revised excerpt from Of a Flower: Chapter 1
in-progress novel written by Kevin Liang
It was a summer evening when it happened.
The streets were thinning as the sun began to dip under the ocean of tiled roofs. Residents retired their activities and disappeared into their bricked havens. I heard a rumble as a streetcar rolled by outside. In its passing, the echoes of the trotting horses and idle chatter resumed their jurisdiction of the streets.
Standing up, I stepped outside and began to remove my garden from the shade of their canvas awning into the indoor shade. The racks were carefully arranged into tidy bundles behind the shop window, still in clear display to passersby.
A few citizens drifted still, presumably on their way back home, or perhaps on an evening stroll. Most were familiar faces I saw everyday—people of the working class, identified by their relatively simple or dirtied attire. Once in a while, men of business would visit these streets. It was a rare occasion, since they hardly ever stepped outside the inner sanctum of the town. But every once in a while, I would see these kinds walk by my shop, which was situated relatively deep within the town. That evening was one of those exceptions.
This man of business greeted me before I was aware of his presence. “Good evening, madam,” his voice chimed. I turned around and responded in kind, modestly smiling as I always did. He tipped his hat upon this gesture. I did not recognize the visitor, but nevertheless gave him my full attention. His stature was immediately recognizable from his suit and top hat. He wore a dark brown vest and a black frock coat, despite the warm weather. A golden chain dangled from one button into his vest pocket. A pocket watch, if I had to guess.
“Business finds you well today?” he inquired with a stern smile and perfect articulation, one with similar resemblance to my father’s. The stranger was perhaps in his forties, with signs of gray in his whiskers.
“It was fair. Pleasantly warm today.”
The man raised his eyebrows harmoniously. “Ah! I must admit I am delightedly surprised. It’s not every day that one comes across a proper lady in these streets.”
“I am honored to hear that, sir,” I politely replied, but did not say much else. It was not customary to comment on such matters.
“The pleasure is mine,” said the man, tipping his hat once again.
Despite his civility, something felt out of place about the man. I observed him as we stood in awkward silence. His posture was fairly straight—perhaps too straight. His arms poised stiffly by his sides, with his hands neatly tucked into his coat pockets. He had pale skin and wrinkles under his eyes. Noticing this made him look much older.
After some time, he nodded and turned towards the flowers. Perhaps he had expected me to continue.
“Quite an assembly you have.” The man hunched over the remaining vases.
I gently laughed. “Thank you. They’re from the woods just outside of town.”
“Is that so? Who sold you them?”
“I collected them myself,” I declared.
He looked up with a raised eyebrow. “Do you go by yourself?”
“Yes. The ideal spots to pick are not very far from my house.”
The stranger straightened himself. “Why, that’s certainly brave of you—a young lady such as yourself—to venture out there, despite the rumors that have been circulating.”
I shrugged off the comment as nothing unusual. “It is natural to me. Furthermore, in the years I’ve spent growing up in the woods, they have never bothered—”
“Ohhh, things could very well change soon,” the man interjected, his voice tensing as if I had spoken the devil’s name. The smile gradually left my face as he continued. “It would be best to watch out for your own sake.” The man paused, quickly glancing around the streets before leaning forward, a little too close for comfort.
“The spirits.”
He now whispered. I felt a chill course through me, startled by his grim demeanor. The stranger paused, seemingly deliberate this time, for what felt like a lofty stretch of time before resuming. “They may change their mind about letting you live amongst them.”
Unnerved by his accusation, I grasped my hands tightly at my hips. I did my best to stand my ground as he ever so slightly leaned further. He did not speak another word, but instead seemed to watch for my response. Eventually, I managed a timid smile and submitted. “I will take heed to that advice.”
Upon my answer, the stranger’s expression suddenly lightened. “Very well.” Straightening once more, he continued to stare down upon me for a few moments before turning to motion at a tray of light blue flowers. “If I may, I would like to purchase a flower before you close up.” Smiling excessively, he added, “For my wife.”
“Ah…” I fumbled. “Of course!”
I served the visitor the single flower and he set off with a final tip of his hat. From the doorway, I watched his tall, dark hat mix in with the remaining civilians without ever fully blending in. I did not realize back then that I must’ve had a curious expression as I watched him casually stroll away, eventually turning a corner and disappearing.
Once I had lost sight of him, I retreated into the shop and resumed my work. Checking the time, I hastened my daily procedure, bringing in the last of the stands and briefly assessing their remaining inventory. Collecting a basket full of expiring flowers, I locked the door and briskly retired into the streets, joining the waning stream of citizens. The streetcar was already on its way out as I reached the station a few blocks down the avenue. I had to chase it a few steps before was in range to jump onto its threshold, gripping the outside handlebars tightly as the car sped up. It never drove very fast, but it did teeter quite a bit. Once I secured myself at the door, I turned around to watch the sun dip into the rising smog of the buildings across the river. The car whistled as it drove across the two-way bridge and further away from the inner sanctum.
By the time I reached the eastern outskirts of town, the sun had dipped low enough to dye the sky deep orange. Here, the landscape gradually transitioned from bricks to fields. The interweaving streets converged into a single dirt path that solemnly snaked through the countryside, rupturing the crop fields into two halves. Here, there were no tracks or power lines.
The fields further gave way into uncultivated pastures of grass, where livestock lazily grazed wherever they pleased, inhibited only by their shepherds and the delineated line of stones that ran across the rolling hills. Standing a measly one meter tall, this simple wall separated civilization from the wilderness. As with the fields, the dirt path split the structure and opened the town to the forest just a few dozen meters yonder. This breach was guarded only by a single oil lamp that hung on a wooden post at the threshold.
I saw, near the gate, three small figures sitting on the caps of these shallow walls. They were familiar faces—towns children who ventured to these outskirts in search of adventure. Since I walked by fairly often, they have come to expect me everyday, and entertained themselves with my presence.
It was the youngest who noticed me first; a girl of eight years old with short, brown hair. She laid on her belly atop the wall, her chin rested in her arms. The others sat staring out into the woods. When the girl noticed me from a distance, a mischievous expression came across her small face, a smile large enough to distinguish from where I was. She entrenched herself behind the wall, pointed my direction and cried out, “Hark! A beast approaches us!”
With this exclamation, the other two, a girl of eleven and a boy of ten, turned to face me. The older girl quickly joined her sister behind the wall, brushing aside her long, brown bangs with her hand and shield against the sun. “Aye! I sees it! Prepare the crossbow, Silas!” The boy, however, did not jump down from his perch on the wall, and instead looked across the field at me with a modest smile.
“Hey! Quit dawdling and get behind the fort! Before it notices us!” commanded the older girl. Her younger sister imitated the motions of spinning a crank.
“Nevermind him; I’ll handle the bow! Quick, load in the spear!”
Silas turned back to the girls and spoke calmly. “You hooligans, you’re on the wrong side of the wall. Furthermore, Miss Allen is an ally, not an enemy!”
I chuckled as I approached the children. “If you two yell like that, you’d scare off any beast before you could get a shot at it.”
“Drats!” said the eldest. “It reached the gate.”
“Aw, Silas!” cried the little girl. “Can’t we play a game? Nothing ever comes out from the forest.”
“I exit the forest in the morning,” I informed.
“We have school in the morning, however,” the older girl pointed out.
“Indeed, and you mustn’t skip it either—just to see me emerge from the forest.”
“Can we come out with you?” the little girl exclaimed.
“I do not think your parents would be pleased if you do,” I explained with a smile. “Perhaps when you are older.”
“Ahhh, but that’ll be forever!” she whined.
The boy swung his legs around to our side of the wall, his dark hair sweeping across his eyes. “Say, Adeline was curious why you lived in the forest.”
I looked at the elder girl as a blush bloomed across her slender face. “It-it was an offhand curiosity!” she stammered, avoiding my glance and hounding Silas instead. “You didn’t have to say it in such an intrusive manner!”
“Adeline’s blushing!” taunted her younger sister.
“You too, Hazel!” the eldest scolded. “It’s not proper to agitate your sister!”
“If I may,” said Silas. “I am curious as well.”
I indulged their curiosity. “It’s because of my father’s cottage. He built it as a seclusion to raise his family.”
“You have a sister too?” Hazel inquired.
I shook my head. “No, I’m a single child.”
“How come?”
“That’s not something you should ask,” Silas quickly nagged.
“Why not?” she protested. “You’re not my brother. You can’t tell me what to do!”
“That doesn’t change the manner of the question!”
“I don’t care; don’t tell me what to do!”
“Hey now,” Adeline broke in. “Be nice, Hazel.”
Her sister briskly resisted. “You’re always defending him.” Nevertheless, she did not continue and instead pouted.
I laughed. “Perhaps I’ll explain another day. It’s getting dark. You three should head home now.”
This prospect was enough to satisfy the young girl. “I look forward to it!”
Silas hopped off the wall, glancing at Adeline. “Well, as she says then.”
Adeline nimbly got down and helped her sister climb back to their side of the wall, lifting her by her armpits.
The children coalesced and began to walk back home. Silas waved “‘Till morrow, Miss Allen.”
I waved back. “Good night,” I bid, turning around and crossing the threshold.