flower girl

Vicious screams echoed through the church walls as the adults held the small child in place. The church was large and dark in the afternoon heat. The sun was above the cathedral, incapable of reflecting through the stained-glass windows on the side. A cream rug ran down the middle of the church, clashing with the white fold-up chairs. The altar was surrounded by fake roses and fake candles.

There was one hour before the venue would start to fill up with people. The women in the back room thought that three hours might not be enough to get this damned child in her outfit.

Auntie Zizi grabbed the girl's arm and forced it through the small hole of the poofy dress. Lily tried to squirm out of reach again, but was trapped by women on each side of her. Grandma Reese scowled at the child, as the dress was being zipped. The women were mumbling something about it taking a village to raise a child.

"Come with me Lily", Grandma Reese said to the scared girl.

Her hand was soft in Lily's and she smelled like roses. Sometimes, when Lily spent the day over at Grandma Reese's house, Grandma Reese would be distracted cooking lunch for the both of them. Lily would use the free time to sift through bathroom cabinets, full of lotions and perfumes. Lily would spread them all over her body until Grandma Reese found her and scorned her for sneaking around. But it was worth it, because Lily would get to smell like her grandma for the rest of the day.

The rose-scented hand pulled Lily out to the front of the church. To Lily, this meant that Grandma Reese was about to give one of her talks. Lily loved and hated these talks. She loved it because it meant she got to spend another few moments with Grandma Reese. She got to stare at beautiful blonde curls and brown eyes, compare the scent of real roses mixed with the rose cream, and listen to the voice of her angel lecture her. She hated it because it meant she'd already disappointed Grandma Reese.

They both sat down on a bench in a flower garden that encircled the entire church. The flowers here were growing so fast that Lily thought that, someday, they might swallow the church whole.

Lily grew up in the Church of the Hills, but her favorite part of each Sunday was leaving it and going home. Then, she could curl up with a good movie and eat too many Doritos without anyone stopping her. Today, she felt sorry for the flowers because they couldn't.

"Lily, do you understand why you're here today", Grandma Reese asked.

"Aunt Linda and Uncle Rob are getting married and I'm supposed to throw flowers on the ground for them".

"Yes, but why?".

"I don't know", Lily shrugged.

"Lily, you have a very important role today. When you throw the petals on the ground, you do it gracefully. You stand up straight, walk like a lady, and smile like a lady. If you do that, it will make everyone feel so happy. Don't you want to do that for us?" Grandma Reese showed a bright-pink smile, "Go ahead and show me what you'll do".

Lily got up, picked a flower, and looked at it. She didn't know if she could do what Grandma Reese wanted. She wanted to run back inside. Instead, she pushed down the thought and tried to perform the ritual with elegance.

"Very good, Lily. That's a sweet girl", Grandma Reese hugged the small girl.

Music echoed through the halls as the bride followed Lily down the aisle. Grandparents and moms and dads and children looked at the both of them in awe and wonder.

Lily disliked this building. She'd been here every Sunday since she could remember. And it was the same each time: she must stay quiet, she must dress pretty, she must be nice, she must do this, she must do that. Lily always got in trouble in this building for fidgeting or sleeping. But she couldn't help it- it was always too cold or too hot and Lily was always uncomfortable. She felt uncomfortable now.