Evergreen

flowers

Zahri hastily rubbed his forehead of sweat as he sped down the cobbled lane, his bike struggling to stay steady with the more speed he accumulated.

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The humid sea air blowing in his hair and the coarse sand gradually collecting in the grooves of his bicycle tires were the only two things grazing through that ever so clustered mind of his.... well, if there was anything else that would be on his mind, it would probably be the topics he'd bring up with Miss Penny, the local florist.

Zahri loved to go speak with Miss Penny about the flowers, the ones she so lovingly picked from far away. Oh, how jealous Zahri became when she'd ramble on about how she'd find some of the most exotic flowers in the most unlikely places, oh how it made him green with envy. These mentions often had him wish of going far away from the tasteless, boring countryside to bask in the vast expanse of nature the rest of the world had to offer. Yet he couldn't...at least not now....at the tender age of 16 with a strict father who just wanted him to be an active part of the family farm.

Even though he was envious of Miss Penny's exciting adventures with flowers. He could never hate her, she herself was a very likeable person in his opinion. Though a little odd to say the least.

Past the reclusive sands of the ocean and Mr. Henry's Miscellaneous, was the so-called Miss Penny's Flower shop. Setting his bike to stand on a nearby railing, Zahri took his small rucksack under his arm whilst he speedily walked to the entrance. His heart soon dropping with disappointment at the look of the CLOSED sign on the front door. "Seriously? Its past 9 am... did she oversleep again?"

Vigorously knocking the front door all the while peeking through the dim store windows, Zahri searched to see if something was perhaps wrong with Miss Penny, of course--everything was in common shape, the vases she so talentedly decorated, the flowers she just had to move the places of every hour and the presence of in-animate legs near the other side of the store. It was right then, that his concern began to set in, he could feel his throat clench with nervousness and a sense of urgency float around in his mind.

"Miss Penny! Come on! Open the door!" Zahri began banging on the door, his attempts gradually the more aggressive as time went on.

It was almost as if time had slowed in that moment. When Zahri finally tried the unlocked door handle and his body quickly losing balance due to the unexpected discovery. With a grand thud, Zahri fell to the floor, face first into a seemingly endless pool of blood. Miss Penny's stone-cold eyes, staring right into his.

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