Leena remembered when she and her grandmother would go outside and pick flowers to dry. There were so many flowers in the meadow near her house, just behind the barn. They would pick all kinds of colorful flowers: small blue flowers like tiny stars, large yellow flowers with rounded black and brown middles, and pink fluttery flowers with petals that easily bruised. Leena’s favorite was the flower that had bright orange petals clustered in concentric circles. The color seemed to shimmer and glitter in the sunlight and stuck out brightly among the greens, blues, pinks, and even yellows of the other flowers. It was so big and gave off a lovely scent. It tended to bloom in late summer and died in the late fall, petals falling with all the leaves on the trees.

Affectionate Grandmother smiled at the lofty choice and decorated Leena’s small room with them while she was out one day to play. Leena, delighted at the gesture, asked her grandmother what her favorite flower was. Surely if Grandmother was doing all these things for her, why couldn’t Leena do something for her?

“Hmm,” her grandmother mused, “I like all of them, but I think the best flower is the one in front of me.”

“I want to do something for you, though, Grandmother!”

“Hmm…” Grandmother stared at her, pursing her lips together briefly, “Love requires no repayment. Can you remember that for me?” Leena twisted her mouth a bit.

“Love requires no repayment?”

“None at all. And if you want to do something for me,” Grandmother continued, “You can help me make dinner downstairs. I can always use another helper.”

“Grandmother, I don’t want to repay you. I just wanted to do something nice for you.” Leena felt like her Grandmother was making a bigger deal out of her question than she needed to.

Grandmother sighed, “Not everything is as it seems. Leena, I’d rather have someone help me than give me flowers. Isn’t it better to give people what they want?”

“I think it’s better to accept gifts with good intentions,” Leena frowned. Grandmother’s face broke into a smile.

“Another thing to remember,” Grandmother said, grinning, “Gifts have meaning, and meanings should not be discarded so easily.”

Leena remembered this, suddenly and vividly, as if she was there with her Grandmother in her room, with all the orange flowers tucked in neatly at the corners of the curtains and in vases on her nightstand and dresser. A wreath was draped over her door frame as if her door was a fiery portal. And her grandmother stood, smiling, smelling of flowers, savory chicken, and warm earth. Even the air was hot, such a distinct difference between the unrelenting cold that had swept the land.

“Grandmother…” Leena spoke, leaving the vision behind, “I’m sorry…I forgot.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Back on the balcony, the wind settled down, gently blowing over her with a cleansing freshness. The bad smell was no longer an issue, and the corpse of the dead lover seemed to disintegrate slowly in the breeze. It was still dark, but the sun had slowly started its ascent into the sky.

She took out the shell in her pocket, holding the bit of warmth against her cold fingers. Was it glowing? Maybe it was just the low light against the light pink. The shell rested on her palm as she took a little time to contemplate her situation, resting against the metal balcony railing.

Leena went back inside, took her time going down the stairs, and crawled into the bed. She felt the coolness of the bed grow warm with her body heat, and, for the first time in a long time, she felt safe.

She heard water running.

She kept her eyes closed.

The bed was still so warm.

Something touched the edges of her.

She shut her eyes tightly, clutching the blanket over her ears.

She breathed in a mouth full of water.

Coughing, Leena shot up in the bed, gagging and sputtering. Water was soaking through her clothes, rising up over the bed. She groaned, holding her hands to her face.

“Not again. Not again,” she murmured, rubbing her eyes. The water was flowing in through the windows, through the cracks of the lighthouse, through the door. Leena felt the water seep into her clothes, making her heavy.

“Why can’t I just have a moment of peace?” she asked aloud, “Every night. Something happens. And it’s always the same. The same water, the same drowning death. I’m tired.” She sighed, splashing the water gently with her fingers.

“Let’s get it over with,” she said, the water now up to her waist. She pushed herself off of the bed; her toes didn’t touch the floor. Leena let herself sink.

And she felt them, the vines, the weeds, the hands that pull her down, down, down, down….

“Leena! Are you okay? Are you okay?” Leena was wide awake now, but the warmth of the blanket around her made her resist moving.

“Mrmmm…” she muttered, hoping the person would go away.

“She’s talking,” said someone different, “Just leave her alone. She looks fine.”

“Are you kidding? Do you know what’s up there? Does she know what’s up there? How is she sleeping?”

“What do you mean? She’s tired. So, she’s sleeping. Just leave her be. We aren’t in a rush.”

“In this place? It’s not safe.”

“It’s never safe, Bo. We have a long way to go, so let’s let her rest while we can.” Bo sighed. Leena heard some clacking and footsteps.

Another sigh.

She relaxed, listening to the sighing and pacing.

“Es, can you do something about the bodies upstairs?”

“Ehhhh…I think it is best just to leave them. We won’t be back here, anyway.”

“It’s wrong.”

“Fine. When we leave, I’ll burn the place down. Everyone gets cremated. That sound good?”

“Whatever.”

More footsteps. More sighing.

“If you’re gonna be like this, you might as well go back to town, talk to Ingrid, get the boat all ready to go.”

“I don’t want to leave her.”

Silence.

“You already did.”

“Don’t be an asshole and bring that up.”

“I’m saying that you going isn’t going to scar her for life. Just go get it done. When she wakes up, I’ll bring her over.”

Pacing and silence.

“She’s okay?” Bo asked.

“Yeah, she’s okay. Just sleeping.”

“Okay…just…she…she has nightmares, so…”

“Yeah, I know. We’ll try to take care of that when we’re back.”

Silence.

“Okay. I’ll start getting things ready so we can leave tomorrow. I’ll see you later.”

“See ya.”

Footsteps faded out. The door opened and closed. Leena listened to some muttering and shifting of fabric.

“Leena, you can get up or rest as you like,” said the other person, ‘Es,’ “I’ll wait for you right here. I’m glad I can finally see you.”

Leena peeped one eye open, looking at a young man who was staring intently at her. His mouth broke into a grin.

“I’m Esire.”