Rosárum

Picture a field, a field filled with roses. Red roses to be specific. Have it pictured? Well now imagine walking through that field of roses, only to stumble upon a single black rose. Typically, one would find it particularly unique considering all the other roses are just the common deep red. Though all are equally beautiful, this black rose is the only one in the field, making it seem to be the rare beauty, correct? Wrong.  

My people are called Rosárum, otherwise know as Roses in Latin. We are exactly that, Roses. Yet, that may be where we originate from, but we turn out to be humans just like you. We are typically petite beauties, whether we are male or female. To be honest, the Rosárum males tend to be more dorky than beautiful. They struggle to form muscle on their small builds, and tend to be more intelligent than your average human being. Rosárum females are beautiful, intelligent, and complete flirts.  

We come from the earth, acting as the roots of our own roses. The rose above acts as a mother, gathering the nutrients from above and below to create us. Once we gather enough nutrients for the transformation of plant to human, we rise when the full moon is at the highest point of the midnight sky. Our ties from our rose are severed physically, but not mentally. The rose stays alive, as long as we are alive; and we stay alive, as long as the rose is alive.

The moon was at it's highest point, I could feel it running through my roots. The power my rose had given me was coursing through my veins, awakening my body more and more. It felt like I was about to burst, the energy overwhelming my mind. I could feel the surface just above me, the land beyond the dirt that I knew I must go to. It seemed so distant as I felt my breath fading, my roots severing their ties to my body. I was gasping, panicking as my breath yielded completely. It felt like forever before I got my first glimpse of the blinding light of the moon. I was free from the dark soil, though I could not see properly. At this point, I could not care less. All I wanted was to breath the fresh air that my rose had been so fond of. I let my body go limp on the ground beneath me, soaking in the cool dirt I had been beneath for what seemed like years. I heard rustling around me, fear panging my gut like a knife cutting at my stem. I opened my eyes again, and to my surprise, I could now see my surroundings.  

"Her rose...What's wrong with it?" A group of Rosárum were gathered around my flower. Panic caught inside my throat, my mouth went dry, and I croaked out my first words. 

"Leave....Leave it alone!" I pushed myself off the ground, wobbled on my thin legs for a moment, but fought to stay standing as I made my way through the crowd to my rose, my life source. I fell to my knees and picked up the perfect flower.  

"It's black, there must be something wrong with her!" Cried out a squeaky voiced Rosárum in the crowd. Whispers carried throughout the group and I lifted my head in shock. Was it wrong of me to be born from a black rose? What color was the right one? I clutched my black beauty to my chest and gazed around at all the men and women surrounding me. They were all dressed in red petals. The women had beautiful flowing dresses that were short in the front and trailed the ground in the back. The men had shorts and a shirt without sleeves. The same deep red colored every piece of clothing they had on, and around their necks, a single rose pendant, all red.  

I gazed down at my body, but found myself naked. I quickly covered my body parts as best I could, and hung my head in shame. I was not a beautiful as they were, and I had a black rose. They were right, there must be something wrong with me. 

Tears began to slide down my cheeks as I heard a woman call out from the back of the crowd.  

"That, is enough! I won't be having my people treat one of their own like this." The group hushed and parted slowly. The most stunning woman I had ever been able to imagine was striding towards me. Though to my surprise, she wore the same style of dress as all the other women, but in white. She seemed to glow in the dark as if she were a goddess. I hung my head in shame, finding myself to be unworthy of setting my eyes on this beautiful woman. I heard her crouch next to me, only to feel her slender finger lift my tear stained face. She wiped away my tears and smiled at me.  

"Stand up my dear." She said after a moment. I shook my head frantically, now that I knew I was naked.  

She nodded slowly, and turned to our spectators. "Take off your clothes, every single one of you." She addressed them sternly. They all looked at each other, but did as she asked seconds later, not daring to question her demands.  

"Now my sweet, stand up." She smiled at me and offered me a hand. I looked at her, then at everyone else. I hesitantly took her hand and stood up, still clutching my black rose in the other hand.  

"What do you see?" She turned and spoke to the crowd. The Rosárum were quiet for a moment, then several women spat their thoughts. 

"A freak!" Said one, "A monster!" Spoke another, "An ugly hag!" The crowd nodded in agreement. I hung my head and let the tears flow again. Was I really a freak? Was I really ugly? I would've stayed below the surface to let myself suffocate and die if I had known this is what the world had to offer to me. 

"Is that what you truly see? Or is that what you see because you've never seen a black rose before? Does she not have arms like you? Legs? A head? Breasts? The only difference between you and she is the color of her flower." She said angrily.  

"I think she's beautiful..." A quiet voice spoke. I lifted my head in shock.  

"Young man, come forward please." The woman said. For a long moment, no one came forward. Then suddenly, the crowd began to part again, and out stepped a man.  

"What's your name, little lad?" She smiled and let him take her hand to kiss it gently. 

"Ruben, my lady." He said shyly. I looked at Ruben, still shocked at his words of kindness. He turned to me and smiled meekly, "What's your name?" I stopped. I knew my name, but how did I?  

"Saree Suree." I whispered, confusion enveloping me. He smiled again and nodded.  

"At least Ruben can see through the color of her rose and see what a true beauty she is." The beautiful woman reached for my beloved rose that I clutch against my naked chest. She smiled at me, as if to reassure me that my dark flower would be safe. Reluctantly, I handed her my delicate rose, watching her with a wary eye. To my horror, my flower developed a crimson colored glow around it's velvety petals. Her hand came around it like a cage, causing my breath to catch in my throat. It was painful to watch, burning every fiber in my body. I wanted to scream, to cry out in pain and sadness, but I couldn't. My breath was gone, and I was paralyzed in place.  

The pain ceased after an excruciating five minutes of watching her dainty hand close around my rose. I again, collapsed onto the earthy ground, exhausted and drained from the pain. I lifted my head slightly after hearing a few gasps from the crowd of Rosárum. The woman had lifted her grasp from my flower, revealing a beautifully encrusted pendant. My rose was concealed and preserved inside the glass of the bead. The glass was cut just like a swarovski crystal, glinting even in the dim moonlight. Framing it, was a black gem encrusted ring. The gems were all black, and I was unable to identify them. But even still, they were beautiful. Black wasn't such a bad color for a rose after all.