tristful

wake up

Shan sat with her hands over her face as her very obnoxious alarm went off in the background.
It took her a minute but she managed to force herself out of bed and turn it off. Her eyes darted around the room for a moment before they landed on some flowers that were sat on her windowsill. Roses. The made her way over to them with squinted eyes as she put her head down to kiss one of the petals.

"Mama."

She sighed and looked out of the window to see what the weather was like. She normally would've stayed in bed for a bit longer but she soon had work which actually made her days somewhat better.

She walked to a closet in her room, which was much too small for the amount of dresses she had, and pulled out one of her usual eccentric dresses but made sure it wasn't too puffy so she could still fit an apron on over it. She dug around for a hat and a pair of heart shaped sunglasses as well. She didn't get to wear either of them very often so this was quite exciting for her. This also meant she wouldn't have to cover her eyes with just her hair.

It didn't take her very long to get ready and she was immediately out the door. A lot of people gave her very odd looks..she wasn't too sure why though. Maybe it was because of her shoes? She shook her head with a sigh, she knew she should've gone with a different pair of heels.
Luckily enough for her, the flower shop she worked at wasn't too far away so no one would have to look at her silly pair of black heels any longer. Oh Shan, what a goober!! That's definitely why they stare!!!

As soon as she entered the shop the chatter slowly stopped and a few people raised their eyebrow at her. The fact that the shop was smaller made it even more awkward. Shan looked down at her shoes as she bit her lip, taking a deep breathe. A woman broke through the silence and walked over to Shan with her arms out. Shan didn't understand what she wanted so she simply shook her hand.

"Aha, Shan! How are your mothers flowers doing?"

"Amazing. They're in fantastic condition. I'm sure mama would be very grateful."

"I'm glad to hear it. Would you mind helping a few costumers out?"

Shan nodded and grabbed an apron from the back and soon got to work. She decided to go up to a boy that was around her age, or so she assumed. Once he noticed that she was coming over to him he began to tug on his collar and look around the room.

"Hello. Do you need any assistance?"

"Um.." the boy struggled to look at her..or just speak. "I just wanted to get my girl..friend a bouquet."

"What of?"

"I don't..know. Maybe those?" He pointed at a few flowers that they had on display with a nervous grin

Shan smirked, putting her hand up to wave her finger at him "No, I don't think that would be right..perhaps some baby breath? Or were you looking for something..larger? Roses symbolise love and desire but they are a rather overused gift. It all depends on you, though."

The boy gave her a weird look and shrugged "Roses then? I think she'd want them."

"..alright." Shan rolled her eyes and walked to the back and began to make up a bouquet for him, smiling as she did so. A song came into her head that her mother would commonly sing to her as a child. It was funny to her that hundreds of years later she would still remember it word for word.
She finished up and brought the roses out to the guy who was quick to give her the money and leave.

Her shift wasn't very long, only around four hours after that but it kept her busy and she enjoyed it. She didn't care about the pay as her current 'family' had more than enough money than she needed, it was more about being in an environment she was comfortable and happy in.

When her shift ended she left with a batch of flowers to bring to the graveyard. She usually went there after every shift to talk to her parents about how it went and it always put a smile on her face. The graveyard was empty, per usual. It was a good thing for Shan but she always pitied those who had no one at their graves. She shook her head as the thought of how upset her parents would be if she did the same crossed her mind.
Her parents were at the entrance of the graveyard  which was done by her all those years ago. She kneeled down infront of their graves and clasped her hands together and closed her eyes to talk to her parents in their fluent language.
One she had finally learned.