A/N: This is my entry for the Assigned Character Prompt in the Village Square Forum! I've been working on this before I started said prompt idea, and now I had an excuse to finally finish it! Hope you like it!
The day that Lisette learned that flowers had different meanings in different countries was still a vivid one in her mind.
For Lisette Blumenthal, flowers were the most beautiful thing in the world. When she was ten years old, she learned about flower language and how flowers held certain meanings. Crocuses meant cheerfulness. Dandelions represented happiness, even though her mother really hated them for being nothing but weeds. Forget-me-nots were symbols of memories, just like their name. Yellow poppies meant wealth. Bellflowers signified gratitude. But Lisette's favorite was the sunflower, representing passionate love and radiance. It just fit so perfectly, with their yellow petals bright and blinding as they opened themselves to the sun, soaking in its rays and warmth with such passion. They almost looked like suns themselves, if not for their dark brown center.
All flowers had feelings, personalities, voices, and distinct features to her. From their shapes to their colors, even how much water they required. Mother nature was amazing, producing such wonderful gifts for the world. It wasn't until she was ten that she learned about the language of flowers. The fact that they meant different things in different countries and cultures was another thing she had to learn in her life.
However, the way in which she learned that fact wasn't exactly the most pleasant.
It had all started when Lisette was young. One day, a family from a faraway country called Niram came to Westown on business for two months. Just the sight of these new people made Lisette curious to learn more. When they came to the flower shop to meet her parents, the first thing she noticed about them was the mother's clothes. She was dressed in a pretty orange robe, with her hair covered by a rose red cloth. The woman had a sweet, kind face, something her young son, who was about Lisette's age at the time, inherited. The older man was tall, bulky, and had a round beard, dressed in a sharp business suit, like he was the owner of a fancy company.
But it was their son who piqued Lisette's fancy. His dark hair was cut in a perfect bowl cut, the trendiest style as of right now. The boy's shy, dark brown eyes kept flitting from flower to flower as he looked at all the blooms surrounding them in the flower shop. The boy didn't leave his mother's side one bit, as one of his hands kept clutching a part of her orange dress. He was mostly dressed in a blue shirt, beige khaki pants, and deep blue sneakers. Lisette stood behind the counter, watching them from her hiding spot in awe. Visitors in Westown were rare, especially visitors from different countries.
"Lisette!" Her mother called suddenly. "Lisette! Won't you come and introduce yourself? The Kalmatis want to meet you!"
Shyly, Lisette walked out from behind the counter and curtseyed to the new family. "Hello. I'm Lisette."
The father was Javed. The mother was Noor. Their son was named Raj. Javed scratched his beard as he observed Lisette, smiling. "My, what a polite little girl you have."
"She might make a good playmate for our Raj here," Noor suggested. "Raj? Say hi to Lisette."
Just as timidly, Raj muttered a hello, simply waving his hand back and forth. Lisette didn't mind. She simply flashed a patient smile at him, already finding herself liking him. Maybe he could be a potential new friend. Pleased with the notion, she held her hand out to him, hoping the gesture would tell him that she wasn't anyone to be scared of.
"Do you want to play?" Lisette asked, keeping her voice low. She could tell Raj looked a little cowed by everything around him, what with the way he kept fearfully flitting his gaze from flower to flower. "I have some board games upstairs we can play."
Eventually, his shoulders relaxed, as did his posture and his face. Raj took in Lisette's presence, smiled, and slipped a hand into hers. "I'd like that a lot. Thanks."
It worked! She made a new friend! Her blue green eyes glimmering with joy, Lisette took Raj up to her room before bringing out one of her favorite board games. They sat down on the floor and played one game that involved rolling a lot of dice and going to a castle instead of on top of eels. All throughout that time, Lisette kept asking Raj questions about everything under the sun, from his mother's clothes to what Niram was like. She really wanted to know. She had never heard of Niram before.
"Why does your mother wear that cloth on her head? It's really pretty."
"It's called a hijab," Raj explained as he rolled the dice on the board game they had set up. The dice clattered as they rolled across the board, then coming to a stop. The two dice both displayed one dot on the topmost side. "Mom says lotsa girls wear them. She says it's part of our religion," Raj continued meekly, taking a plastic figure and tapping it across two blocks on the board. "I don't know why, though."
Lisette found herself lost in thought. A hijab...she wondered if maybe she could wear one. Raj's mother made it look so fashionable, and when Lisette tried covering her head with a cloth once when she was six, her parents told her to take it off. Covering her beautiful hair didn't suit her, her parents had told her way back when. There was no need for her to hide it, and it made her look ridiculous. If Raj's mother could pull it off, why couldn't she? But she knew if she tried to do something like that at school, her teachers would tell her it was against the rules. Hats, cloths, and other headgear were not allowed to be worn inside school. Silently, Lisette continued their game, along with her endless supply of questions for Raj.
"What does your dad do for work?"
"He's an...interpreter, I think. He talks to people who talk in different languages."
"And your mom?"
"She's a writer. She writes books. But they're mostly smart people books. Mom says I can't read them until I'm older."
"I read a lot of books, too!" Lisette exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "I'd love to show you some of my favorites when we're done!"
She could see a nervous smile spread across his face. He didn't look up at her, but it was easy to see that he seemed happy at the idea of seeing Lisette's books. Which was good, since Lisette had a lot that she wanted to show him. But they did need to finish their game first, and she still had a lot of questions for him. "Did you ride on an airplane?"
Raj didn't answer right away. Again, he rolled the dice, watching as they bounced on the board. "...Yeah. I puked when we took off."
Lisette winced, watching as Raj moved his plastic figure across an eel. Air sickness was definitely not fun. Granted, she had never been on an airplane before, though she did remember one time she got sick while on a long car ride to her grandmother's house. They were too far away from any rest stops, so she had to puke right out the car window. Lisette shook her head. She could already smell the vomit from back then. Not wanting to think about it too much, mostly for Raj's sake, she changed the subject.
"How far is Niram from here?"
"I dunno. I'll have to ask Mom or Dad. Hey!" Suddenly, Raj's eyes widened, looking like saucers. "You made it to the castle!"
Both kids looked down at the game board. Lisette's plastic figurine was right in the far left corner of the board, sitting on top of a picture of a gray castle. Raj was right. Lisette had won the game! The girl clasped her hands together in delight, her blonde curls bouncing as she rejoiced in her victory. Even Raj couldn't help but smile in her direction.
"I really did win! Golly!" Lisette cheered for a brief moment. "Sorry you didn't win. But we can play again later if you want," She reassured him before gathering the pieces and folding the game board up. "Would you like to read some of my books? I have some good ones that I think you'll really like!"
For the rest of the day, Lisette and Raj didn't do much except play together. Reading books, watching cartoons on TV, sharing stories from the past, Lisette telling him about the flowers in the store...Lisette couldn't believe she had found a new friend so easily. Inside, her insides were doing backflips and her heart was aflutter from the abundant joy overwhelming her. Today was the best day ever! She couldn't wait to play with him some more.
The next two weeks were full of fun and merriment. Every day, Raj would come to the flower shop and visit Lisette, and the kids would spend their days playing together. With every trip to Westown he made, Raj would smile more, and his expressions would turn more radiant and joyful. Lisette could tell from the way his eyes would sparkle with that lively gleam, the way his voice would rise in volume, and how his body language seemed less closed in this time around. He really seemed to enjoy her company! Lisette couldn't believe her luck. She had made a new friend!
One day, Lisette and Raj were at the kitchen table, eagerly awaiting their lunch. "Alright, kids. Eat up," Lisette's mother placed two plates down on the table, one for Lisette and one for Raj. Both plates had what appeared to be a yellow pie sitting on them. Lisette beamed, clasping her hands together, her legs kicking up and down underneath the table. On the other hand, Raj simply raised a quizzical eyebrow in the pie's direction. His nose caught the distinct whiff of eggs, and he poked the yellow section with his index finger. The yellow stuff was warm to the touch, but he could also see some green and red spots.
"What is this stuff?" Raj asked curiously.
"This is called quiche!" Lisette explained, already taking her fork and slicing off a piece. "It's my most favorite food ever!" Shortly afterward, Lisette happily chowed down on her portion, savoring every bite.
Raj took his fork, took off a small piece, and put it in his mouth. When Lisette finished eating, she found this to be a good time to explain what quiche was made of. "If you're wondering what's in it, the yellow stuff is the eggs and the cheese. The green stuff is the spinach, and the red stuff is pumpkin!"
Her jovial expression suddenly faded as she saw Raj wincing, like someone had punched him in the stomach. Did he not like it? Raj kept frowning as he swallowed his portion of quiche, and he looked at the pie in front of him with a disgusted expression, like he saw a dog poop in front of him. Without a word, Raj used his hand to slowly push the plate away.
"What's wrong? You don't like it?" Lisette asked, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Sorry, but...yeah," Raj confessed reluctantly. "It feels a bit like I'm eating paste."
So he really didn't like it. Lisette could tell Raj was forcing himself to swallow it. Her heart ached. She had always wanted to share her love of her favorite food with others. But she knew people had different tastes, and what tasted good to her likely didn't for others. Just because she liked quiche didn't mean everyone else would.
"I understand," Lisette reassured him comfortingly. "If you want, I can eat the rest of it. We have some pudding and crackers and plenty of other things if you'd like something else."
Raj flashed a grateful grin in her direction. If he didn't like quiche, why force it? The Blumenthal household had plenty of other things he could eat. She was sure she'd find something he'd like. Sure enough, Raj definitely liked the pudding her mother had made the day before, and the kids spent the rest of the day playing near the river further south. The rush of water echoed on the Westown air, its melody unmatched even by the rustling of the trees and the mooing of the cows, the theme song of nature. Raj and Lisette sat on the grass, talking amongst themselves, listening as the chorus of the river ambling along filled the air.
"What are those pink flowers over there?" Raj asked, pointing to a small clump of flowers near the dirt road. "They kind of look like candy sticks."
"Those?" Lisette squinted, leaning over to get a better look. "Oh! Those are pink lupines. They're lovely little flowers."
Raj nodded in agreement. They were lovely. An abundance of tiny, dainty flowers, as small as his pinkie fingernail, clustered together into a long cylinder, almost as long as a hot dog.
"I've been doing research on the language of flowers lately," Lisette continued on. "Apparently, flowers have been interpreted as having assigned meanings, and if you present a flower to someone, you're communicating something to them. I've read that lupines represent the power of one's imagination."
It was then that Raj perked up a bit, suddenly swerving his head toward Lisette. "Language of flowers? Niram has that, too."
"Really?! Wonderful!" Lisette beamed. She had no idea other countries had their own languages of flowers. In her glee, she made a mental note to do more research on the topic later.
But just as quickly, Raj's brief smile turned into a frown. It wasn't the same pained, disgusted frown he had earlier from trying to eat quiche. Nevertheless, Lisette could tell something was bothering Raj. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
The boy brushed some dirt off his pants. "Yeah. My dad says we're gonna go back to Niram in about a week," Raj confessed, his voice small and sorrowful. "His job here is almost done."
Immediately, Lisette's heart fell to the pit of her stomach. Raj was leaving? Going back to Niram? Already? It wasn't long ago that they first met and become friends. Now they were going to be separated, and just as quickly as they met? Any joy Lisette had in her little heart was destroyed. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her blue green eyes were turning glassy, almost moist with incoming tears. But knowing that Raj didn't want this to happen, she held back and simply wiped one of her eyes.
"Awww. That stinks," Lisette bemoaned the sudden revelation. "I hoped we could play some more."
"I know," Raj agreed, taking a small rock and throwing it into the river, watching it make a splash as it sunk into the water. "I asked Dad if we could stay longer, but he says we can't. Sorry."
Sorry? Lisette found herself completely flabbergasted. Why was Raj apologizing for something that wasn't his fault? It wasn't like he wanted this to happen. Lisette balled her little fists and told him, "Don't apologize. It was going to happen sooner or later, and I'm glad you at least tried."
In the back of her mind, Lisette had seen this coming. Her mother said that Raj's family was only here in Westown on business, nothing more. Of course Raj was going to leave. Still, that didn't make having to say goodbye to her new friend any easier. Even so, the kids tried to make the most of what little time they had left. They played near the river until it was time to go back home.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Lisette."
"See ya, Raj!" Watching him disappear into the crossroads, Lisette could feel her soul aching. Raj wasn't going to be here for much longer. She wanted to do something for him. What could she do?
All throughout dinner time, Lisette's mind was focused only on Raj. To be more specific, giving or making him something that he'd always keep with him forever. Maybe she could buy him a gift at the store, something only from Westown. A stuffed animal? What animals did he like? Nothing came to mind. Lisette scolded herself for never having asked that kind of question. Or maybe a board game would work. No, that wouldn't work. Board games usually required having two people play, and Raj didn't have any siblings he could play with. Nothing she came up with seemed plausible. Would giving him one of her old dolls work? The more she thought about it, the less she liked the idea. Raj didn't seem like the type who liked dress-up dolls, so that was a no-go.
When Lisette finished dinner, she went back to her room, continuing to agonize over what to give him. It had to be something special. She noticed some paper and crayons scattered on the floor from earlier. Some of them rolled off the carpet and onto her wooden floor.
"Whoops! How did I forget to clean this up?" Lisette quickly ran over to the mess, gathering the crayons and sliding them back into the box.
Crayons and paper…
A light bulb flashed in Lisette's mind, brighter than the sunset. That's it! Lisette held the box of crayons in her hand tightly. She could draw a picture! She could draw herself and Raj playing in a field of flowers. Now that was something she could do for him. True, she wasn't exactly an artist, and most girls she knew in school made better drawings than she could ever do, but it was better than nothing. In that moment, Lisette put the paper and crayons on her desk, sat down, pulled out a green crayon and immediately got started.
Her arms and hands were at work, with a goal in mind, not intent on stopping anytime soon. Lisette kept her eyes solely on her paper, making sure her new drawing would come out just right. Crayon residue dotted the paper as colorful lines and circles marked the white surfaces. Not even the ticking of her clock or the sound of her father's boots drumming against the floor beneath her could pull her out of the mysterious trance she was in. It didn't take long before her drawing slowly took shape, with the bottom half of the paper turning into a wobbly, colorful garden of flowers in abundance, a rainbow against the pure white. Then, a blonde girl in a pink dress standing next to a little boy appeared as well.
Lisette and Raj. Both had big smiles on their circular faces.
Finally, once her wrist began to hurt, Lisette stood up and cheered, holding the paper in the air. "There! Done and done! It's finished!" Lisette announced to nobody in particular. She had finished her drawing.
Of course, she had another thing in mind she wanted to give to Raj. She walked downstairs, drawing in hand, examining all the flowers that filled the store. Pink and yellow chrysanthemums, abounding in their tiny, delicate petals but brimming with beauty. Yellow daffodils, bright like little suns. Tall, wild larkspur, their vivid pinks, purples, and whites a splash of color in the store, though a little too tall for Lisette's liking. How could Raj carry something big like that? Intense, deep orange marigolds, bursting with cheer, round like a little sun. No, that was a no-go. Marigolds were pretty, but Lisette found out that marigold in flower language represented cruelty and jealousy. There was no way she was going to make Raj feel that way.
"Isn't there any flower I can give him?" She wondered aloud. Then she saw a small vase full of yellow roses on the desk nearby. Yellow roses, fresh in bloom, bright but not too bright, their dainty petals soft and filmy in her hands. Lisette smiled to herself. In the language of flowers, yellow roses represent friendship and joy.
Friendship and joy...Raj was her friend, and he brought her joy. Lisette was sure she did the same with him.
Very slowly, she pulled a yellow rose out from the vase, taking care not to prick her fingers on the thorns. "This'll be perfect!" She said to herself, proud that she found something she could give him. Now her gift was complete.
"Lisette!" Her mother called from the kitchen. "It's time for you to take a bath!"
"Okay!" Her heart fluttered with glee as she put her drawing and the yellow rose on the desk before running upstairs to take a bath. She couldn't wait for Raj to visit tomorrow. He was going to love her goodbye gift!
At least, she thought he would.
Lisette stood outside the store, looking out toward all of Westown. Since her house was so high up, high on a cliff, she could see the entire town from where she was. But Raj was nowhere in sight. Where was he? Lisette watched as some of the vendors from the next town over began setting up their stalls. Cows and sheep were herded toward Samantha's stall in particular. Livestock to be sold to farmers who would make good use of them. She held her drawing tightly in her hands, but not tight enough to crumple it up, or else it would look bad.
"He'll be here," Lisette's mother poked her head out from the entrance. "Waiting around isn't going to make him arrive any faster. It's like the saying goes, a watched pot never boils," Her mother advised. "If you want, you can help me set up shop. How's that?"
Her mother was right. Waiting wasn't going to make Raj just magically teleport here. Sighing in defeat, Lisette turned around and went back inside. Perhaps setting up shop would help.
"Okay."
Her mother's words reassured her, and she got right to putting flowers in the vases. Other than the rustling of flower petals and the light clattering of the vases against the countertops, there was a comfortable silence. Customers weren't supposed to come in yet, so they didn't need to rush to get things done, which was fine with her. Lisette focused on putting the irises into the vases. Irises were in season now, and her mother was sure they'd make a mint if sold right now. Lisette stuffed irises in every vase she could find, putting them up against the windows so passing customers could marvel in their beauty.
"That'll be good," Lisette said to herself, adjusting one iris to make sure it stood up properly. "I hope someone comes by to buy some."
Just as she said that, she happened to see a familiar head of black hair underneath a white turban, along with a tall, willowy woman in a hijab. The bell above the door chimed a lively melody as Raj ran through the door, accompanied by his parents.
"Hi, Lisette!" Raj greeted her instantly, beaming.
Finally! Lisette stopped what she was doing and approached him right away. "Hi, Raj!" She greeted him right away, along with quickly greeting his parents, who flashed gentle smiles in her direction. "I made something for you!" Unable to wait any longer, Lisette rushed over to the counter, grabbed her drawing, and handed it right to Raj. "I drew this for you!" She told him, her voice almost bordering on a high pitched squeal. But she made sure to keep it somewhat subdued, mostly since his parents were here.
Raj took the drawing into his hands, examining it closely. Lisette squeezed her hands together, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Did he like it? It didn't take long for a smile to spread across Raj's face.
"I love it!" Raj replied, his cheeks turning red with delight. "Thanks, Lisette!"
"And that's not all!" Lisette's heart was soaring. She wanted to just fly into the sky like a balloon, riding on the winds of happiness. But she knew she had to give him that flower, too. She ran over to get the yellow rose and placed it in his hand, one that wasn't holding the drawing. "I picked this out for you, too!"
Lisette expected him to cry out in happiness and tell her she was the best friend he ever had. She pictured it in her mind, and just thinking about it filled her with joy. Raj's smile made her smile, and she was sure they would be best friends forever. But when she opened her eyes, she saw Raj with...a frown? What? Lisette looked closer. Raj kept staring down at the yellow rose in his hand, his eyes shrinking and shrinking, until they were as wide as saucers. Wide with a combination of surprise and...alarm? This wasn't right. It just couldn't be. Even more shocking, Raj's mother was covering her mouth with her hands, looking quite shocked, like she saw someone insult her son.
This didn't make sense. "What's wrong, Raj? Did I do something bad?" Lisette asked. Nothing was making any sense. Her head was starting to spin.
It didn't take long for tears to suddenly spring out from Raj's eyes. Then, suddenly, he threw the yellow rose straight to the floor, some of its petals breaking right off and scattering onto the floor. Raj's face twisted in sorrow and disgust, his wet eyes glaring right into her.
"How could you do this to me?!" Raj suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs. Lisette nearly fell over. Why was he screaming? What was he talking about? Why was he sad? "I thought you were my friend!"
"I am your-!" Lisette attempted to contradict him, but Raj didn't give her the chance to say anything. The teary-eyed, heartbroken boy bolted out the door in tears, like he couldn't get out of there fast enough, leaving his surprised parents in the store.
Just like that, he was gone. So was any of the joy and happiness that Lisette had in her little heart. What happened? Everything was spinning all around her. Any sound she heard turned into white noise, even Raj's parents suddenly screaming in their native tongue and her parents trying to talk to them. This was wrong. Everything was all wrong. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Why was Raj sad and angry? He looked so pained and betrayed. But what had she done? She couldn't understand. This was too strange. People always loved receiving flowers. She had seen the way all of the customers' faces lit up when they received flowers and bouquets, whether from her parents or their loved ones. Why didn't Raj like the flower? He threw it to the ground like he thought she had given him dog poop.
Why?
"Lisette, dear? Are you okay?" Her father asked, his deep voice low with concern.
No, she wasn't. She wasn't okay. Nothing was.
"I...I...I'm sorry...I didn't mean anything bad…" Any words she tried to choke out escaped her in this situation. Unable to take it anymore, Lisette ran from the store lobby, racing right up to her room. This wasn't supposed to happen. Nothing was making any sense.
All she could do now was bury her face in her pillow and cry. As far as she knew, her friendship with Raj was ruined. But how? She had no idea.
She didn't know how long she stayed in her room crying into her pillows. The little girl was vaguely aware of the wet, sticky tear stains she left on her pillow. At this point, she didn't care about anything. She just wanted to know why Raj reacted the way he did. What happened? She barely paid much attention to the light knocks on her door.
"Lisette? It's me," Her father told her. "Can I come in?"
No answer. But she could hear the squeak of her door opening up, and something weighing the foot of the bed down. Her nose picked up the scent of her father's cologne. The warmth of sunflowers.
"So...I saw a little bit of what happened earlier," Her father said, his voice calm and sympathetic.
This was enough for Lisette to pull herself out of bed. "I don't get it!" She cried, her messy pigtails whirling around wildly with every movement she made. "Why did Raj get mad when I gave him the rose?! Don't people usually love flowers?!" Now her hoarse voice was almost hysterical. "Did I do something wrong?! I don't get it!"
Her father frowned, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I talked to the Kalmatis outside a little afterward," He explained calmly. "There was a bit of a misunderstanding. Do you...know about the language of flowers?"
Language of flowers? "Yes, I do," What did that have to do with Raj? "I looked it up the other day. You and Mom taught me a little bit about it recently. I picked a yellow rose for him. It means friendship. I was trying to tell him we'd be best friends forever."
"We did, yes," Her father nodded in agreement. "That's true. Flowers have many different meanings. But different countries assign different meanings to them as well. Here in our country, yellow roses represent friendship. Niram has their own language of flowers, but…" His voice lowered, turning almost solemn. "To the people of Niram, if you give someone a yellow rose, it means you hate them and wish for them to die. Yellow roses represent hatred and death to Niram."
Hatred? Death? Yellow roses? Lisette stood straight up. Niram had their own language of flowers, and that was what yellow roses meant to them? No wonder Raj looked so distraught when he saw the yellow rose. He probably thought Lisette was telling him that she hated him and wanted him to die. She had no idea that the yellow rose would mean something totally different for Raj and his family.
"WHAT?!" Lisette didn't have it in her to use her indoor voice. Now things were starting to make sense! But knowing what happened didn't alleviate her sorrow one bit. "Raj thinks I hate him just because I gave him a yellow rose?! That's not true! It isn't!" Lisette cried. "I...I had no idea! I was trying to tell him we would be best friends forever! I wasn't...trying to say something bad to him...I really wasn't…!"
It was too much. Just too much. Lisette buried her face into her tiny hands, succumbing to a new fit of frantic crying. Now she understood. It was all just a misunderstanding. But now she might have completely ruined her friendship with Raj, and she worked so hard to maintain it! How did this happen? Lisette couldn't believe this was happening. Her wails didn't subside, even as her father rubbed her back as gently as he could.
"I know, Lisette. I know you were just trying to be nice," Her father reassured. "I know you didn't mean anything bad by it. I did explain things to his parents, but Javed was so irate, he wouldn't have any of it."
Lisette balled her hands into fists. No. She couldn't let things end like this. She didn't want Raj to spend his life thinking the one friend he made here hated him, and all because of a flower, at that! She had to make things right. He was going to leave soon. They could still be friends! Lisette finally stopped crying, wiping her face with her sleeve.
"Dad! Can I go see him?! I want to apologize to Raj and explain things to him!" She pulled on her father's sleeve frantically. "Can we go?! Please! I can't let our friendship end like this! I want him to know for sure that I don't hate him, and I never will!"
Without a word, her father took her over to the car. But not before Lisette took a piece of paper and a pen with her. This was her chance to make amends with him! From what her father had heard, their house was only about ten minutes away, and easy to get to by car, so the drive wouldn't take very long. During that time, Lisette wrote a letter. One she would put in Raj's mailbox and hope he'd read, should he wind up not being at home.
Raj,
I'm sorry about today. I just learned what the yellow rose means to Niram, and I had no idea it meant hatred and death. I don't hate you at all. I never have, and I never will. Here in our country, the yellow rose means friendship, and I wanted to tell you that we would be best friends forever. Please don't be mad. I'd love for us to keep being friends, and I really did enjoy the time we spent together! I hope what happened today doesn't change what we have. Here's my address and phone number, if you ever want to call or send letters back. I hope we can still be friends!
Lisette Blumenthal
They made it to the Kalmati house, and Lisette knocked on the door. No one answered. Not wanting to push the issue, Lisette simply slipped the paper in the mail slot in their door and returned to the car, her heart heavy with guilt.
"Do you think he'll read it, Dad?" Lisette asked.
"I'm sure he will."
As much as Lisette wanted to believe her dad, she had her doubts. Raj didn't reply back. The Kalmati family left the country soon after, and there was still no reply. There wouldn't be any, not for a long time. Lisette cried in her hands, overcome with guilt. She had ruined her friendship with Raj, and now it might never be salvaged.
"I'm sorry, Raj. I'm so sorry…" Lisette cried the entire drive home.
More than a decade had passed. Lisette, now twenty-two, hummed a merry tune to herself as she set up shop, setting some sunflower seeds out on the kiosks in the store. The Westown air was warm with the sun's heat, and she made sure any flowers she set out didn't get exposed to too much sun, or else they would wilt. Westown summers were always very hot and toasty. Good thing Thousand Bouquets had central air conditioning, and the inside of the building was as cool and refreshing as a light rain. Lisette then sat down to cut some of the stems off of a bouquet she had finished working on.
"I wonder when the next shipment of morning glories will come in?" Lisette wondered aloud, listening to the rhythm of her scissors cutting the stems. The tiny green shoots scattered onto the counter, with some rolling right into each other. "I'd like to start planting some pretty purple ones. Or maybe the red ones."
As Lisette pulled out some wrapping paper, the bell above the door gave a light jingle. "Top of the mornin' to ya, Lisette!" She looked up, hearing her name, and saw a blonde man walk into the store, looking quite merry. The man tipped his brown cowboy hat upon seeing her, and she stood up from the counter, taking in his perpetually baggy blue clothes.
"Good morning, Wayne!" Lisette greeted him warmly. "Goodness, it sure is hot today."
"I think it's quite a fine day myself," Wayne chortled, stifling his laugh with one hand. "But no sunshine in the world can compare to a beauty like you."
Lisette smiled in his direction. "Gosh, Wayne. You're always flingin' compliments everywhere."
Wayne winked. "I'm always up for brightening up someone's day. Oh!" He rummaged through his satcher and pulled out a pack of letters. "Here's yer mail for today. Have a good one!"
"Thanks! You too!" Lisette waved as she watched the mailman leave the store, flashing yet another wink in her direction. She wondered if he was expecting her to go out with him sometime. She always did appreciate his companionship and compliments, but she wasn't sure if he was her type. There was plenty of time to think about romance and dating, and now wasn't the time.
Today's mail wasn't going to be different from every other day, Lisette had told herself, sorting through the mail. "Bill...bill...junk mail...junk mail...bill...survey...hm?" One letter caught her eye. It was a light purple letter, and it didn't look as professional as the other mail in her hand. It was addressed to her, and the addresses were all hand written. But it was who and where the letter was from that made her heart stop.
"What…?"
The sender was Raj Kalmati.
"Raj!" Lisette howled as she ripped the letter open, practically yanking the letter out of the envelope. It was Raj! It really was Raj! It had been so long since she had heard from him! Her heart close to bursting, she opened the letter, reading it from the very first sentence to the last.
It was the best mail she had ever received. Tears trickled down her cheeks, melting onto the floor. But Lisette's heart was soaring, in full bloom like the Garden of Eden. She held the letter to her chest, like it was more important than any treasure she could ever hope to find.
"Oh, Raj...thank you…"
Right now, Lisette was the happiest woman on Earth, even happier than the yellow roses soaking up sunlight near the entrance.
A/N: Alrighty, my piece for the prompt is finally done! For clarification, Raj and his family are, indeed, Muslim, and Niram is Iran, just with the letters switched around and with an M in it. This is my first time writing about Middle Eastern people, and I honestly hope they don't come off as stereotypical in any way. If I wrote something wrong, don't hesitate to let me know or offer suggestions on how I can rectify it! The stuff about the language of flowers is real, though I made up Niram's language of flowers. I wanted to try and explore the idea of two different countries having their own language of flowers, how flowers can have different meanings in each country, and how not knowing certain things can cause genuine misunderstandings.