Paranoia

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Repeating tings rang through the flower shop as Raven stepped in. She wore faded blue skinny jeans and a white tee shirt that said 'You want a piece of me?!' matched with a pair of brown flat ankle boots.

Nancy's head shot up from behind the counter and a wide grin swept over her freckled face. She was a blonde, like her sister, but five years older than Rebecca. She and her sister had been good friends.

Raven couldn't imagine her taking in things so fast like everybody else.

"Oh, it's you dear. What can I do for you?" she asked coming from behind the counter. She took off her garden gloves and placed it on top of the counter.

She looked younger than she was, 23.

"I need some flowers. It's her. . .um. . .anniversary," Raven replied hesitantly.

"Of course! Of course! How pathetically silly of me to forget?" she said with a slight giggle, but Raven could see sadness in your eyes.

"Red roses, right?" she checked.

Raven nodded in response.

"All right then, I'll go grab some at the back," Nancy replied. " It'll only take a minute dear." She turned her back at her and walked towards the back door.

Raven inhaled deeply, smelling the fresh flowers.

She looked around the shop. Flower pots, fertilizers, a bunch of sprayers, some organic pesticides and some other stuff Raven didn't recognize were arranged neatly on the shelves of different colors. Different types of seeds placed on some sort of CD rack, and a bucket full of. . . red tulips.

Her eyes widen. She swallowed, hard, but her mouth suddenly went dry. She walked slowly towards it, her right hand stretched out as she was itching to touch it.

"Here you go my dear," Nancy's voice boomed through her eardrums making her jolt her head toward's Nancy's direction.

Nancy was holding a bouquet of roses with touch of white carnations.

"What happened to you? You looked like you'd just seen a ghost. You're white as a sheet," she added placing the bouquet down on the counter and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

Raven cleared her throat and swallowed again. "I thought you run out of tulips to sell. There's a bunch of red –" she cut herself off when she saw the empty bucket a few feet away from her. Her whole body started to quiver.

"But I really ran out, a costumer just bought everything," Nancy said with a slight pout.

"But. .. it . . .was just. . ." she stammered pointing to the empty bucket then sighed.

"Anyways, here you go Raven. No charge. Let's just say it's also a token from me to her," Nancy said with a smile as she handed the bouquet to Raven.

Raven took the bouquet from her hand and tried to grin but to no avail. She gave out sigh and nodded instead.

"Thanks Nancy. I'll be on my way," Raven said and left the shop.

The cemetery was three streets down, and it was already 9:30 in the morning, so, she decided to take a cab.

Did she imagine those tulips? No, no, it was there. She knew, in her flesh and bones, it were real. If she could only touch them and she'd practically prove they were real.

She didn't realize she was still shaking until she sat inside the cab. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw her face drained from color. She started pinching her cheeks and biting her lips.

Still mesmerized by her thoughts, the moment she closed her eyes, she saw the flowers again. She shook her head, tightened her grip on the bouquet on her lap and looked outside the window.

She paid the cab driver and walk towards the cemetery. Black railed steel fences surrounded the area, with small mossy pillars placed between fences. An open vine-filled tall railed gate revealed the entrance.

She followed the trail that led to her sister's headstone.

Rebecca Sanders

May You Rest in Peace

A tear slid down her cheeks and a lump formed in her throat. A bouquet of red tulips lay on the ground, her emotions seized. She blinked.

Rebecca loved red roses but she dreamt more than anything to have red tulips. She can't be dreaming, can she? She blinked again.

She looked around and saw no trace of anybody around. She placed her bouquet down and picked up the tulips. Both pain and anger went through her as she cradled the bouquet in her arms, stroking the soft petals with her finger.

Adrenaline rushed in, making it harder to breathe, her chest heaved.

Gripping tightly the flowers she stared at it like a prey, eyes aflame. A shaky hand slowly plucked its petals, letting a triumphant smile creep on her lips.

Emotions flooded, and she threw the bouquet down crushing and grinding it with her foot in fury. She bit her lower lip and furrowed her brows as she stomped harder. Sweat streaked down between her brows and on the side of her head.

Raven backed away panting and wiped the sweat with the back of her hand. She felt relieved, she even felt alive. A shaky laugh escaped her lips as she looked down on the trampled dirty bouquet on the ground. She swallowed and exhaled deeply.

A rustling noise came not far from where she stood. She looked around; eyes darting to every direction. Something told her something's wrong, but she couldn't put a finger on it.

Her eyes squinted back to the trampled bouquet and plunged herself to the ground.

"It was here! I know it was here. I even destroyed it. Where is it?" she said to herself.

Why did you do it Raven? a voice said. She was having goose bumps, and she didn't like what she was feeling.

She slowly got up and dusted herself. Clearing her throat, she turned her back on Rebecca's tombstone.

Where are you going? Are you going to leave me like everyone else did? a chilly voice said. She wanted to make a run for it, but she was stock frozen on her spot, and the air turned cold despite the piercing heat.

"I'm. . .I'm not leaving you. I just need to go home," came her shaky reply.

A child's laughter surrounded her, slowly turning into a woman's laughter; whole, mature but cold.

She could feel a hand on her shoulder and a cold breath on her ear lobe. "Run Raven. Run," a voice whispered in her ear.

Shock and fear sent her bolting out the cemetery and running down the sidewalk, but the laughter kept ringing in her ear.

A/N: What'd you think? I want to hear all about your thoughts. Was Raven's mind kept playing tricks? Was she seeing things? Or was the bouquet real?

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Love El!