And the thorns are sharp

in the Rose Garden

Morning coffee was their tradition before pandemic kicked in. Both his classes and his dad's work started at 8, so every weekday they would get up early enough to have a cup of coffee, black, no sugar, and some toasted bread with homemade jam his grandmother would bring every time she visited. They would talk about the day ahead of them, the day before or simply enjoy each other's company.

Weekends were different. Sascha would usually stay at his grandparents' house, where his mom moved after the divorce. He wasn't a big fan of commuting, but it was the agreement they had when they decided he would live with his father. Don't get it wrong, he missed his mother a lot, but it took almost two hours just to get there on a Friday afternoon and another two to get back home on a Sunday evening.

He liked Biesdorf more than he liked Potsdam. While it was closer to the center of Berlin, it was also less crowded - Potsdam was always filled with tourists aching to see all of the castles and palaces in the area.

Covid-19 was a drastic change in every aspect of his life.

Since his mother worked as a nurse in a hospital, she was obliged to isolate more often than not, so he didn't get to see her as much anymore. Their morning routine changed too. His dad was able to work his corporate job from home now, which meant he didn't have to get up early. He would usually wake up quarter to eight, make a jug of coffee and wake Sascha up at 7:59, so that he could connect to his online class in time. When the afternoon came, they would usually go for a walk in Babelsberg and then finish the day with whatever movie was on that night.

A few months into the pandemic, his dad started to spend less time at home. He would always find a reason to visit their local grocery store (like that time he insisted on going to get sour cream for dinner and they had to throw an unopened cup of cream away three weeks later). Sascha found out the reason for that not long after - the store got a new cashier and his dad got a new girlfriend.

Understanding that dating isn't easy during lockdown, Sascha decided to spend the weekend at his grandparents', giving his dad some time and place to celebrate the 3 months "anniversary" of his relationship. His mom managed to get Saturday and Sunday off and his grandmother promised to bake his favorite cheesecake. That's how he found himself in Treptower park that last weekend of summer vacation.

Summer has been incredibly hot this year, but the vanilla ice cream he got while walking alongside Spree river was making this August evening more bearable. He took a few peeks here and there walking past Spreepark, an amusement park that he loved as a child, that has been abandoned and in a pretty bad condition currently. A group of teenagers was sitting at the bottom of the Ferris wheel, red plastic cups in their hands and bottles of beer next to them, something Sascha found way too fearless, given the fact they were clearly trespassing. He made his way towards the Summer Garden, excited to smell Peruvian lilies, his favorite flowers that always bloom in late summer.

He smiled as the memory of the first time he saw Alstroemeria popped in his head. There was that childhood friend, Ismail, who was obsessed with flowers since he was a little child. His room was full of plants Sascha never knew existed, yet he still found that passion fascinating. When Ismail turned 8, Sascha gifted him a cactus that he took care of so well, the plant was still in his bedroom last time they saw each other. For Sascha's 12th birthday, Ismail got him a bouquet of Peruvian lilies. They were in all shades of red, pink and yellow, and his friend explained that they symbolized friendship and support, that it was some sort of a promise that they can always rely on each other. The flowers were fresh cut, so they didn't make it out alive, but they were one of the most beautiful he has ever seen. He kept them on his desk until last petals fell off and usually he would get a headache from keeping flowers in his room, especially Lavender, but there was something special about the ones he received - the smell wasn't intense until you had them right in front of your face. He was ecstatic when he first noticed that someone had planted them in the park so close to his grandparents' house.