The Two Skeletons

THE NAUGHTY FLOWER

A

cold wind blew bitterly, chilling the Cemetery as well as the already dead ice-cold Skeletons to their bones. Overhead, dark clouds blotted out the moon from time to time, casting the centuries-old cemetery into inky blackness, yet further, his hollow eyes could see a storm gathering. 

Lightning flashed in the distance and the Skeleton who lived in the cemetery hurried with the chore that brought him out in the middle of the night while his only Skeleton pal who is currently in a centuries-old bungalow, behind the gravestones, snoozed his nights off.

The descending night casts faint shadows of dancing ghouls, spirits, and phantoms onto the estate of the graves. Aggressive gusts of wind ripped through the air, as the storm neared their arena, crying in grief, causing the leaves to flap furiously as if they were bat wings. 

A hoarse raven, perched atop the low stone wall in the distance, croaks fatally, announcing the arrival of darkness before being devoured by the night. 

Silence engulfs the cemetery, coating the frigid air. A dense fog makes its way through the cracks in the gravel path, stubbornly settling onto the contours of the graves. 

Past the gates, a blanket of marble tombstones stands erect, lined up perfectly like a sea of dead. Worshiping them at their feet is a jungle of creepers, climbers, and fallen twigs. 

In time, overgrown and unkempt ivy has caged these headstones in a wreath of glory, as it grows wild, as it has with the others. 

This obsolete ramshackle of somber, dull gray gravestones, so surreal in artwork, looks grim to many eyes except The Two Skeletons who cherish the remaining presence of their spooky mates. Statues of stone angels lay draped on a few graves. Carved to perfection, they are wrapped in clothing with defined wings protruding from their back, the gentle protectors of those asleep forever, seem to come alive as the sky darkens. 

At the far end of the cemetery, the Skeleton with its hands crossed flutter-walks around the wintry darkness of the cemetery as he hurriedly did the dusting off many headstones of their dear friends and beloved family members. 

The immense silence prevailing in the arena made the Skeleton silently stare at the valuable inscriptions, with its hollow eyes crinkling at its edges, slightly glazed over. 

Salty, dusty tears brim over his eyes and spill down the defined ridges of his face, outlining the slightly upturned nose bones, past the mountains above his cupid's bow, disappearing between his lipless mouth.

Suddenly, the crying Skeleton jerks up from his previously crouched position and hurries off into the night to his friend who is napping in his wooden box. As the fog becomes stagnant, the cemetery is asleep.

The translucent light breathed life into the worn, faceless statues of praying children and winged angels. It smoothed away fissures and softened broken edges. In the moonlight, the crooked headstones stood proud, keeping to their duty even as time wore away the messages they bore.

Under the wat­chful gaze of crumbling saints and baby-f­aced cherubs, the Skeleton hurry down a path lined with mausoleums. Eventually, he passes crops of headstones glinting in the moonlight, each engraved with the CliffsNotes version of the dead person's life. 

As he entered a beaten-up cottage house, he was presented with a silence surrounded by dead trees and plants. The windows are dark and filled with shadows that play tricks on many creatures' eyes. On the inside, the bungalow is filled with things like dust, cobwebs, creaking doors, cockroaches, mist, shadows, ripped curtains, ghosts, rats, and rot. 

Their home was shrouded in a pale mist that leaked from its cracked panels and splintered beams. With every cloud of swirling vapor, the Bangalow seemed to be breathing deeply, like a dragon with smoking nostrils. 

Laughing at his silly thought, the Skeleton whispers, 

"Here, my only friend is the dragon sleeping off."

But there is also another living species who is a daily visitor, visits the yard at night and for some reason, the Skeletons never knew that he existed. Neither did the man know that the two living Skeleton Corpses have been sauntering in the twilight in this graveyard for the past centuries. 

Right at that moment, a gasp was heard. With some murmuring alongside.

"Freedom at last?" Gasping for breath, a Skeleton jolted awake, from its deep slumber. The nightmare that had been plaguing him for the past centuries re-played itself. A sheen of sweat coated his skulled forehead, drenching the rug he was covered in.

His hollow eye gazed outside, clumps of rotten leaves clung to the base of the window shell and a few clawed hands scraped out of the dirt and up the wall. A painful feeling drowned him, viewing the same scenario for the past centuries with the same old nightmares. 

The Skeleton who found his friend's miserable state stepped in and crouched beside the wooden bed and slowly caressed his Skull head thereby assuring that someday they are gonna live again.

For the past few centuries, the Two skeleton friends who have lived in the very same neighborhood are bored out of their way to counting each other's rib cages and bones, but their being indistinguishable doesn't help and now they seek a chance to live their life again with no remorse. 

Trued that, a ray of hope in the form of a silhouette passes through the tinted window. After many years they found a living soul wandering around their home. Curiosity wins over, as they slowly trail behind the man of 6 feet height whose head is covered with a cloak and soon find him kneeling in the middle of the cemetery, pulling a knell from his rugged coat. 

With keen devotion, he waters the baby sapling which was a lively feast to Skeleton's dead eyes as the Pot-bellied Man mumbles some lovely words, as he caresses the bright green petals, and walks away with a frown on his facial features as if his day is never better than the portable moment he spent near the baby sapling.

The man in the above picture is the Graveyard's owner who owns a flowering plant and watered it daily for the past couple of years in expectation of getting a lucky flower.

The Skeletons who witnessed the scene got mesmerized by the little sapling and felt a lot better whenever they were around it, so soon in the upcoming days, they both took it as their job to protect and nourish the only plant that looked lively in the graveyard. 

They considered the sole plant as a new add-on member to their family talked their hearts out and whispered their darkest secrets to the plant. 

Like every other day, with the sun coming up with shiny arrows and going down with the moonlight adoring their yard, to everyone's shock, the plant finally blooms a beautiful flower bud in the night. 

Ever so slowly the bud blooms with life with the help of the moonlight. At the time the two skeletons walked nearby for their usual night strolls; and witnessed the beautiful flower bloom.

Astounded by its beauty, among the two, one Skeleton goes to pluck it, and another wishes to touch it. 

The flower that saw their inner debate suddenly shone so brightly with the help of the blue moon's grace and came to life as it beams at the two Skeletons showing its teeth and dimples. 

Without giving the Awe-struck Skeletons any chance to recover the flower bestows a wish to suffice their worry, as the plant grew up hearing their secrets to flee outside with a better life. And so the flower utters the Golden words, that keyword towards their freedom,

"Your wish will come true, only when you two wish to be eternally together with a correlated link, like a cup and saucer"

Saying this the blossom tears into a symmetrical half and goes to the two skeletons, with one for each. The Skeletons smiled so wide that their teeth were presented for the show. Many creatures in the cemetery looked haunted as if in fantasy, seeing their crooked smiles. 

Without any awareness of their surroundings and the fright they've caused, the Two Skeletons danced a happy dance and hurriedly thought of the example, the lucky flower said. And soon their wish becomes true with one Skeleton becoming a Cup and the other Skeleton as a Saucer corresponding to his friend.

At the right moment, the graveyard Man arrives for his usual visits. On seeing the flowerless stem of the plant, his face frowns with sadness but later notices a cup and saucer jumping and rolling around the plant as they pipe in chorus.

Witnessing this absurdity, the Graveyard Man's eye fills with horror, but it soon turns into suspicion yet a confused state of lust and greed to sell the lively possession for his better life settlement. 

Sensing some undivided attention, the two friends cease their rally and gawk at the end of the force that gives them creeps and finds the Graveyard man looking at them like they're the last devouring food of his lifespan. 

Upon being found the two objects ran like they were brimming with hot syrup and their life would be doomed if they halted on their step to their freedom. This running continues with the Man running with his pot belly ahead his way to catch the saucer which rolls along with the cup jumping beside him into the woods. But the man is nearing them more and more with every few jumps and rolls. 

Moving further outside the cemetery, a fresh chill ran anew along their spine. Everywhere they turned, a smoky silence prevailed, yet not so silent that no noise at all spoke to their ever un-steading nerves. Amongst the trees, the wind wisped. A bush rattled against some unknown mountain rocks.

Fearing the worst, the cup thinks that they need a faster mode to escape from the Lusty-eyed man. And soon think of a rabbit, and transform into a cute Bunny. But to the logical contrary, the other friend turns into a predator, a sly fox with baring teeth. 

The woods at night looked haunted. And everything felt huge and nerve-wracking.

With the animal instinct, the rabbit practically runs past woods and dying flowers, hoping upon hope that the sound he hears is just the wind and trying to shake the feeling that his friend is the one hunting after him close on his heels. 

The animals lost track of the pot-bellied-lusty-eyed man, as they were running wild in the woods with ultimate speed. Before the happiness kicks in, reality has planned a bitter truth to dwell on Mr. Rabbit and soon delivers the growls of a hungry predator after him.

The rabbit hops and screams for help. However, the fox chases with bared salivating teeth and later snickers saying that he is kidding and playing all the while. It's not very convincing, yet the Rabbit lets this matter slide away, reasoning about the newfound adaptation they've turned into. 

But the Rabbit's heart was still thumping so fast that he could feel his tiny heart inside him throbbing to jump out from its caged ribs. 

Soon all the running and jumps made them knackered as well as famished. All the trees in the woods stood tall at the periphery of the landscape. Their arms, convoluted and bony, thin out as they grow aimlessly around the trunk. Gnarled branches growing at odd angles, claw outwards, in an attempt to escape. Autumn leaves adorn the skeletal branches cloaking them in bright yellow, vivid orange, and subtle red, the colors fading in the failing twilight. 

The wind continues to blow harshly, and a leaf breaks off its branch, plummeting to its death. 

With slow steps, they claimed a stream that snakes between the tree lines, both the friends in their animal form could jump to the other side with the ability they had, but the forest had created a way across roots like Skeleton bones reach from both sides of the stream, twisting and tangled with one another, interweaving to form an uneven bridge. 

Wary of what may be lurking in the dark water underneath they used the pathway to cross. As they walked across the built-in bridge, on the other side the rabbit could see the heavy storm disappearing in a blaze of soft air. 

But something on this side catches its attention as the rabbit steers out the pass-by. With its sensitive hearing, in the distance, a death knell shrieks a bell.

As the blackening sky darkens even further, the ghostly galleon sails across the dimly lit sky; its iridescent shimmer makes the residence board etched with inscriptions, and glow with the moonlight. In which it is written, 

"A humble board for a night stay"

Wishing the best for the rabbit, the fox remained hidden in the woods while the rabbit with its charms tried to get the attention of the people living in the house.

Soon they found a Cute Little bunny, with innocent eyes, smelling the food with hunger. 

They patted its head and offered a carrot and some fruits. The hungry rabbit started consuming the carrots and saved some for the fox and ran outside towards the woods where the fox was hidden as the sly Fox watched his Rabbit friend bring him his first meal. 

The fox was so hungry that once his nostrils smelled the food he forgot that the humans were watching the hopping bunny. In the midst, the fox heads out from his hiding zone and tries to get the fruit chunks from the rabbit. But his actions were mistaken by the human who shouts and throws some rocks at the fox and runs towards him with their kitchen utensils which looked sharp and scary. 

On instinct, fearing the beatings, the fox soon catches the bunny's neck and runs away. The human cries to let the poor Rabbit go, on the contrary, perched atop a low branch of a tree, a pair of piercing, beady yellow eyes dart from side to side and observe the chaos happening in the woods. 

The solitary owl hoots slowly and quickly almost as if he were preparing to intone a mass, he emerges from the tree and settles onto a mountain rock, wrinkles adorn its face, a river carving, eroding the canyon of the epidermis as it paves the map of skin. 

His many feathers close around his body, a stark gold, turning the slightest of tawny maroon towards their tips. Abandoning the Rock, the mighty bird soars high up into the night sky, silhouetted by the dim fire lights from the house in the distance. His gaze scrutinizes the woods as he glides above. 

The corner of his sharp eyes catches a movement of a few twigs near one of the bushes. The tiny body of a rodent emerges from the shrubs. In a single swoop, the owl dives towards the animal, grasping it in its sharp talons, and sinking them deep into its flesh. 

His beak digs into his squirming meal devouring its red meat, whole. Carelessly, he discards the corpse in his claws into the wild grass, returning to perch on his tree, unfazed, eerily calm. 

He nestles into the trunk, keeping one watchful eye open for more intruders, as the one with canny teeth with a rabbit in its mouth sprints far away from its reach to get entertained in its twilight hours.

After a safe area comes, the rabbit hops out from the fox's hold and confronts the fox by pulling his ear and battle-axing his silky tail for his stupidity to turn out from his hidden place, unsaid knowing very well the consequences of the aftermath. 

Anywho the Rabbit breathed a sigh in defeat knowing so well that he did what he did with no bad intentions. After some

brainstorming sessions the Rabbit explains that they should try to find a better mode to live their life safe and secure and on the contrary let their friendship continue with good results.

Shortly the Rabbit comes up with a plan to turn into the honey in a flower so that his hungry friend can be a honeybee thereby he can satisfy his hunger. Their wish comes to life as the honeybee comes daily and visits his friend Honey who is in a flower, to talk about the events of the day and take a drop of honey from him at the end of the day.

This continues for a long time and the days always seem to be flying by, with no possibility of slowing down. Honey felt difficulty shaking the feeling that time was fleeting, along with his remaining nectar percentage.

Speaking of which, how long can a flower behold its honey and liveliness? And the dreadful day comes, with the flower having only one drop of honey left in itself. When his friend arrives for his usual visits, Honey tells the bee that he has only one drop left inside. 

Before they think of a better alternative, another bee comes to take the very last drop of honey and he'll surely die if it takes it from him. 

The honeybee sees the other bees' intention and wishes to kill it like a butcher for being a threat to his friend. And he becomes a Butcher and his friend turns into a Hen. 

The Rooster Hen happily crocks for escaping from the blink of an eye-to-death situation. But his happiness doesn't last long, as his happy wail is stopped mid-air as the Butcher catches the Rooster by its neck and eyes it with hunger. And soon plucks its hair one by one to later roast it in the fire.

The Rooster screams and wails for help and cries for hurting him. But sadly Mr.Butcher can't understand the animal language and continues peeling his hair off and right that moment the Rooster wishes to bury him Six feet under the ground, so he will know the pain he is going through.

Right at that moment the Butcher takes a rock from the ground and aims to hit his head with the pointy rock. And the Rooster's wish comes true as he turns into a Graveyard Man and turns his friend into a Lifeless Skeleton.

The Graveyard Man later sighs at his friend's miserable state, picks his bones from the ground, digs a 6-foot hole, and buries him inside. And later plants a flowering plant in the yard right over his buried friend's cemetery and waters it daily expecting a flower in remembrance of his friend. 

Like the other Graveyard men, he remembers being in the yard expecting to pluck the flower of his friend.

Moral of the story:

The Naughty Flower which grows up in the cemetery will always remain as a Naughty One, and Cycle the lives of many Greedy people into a permanent life sentence of Misery.