Chapter 1
The sunrays were pouring inside Stella flowers. A small flowershop inside the massive country of Italy. I was arranging fresh flowers as a patch of shadow blocks the sun.
i look up to see a tall figure with a deep blue suit. i take up a fresh red rose in my hand, the dew dripping on the floor as i switch the sign from closed to open on my door. ″fancy a red rose sir? it is pretty fresh you know, and it suits your personality. i say to the tall figure outside my shop. he raises an eyebrow as he turns his head towards me. ″what i meant is that roses are pretty. they have quite a few thorns but if you get rid of them they are just as pretty to hold in hand and to admire closely″. ″and what makes you think that of me?″ the guy says in a thick itallian accent. ″well-you see-you have quite a dominating presence and you do look the cold type. no offense″. ″quite good observation you have there″. he responds, a smirk formimg on his face as he walks away to a black car. after he entered the car, a few seconds later came out another tall figure with a black suit. ″a bouquet of red roses″ he said coldly. ″ are you a friend of the guy who came before?″ i ask, picking a bouquet. he nods his head, checking his watch. ″here″ i hand the bouquet over to him. ″excuse me″ i called out as he was about to leave. ″take this″ i hand out two buisness cards of mine to him. ″i forgot to ask your name’s″. ″i’m Damon Dale and the guy you met before me is Lorenzo, Lorenzo Vance″ he said with a serious look on his face as he left. i continue arranging flowers as a sweet fragrance spreads in the shop. i turn to see who it is. it was Ive, her actual name is Ivy Harper, my bestfriend since highschool. ″Hi!!″ she says as i reply with a hug. ″what brings you here?″ i ask. ″why can’t i visit my bestfriend whenever i wish to?″ she says. who were those men in suits?″. ″i dont know? new customers i geuss″. ″well maybe if i could help you in selling these flowers could we go to the beach later? i could really use some gentle breeze today″. ″sure but before i also need to write a few pages of my novel, almost finished the 5th chapter″. ″you still aren’t over your novel writing?″. ″its what makes me happy. jotting down my thoughts,visions,delusions into peices of paper and letting people know″. ″whatever you say″. Ding goes the little bell of my flowershop. ″Hi! could i get a few lilies and tulips in a bouquet?’. ″oh sure, could you please specify the colours?″. ″pink and white″. ’here″. ″have a nice day!″ i wave to her as she goes out.
*
it is currently evening right now. the gentle calming noise of the waves somehow untangles the tangled knot of thoughts tying in my head.i took out a notebook from my hand with a pencil. i opened up a blank page and started sketching the scenery. Ivy looked at me but didn’t stop me, she knew it was my way of relaxation. she took out her phone and earphones. listening to the music while watching the calming sunset. After a while the sky started to get dark and people started to lessen. ″Ive i think we should go home now″. ″sure, i have alot of fabric left from yesterday’s dress and i can’t just throw it away, might as well use it to make something″. ″i called up a taxi for us″. ″when is it going to arrive?″. ″in about 5 minutes or so″. ″till the time it arrives wanna go get some ice-cream?″ ″sure, chocolate?″ ″you know it″. after a few minurtes the taxi arrived. ″Ive, thats the taxi″. the air in the taxi was quite chilling.
*
it was morning. the sun was shining bright as usual. i took out a key from my bag to unlock the shop. as i opened the door, the little sound of the bell, the sweet scent of flowers, the mist of water all came to me. the same comforting place like always. i take out my phone and dial up Ivy’s number. ″hello?″ i get a response from her. ″i called to ask if you reached home safely″. ″oh yeah i did no need to worry. anyways did you have good rest?″ ″yeah i did even though i slept at 11:00″. ″let me geuss, it was because of yoour favourite drama right?″ ″yeah i just couldn’t leave episode 3 as a cliffhanger″ ″ok i have got to go now i’ll talk to you later, a custmer’s come up″. i hang up the call as i put my phone aside to get some work done. I do the arrangement of bouquet’s and flowers for today, fill the spray bottle with water, organise my counter. i put some pink roses in my vase. lastly i spray some perfume for a sweet smell. while i was making a bouquet i see a young girl with loads of boxes trying to get them inside the vacant shop beside mine. out of curiosity i walk up to my window looking at boxes. they were of flowers!. ‘is she opening up a flower shop?!’ the thpught came to my mind as opened the door and walked outside. i looked up to see Fiori Della Luna written on a plate hung up on the shop. it means moon flowers in Itallian. i then looked up to my shop with the name Stella flowers which translates to star flowers. is this some kind of coincidence or does she want to put up a competition with me?. whatever may be the reason, i go to help her in moving the boxes. ″Hi! im Hazel, Hazel Bonnet. i own the flowershop beside yours″. ″oh hi! im Lucy, lucy Ross, nice to meet you″. ″mind if i help you out?″ i ask picking up one of the boxes. ″i dont ofcourse, it would be of great help actually, you see my hands are sort of giving up on me″. i check my watch as i finish moving the last box. ″it’s five minutes until i open my shop, i’ll go see you later″ i wave, walking out of her shop as she waves back. i turn the sign from closed to open waiting to greet my first customer. It’s been a while since i opened my shop. 5 customers came till now. but throughout that time there was a small girl, roughly 7-8 years old watching my shop since then. after debating for a few minutes i go out and ask her is she was lost or needed help. ″i am not lost signorina i live here outside your shop″. ″ oh well then could you please tell me your name piccola?″ ″i’m Gia what about you?″ ″i’m Hazel″. ″if you dont mind could i get a sunflower? i really love sunflowers but i have no money for those’. ″oh its ok would you like a boquet?″ i ask bending down to her level so i could see her properly. ″but it’s too much″ she responds, fidgeting with her little fingers.
″its nothing, come wait inside ok?″. she nods her head as she follows me inside. ″your shop smells really nice″ she complements. ″thank you so much″ i smile. ″could you tell me your favourite color Gia?″. ″i like green″. ″green it is then″ i say handing her a green bouquet of sunflowers. ″thank you so much signorina!″ she says, jumping up and down in joy. ″no problem, tell me if you need anything else alright?″. she nods in a cute before going ouitside. i wave to to Lucy before going inside. suddenly a man with a courier comes inside. ″Here″ he hands over a black basket with a bouquet of red roses in it. ″Who sent this?″ i ask. ″Dont know″ he replied leaving the shop. ″i instantly recognize the bouquet and flowers. ″i gave this it to the Lorenzo guy who came yesterday″ i say to myself. i spot a jet black card hidden among the roses. i take it out of the bouquet and in my hands. ″Lorenzo Vance″ were the words written in gold. ″thanks for the roses″ was written inside it. ″why would he return my roses back to me?″ i wondered. by this time it was evening, the cold night breeze flowing in the air. i got out of the shop with the basket of the boquet of flowers. as i was locking the shop door i saw a figure in the shadows whose eyes were locked on me. i couldn’t really figure out who it was. i thought it might be some buisness man or someone playing a prank and ignored it. i reached hopme, got into my comfoprtable pajamas, put on my favourite show,cooked up a delightfull dinner. even after all this i still copuldn’t shrug off the unwanted weird feeling coming from today’s courier package, the girl from my neighboring shop, the card, the figure in the shadows. i just cant seem to get it off my mind. ″whatever″ i say to myself as i go to sleep.
