Miss Sacrifice

Jaaliyah

We entered an entrance labeled 'Long woods Gardens' and it gave off a museum vibe but that was far from what it was. Entering the building was spectacular, the view was rich with different varieties of colors and the scent was inviting as well. We were welcomed with a row of yellow flowers that looked like Cone flowers and a row of Royal Ferns that were way too much for the pots they were in. The air smelled of fertilizer and pollen but there were no bees in sight. I looked around and could see another door revealing a deeper room of flowers and plants. I saw Malik smiling as I turned to face him. 

"Still don't like surprises?" He asked. 

I didn't answer but simply smiled and continued to study the room. There was a large pool of water that sat still and only flowed when it was bothered by the wind or human movement. The pool was encircled by more flowers and it was beautiful. We were not the only ones  on this room, there were other people together, couples, children, friends and family. I heard laughter and distinct conversations all around me and it was refreshing. 

"Malik," I said breathless. 

"Too much?" He asked. 

"No, no it's amazing." I said. 

"C'mon then."

Malik took my hand and led me towards the second door which revealed a bed of roses which was perfectly decorated into a swirling shape and around it was more ferns. It was lined along the middle of the floor which was transparent with speckles of gold in it. The floor was shiny enough to see every piece of reflection one had and there were pots of more roses placed in the room.  There were trees all over the room and I had no idea how they grew  out of the floor considering their roots were in the floor. The room was like a magical forest that no one would ever think of but somehow someone did think of it. The room had a chandelier that consisted no lights but only while flowers and ferns all around. With the sunlight going down, the room was candlelit and the floor had a dim light that shun the walkway. 

Malik let go of my hand and I kept walking alone not turning to look for him. I was so intrigued by what I was seeing that I didn't realize that Malik had his arms around my waist and was taking in my scent. I was frit at first but when I felt his breath against my neck, I relaxed against him just a little. 

"Seems like you like this place so much that you forgot who brought you." He said softly. 

I gave him a low chuckle, "I'm sorry. This place is just so beautiful." 

Malik took my hand and spun me around to face him, "Not as beautiful as you." 

I was both nervous and scared, not knowing how to handle the sudden compliment. I soon remembered my father, and what it meant when he called me beautiful. I looked down at the floor not connecting my eyes with Malik's, I didn't answer him but slightly back away from his grasp on me. 

Malik placed his fingers under my chin and brought my eyes to his, "Hey, look at me ma."

I managed to look up at him with pool like eyes. 

"Let loose, I know you're new to some of this but I promise that I'm not like him." He came closer. "I can change your life. Only if you let me." 

It seemed a bit too soon for Malik to be making promises but I had a feeling that they had meaning behind them I should trust them. 

Malik wiped my eyes with his thumbs and planted a soft kiss on my forehead. "OK." I breathed and a slight smirk robbed me of my sadness.  

"Aight. Now, I want to show you something." He said. 

Malik took my hand and yet again through another set of doors that had benches and purple flowers. The room smelled of Lavender but the flowers it contained was far from Lavenders and in the middle there was a rounded out fountain and a bouquet of purple flowers. I couldn't quite make out what kind of flowers they were. The fountain had benches around it and candles were lit at the base of  the benches. We walked for a long time before we reached another set of doors and when we pushed through them I was relieved that this room had benches because my asthma was beginning to get to me. I sat myself down and took out my pump. 

"I'm sorry, I need a moment." I said waving him off, not in a rude way but in a way to wait for me. 

"Take your time ma." Mailk said. 

Malik sat next to me and watched me as I pulled myself together, "What?" I said casually. 

He smiled, "I can't look at you?" He asked. 

"You can do what you want." I responded with an irritated tone. 

"Aight. I can't just ignore the beauty next to me." Malik said. 

I didn't speak after that. After I'd gotten all the air I needed, I turned to Malik and noticed that he was in fact still intrigued by what I was doing. "I'm OK now." 

"You know what these flowers are called ma?" He asked me.  

"I thought they were Lavender, but I don't think so." 

"Well, look".---Malik carefully brought the bouquet closer to me and picked one off.

"Malik you cant do that!" I smacked his arm and looked at him furiously. 

He looked at me with the slyest smirk and continued talking, "These flowers are called Verbenas. They say that they're associated with the supernatural when they're blooming." 

I snorted, "I don't think that's how the life of a plant works Malik." 

He frowned, "Are you saying I don't know a thing or two about flowers?" He asked not convinced. 

He laughed at my reaction, "No, not at all. I swear." I said. 

Malik smiled at me and continued to stare at me without saying a word he then took my hand and motioned for me to stand with him. "Let's go see what's outside." 

I noticed people were looking at us with various expressions. Some were in a trance of awe seeing us was together and some were still shocked from watching Malik unabashedly take a flower out of the bouquet but he wasn't phased by it. 

We walked hand in hand the whole time, I was a bit scared at first but I didn't oblige. We didn't speak to each other until we left the building and entered a further part of the park that was an outside exhibit but somehow managed to still be inside of the building. We were alone in this room, and it was quiet with only the sound of water speckling. There was a large pond in the middle of the area and it contained Water lilies with little goldfish swimming around and again, there was a bouquet of flowers in the middle. Much like the other room, there were benches encircling the pond and this time they didn't have faux candles at the base but directly on the seats. As we approached the pond, I began to notice little flower petals floating smoothly on the water not disturbing things in its pathway. Malik sat me next to him on the bench and we faced the pond. 

"This place is so beautiful." I said as I studied the pond further than my eyes allowed. 

"That's why I brought you here. Beautiful things deserve to be around beautiful things." He said and pulled me in closer under his shadow. 

"Malik---" He cut me off and clasped my arms. 

"Ma, this is where we will have a conversation today. Its where I will get to know you and you get to know me. I'll listen to what ever you have to say, and if you need to let out somethings I'm right here. Ma I'm serious, I really like you and I want to know more. I want to know what to expect and what I need to heal. Don't hold anything back aight? I'm right here, just talk to me."

 There was something in his eyes that I'd never seen before and it didn't scare me but it pulled me in, making me melt with passion and curiosity. His tone was convincing  and the grip he had on me was difficult to ignore. 

For the first time in a long time, I wanted to let someone in.  That someone had to be Malik.