What The Wildflowers Know

Chapter Three

"Hey, you losers! These plants are smarter than you are!" Kvetina yelled. She couldn't quite hear their responses, but she knew what their words meant. And though she wasn't a big fan of bad language, hardly knew these boys, and had to get to work, the month's worth of resentment at herself, at her parents, at death itself flew off her tongue. As she recalled her mother reading from the book of James in the Bible, saying that the tongue could always betray someone, she thought, Too true. If her mother had walked right into this field and heard her voice, echoing, with words that had been forbidden, she would have cried. Tht realization was what made her stop.

"Just leave me alone!" she shouted, and turned her back on them. She could hardly make out her own feet under the thick growth of plants and greenery, so when her foot hit a wooden box under the layers of dandelions, she tripped and flew to the ground. The dandelions caught most of the fall, but Kvetina groaned aloud when she felt her head, where a bump was forming. She could hear the loud laughs of the boys from the other side of the field, but forced herself to ignore them. She bent down and studied the thing that had led to her humiliation. It was an old box, locked and locked again. She pondered why the owner had left it in a field if it had meant so much as to lock it. The old wood was sagging and rotting, and Kvetina found a small opening, big enough so that she could reach her hand inside and pull the object out. Another dandelion. She screamed with rage and chucked the chest as far as she could- which wasn't that far, but far enough that it hit someone on the head and as it fell, she heard a clunk. She was so sure it was empty. Oh, why did she throw it?

"Hey! Ow!" Cahello cried. Kvetina whipped around. She hadn't noticed him by himself, wading through the plants. "Oh no." She muttered, then ran to where he had fallen. Cahello lay curled up in a ball, motionless. "Are you okay? I'm sorry!" Kvetina didn't know what to do. She yelled at the other boys, squirming restlessly on the other side of the field. "Your friend- he needs help!" Without hesitation, Kvetina stayed with the unconscious Cahello, while the boys stampeded over. "Cahello, buddy!" One of the bigger boys, whose name was, Kvetina thought, Kevin, started to back up. "This-this is your fault." he said, pointing an accusing finger at Kvetina. "Come on, boys. Let's go. We'll see what poor Dandy will do for Cahello." With that, he walked away. Kvetina knew Kevin would much rather become pack leader than nurse Cahello back to health. The other boys' eyes wavered between their friend on the ground and their self-appointed leader, walking away. "What are you waiting for? Come on!" Kevin's shout made their decision. Kvetina was soon left by herself, with Cahello's limp head resting on her lap. Thoughts swirled around her, as she realized that this was also a bit her fault. If she hadn't become angry and thrown that chest, Cahello might have been okay. But quickly she realized that no matter how she was feeling, today was just the day her anger and finally spilled across the dam. She didn't know she was crying until she felt the wetness on her hand. She hurriedly wiped her face, but a few drops landed on Cahello's head. "Wha... Kvetina?" Cahello's voice rang. Kvetina jumped back, accidentally dropping Cahello's head on the floor. "Oof." He grunted, then stood up. Swaying, he walked a few steps and then was about to fall when Kvetina grabbed his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I was mad and accidentally threw a chest at you. It hit you on your head and you fell unconscious. I-" Cahello interrupted. "It's fine, but where are my friends?"

"They... They left." Cahello stopped moving. "They left... willingly?" he asked. Kvetina nodded. "Oh." he nodded. Kvetina shook herself. "Come on. We should get you home." Kvetina let Cahello rest an unstable arm on her shoulder, and they stumbled to Cahello's house. When they got to Cahello's doorstep, Kvetina stepped back and was about to turn away when Cahello grabbed her hand. "Wait. I-I want to apologize for being mean to you. It's just... I really don't want you to dig up the... The... never mind. Anyway, thank you for helping me. I really mean it. Thanks." he stammered. "Oh." Kvetina was surprised. "That's okay. I mean. You're welcome. And I'm sorry too. I hope we can manage not to conflict anymore. Bye." Kvetina stepped back once, twice, down the stairs, her eyes locked with Cahello's. When she reached the road, Cahello took a step forward and cleared his throat. "Kvetina, I was going to say that I-"

"Hey! Look at Cello! He's back again!" Kevin and his cronies pushed roughly past Kvetina and toward Cahello. Before he could say anything, she ran toward her house, wondering what his last words meant.

***

Slam! The door went, and Kvetina slumped onto the floor. The house was quiet, filled with nothing but her panting breath. She was just about to scold herself for running all the way up the hill when she realized something. The house was too quiet. Something was wrong. She rose to her feet, forgetting all about her aching muscles, and crept up the stairs.

"Mother? Father?" A groan. "Father!" Kvetina bounded into her parents' bedroom, where her mother lay motionless on the floor, while her father huddled in a heap beside her.

"Oh no. Oh no! What happened?" Practically falling onto her parents, she cried a mournful sob.

"K... Kvetina. We love y-you." Her father choked out. Coughing painfully, her mother raised her head off the floor and gently laid a trembling hand upon her daughter's.

"Stay strong." Amid the coughing, her mother spoke her last words. "There's something... I need t-to tell you. In the field... At your school... There's a box that I have hidden just for- for you. Goodbye, Kvetina. And remember, we will be with you always." A sudden silence enveloped the family. And with a final, shocking heave, her mother lay dead on the floor. Her father's rushing tears were wiped away by Kvetina's hug, and she and her father wept for sadness.

"Father, I love you." Kvetina sobbed, and she let go of the body with the receding breaths and now silent heartbeat. The illness had been too much. Kvetina slumped onto the wooden floor, and fell to sleep with the troubles of the day, beside her dead parents.