickles, blue dress just like a young Patty Marie waltzing a light-gloomed stage

He stared, watched in wonder as the neighbour’s girl, not much older than he was, stepped up close.

With no thought in mind “Care for a rose little one?”

A light grin emerged on her soft red lips as she gently picked the stem from his hand, bringing it close to her nose, neither flared nor pinched Sniffing out a smile and a soft sigh And as time grew, their relation followed along, gradually tightening as strong as bundles of rose roots clinging to the soil All until that one cliché summer sunset

“I like you”

She paused. “No one’s ever said that to me George.” Whispering his name.

“I promise I do” he gazed with dreamy eyes

She sat down next to him “The sunset is beautiful isn’t it George?”

A sudden streak of silver flew across the darkened sky.

“There! There George look! A shooting star, c'mon let’s make a promise Past those dark clouds, we’ll cross each star one by one and,” She points and lies down on his lap, gently resting her head, “and we’ll find somewhere, someplace as quiet an’ lovely Promise me ”

He pictured that “I promise love, I promise ” The imagery drove by like a dream The black truck noised down the street every morning, seemingly changing the seasons Winter, summer, winter, fall He waited by the doorstep for him

It was that one Sunday morning that felt different Either the grass was not as green, or the postman came early George walked steadily down the staircase A gloomy silence blew from the dark hallway, and light sobs rang like daggers slicing into the heart

“Mom?” His heart stopped.

He walked with careful quiet steps a broken soul, laying flat on a table of water, tears A scream ran through his body

“Mom, what happened? The hell happened?” A tear ran down his eye too The suffering of watching a broken loved one, helpless Letters lay scattered on the table, from ‘Big’, the diaries of the front lines

Backing slowly, chemicals of heart-bound poison filled his head

“Ma, mom, mum”, tears streaming down his face “no, no, no!” He ran up and ripped the paper off her hands Her blood-infused eyes looked up, stuttering in pain “H he’s” Dear Mr/Ma’am, we are sad to inform you that

“Gone My brother’s DEAD!” He screamed A starless night and the second petal snapped The morning blood-stained sun grew and steamed off sweat He sat on the creaking stairs, briefcase no larger than the duffle bag on his side, fading rose in his hand as she approached “What's the point George, ya know it’ll grow back the next day” The grass below unfurled to invite the trickle of water

Without a thought, he closed his fists crushing it into golden sand. She screamed with her hands in her eyes refusing to witness the crime. George stood up, eyes staring at the diesel-oiled skyline woozing the natural blue to brown. The overgrown weeds, desert-dry leaves, and plastic-flocked lanes.

“I’ve lived long enough in this fake world to know that promises are lies that cannot be told.” He spat on the ground as the black figure sped down the littered street. A small glimpse to his side, the broken sprinkler and dust-dyed flower, bowing down with no branches left, dangling in the wind, slowly, quietly. And he won’t be there to see it wither away.

Ma came out moments later, just to catch her boy swallowed into the now devil’s mouth With his head not turning, the teeth crunched closed She stood on the porch, firmly next to the weeping girl Her face, swollen and viciously pale, and thunderclouds start to rain instead of her eyes She watches as the army truck sped its way, whispering with a waterless mouth “Goodbye”