Roses for Company
By: Chelsea Lawton
Bethanne ran down the dark city street frantically. Her damp brown hair fluttered into her jade green eyes. Her heart pounding so loud she could hear it in her ears and feel it in her chest. Beth had never done anything like this before; most people thought she never would. She had always been a kind, caring woman but lately something in her had changed. She had become a woman no one could recognize. But, somehow she could not stop running. Still the newborn she cradled in her arms didn't even stir at the feeling of the frosty air. Bethanne's sweater wasn't shelter enough for the freezing cold infant.
"Gotta find a place." Bethanne kept repeating to herself every few minutes hoping that in some way someone would come to help her.
She continued to run through the night until the distant sun began to rise. She knew her time was limited but she had to find a spot. The perfect spot; the one where no one would notice.
Bethanne continued her frantic run until she came upon a park. She knew this park quite well; Matthew had come to this park often to look up at her apartment window. In a way, she felt, she was meant to find it. It was crowded with empty space and seemed so unwanted. She knew this was the spot.
She crept slowly through the park, afraid the trees may wake up or someone would suddenly intervene. She knew she couldn't just leave the problem alone. She had to find the perfect spot, and then she saw it.
Across the small park was a forgotten flower bed. It was still filled with dirt and had one rose bush sprouting from it. It was kept together with dieing, rotting, damp boards and behind it was a fence.
When she finally reached it she placed the baby on the frost covered ground and began to dig. She brushed away a layer of frost and stuck her petite fingers into the hard earth. She hit roots from the bush several times but she remained focused.
Beth went to the point of not digging any more. Her hands hit such hard earth it was like digging through a brick wall.
"Found the perfect place." She said when she was finished digging. She lifted the infant to her bosom. Speaking in a soft, almost motherly tome she said, "Don't be afraid of the dark, its okay. The roses will keep you company."
She lifted the baby up. She observed her closed eyes, her dry unmoving lips, and her purplish skin tone. She pulled her face to the infant's forehead and kissed her lightly.
Beth lowered the baby into the ground, into the darkness, into the dirt, into the roots of the roses.
"Shh." She soothed her calmly. "The roses will keep you company." She whispered to the child.
She grabbed a handful of dirt and allowed it to fall into the hole. She kept whispering the motherly lines as if talking to her. She knew she couldn't hear her but she thought if she kept talking her condition would change.
After the baby was about half covered Beth's breathing slowed. She could hear the sound of leaves crunching, twigs snapping, and a confused almost depressed sound.
"Beth?" The confused voice asked.
She turned to face the voice she had heard before, "yes Matt, it's me."
"What are you doing out here?"
"Talking to the flowers." She answered standing up and wiping her dirt splotched hands on her blue flowered dress.
"What happened to you? Are you hurt?" He asked staring at her legs. She looked too. She hadn't realized the thin layer of blood lining her legs from her knees up.
"No. I'm fine. I just…there was… a complication."
"Let me take you to the hospital." He suggested sternly.
"No! I have to stay with the roses." She ended with a whisper.
Beth looked down at the shallow grave. The fingers of the infant were still poking through the soil. Matt's eyes followed her gaze and stayed fixed on the little hands.
"What…what have you done?" His eyes still fixed on the fingers.
In short gasping breaths Beth responded, "she was already…I couldn't help…only the roses can look after her now."
Matt was distraught. He ran to the flower bed and pulled the babe from it. He knew it had been too late. There was nothing he could do to save her. There was a way to save Beth in his mind though.
"Beth we have to get out of here."
"I can't just leave her. She has to be buried so the roses can watch her."
Matt was growing impatient. He had to save her from herself. He saw his opportunity as she was leaning over the flower bed finishing the burial. He picked up a well rounded rock and hit her against the back of her head. She bobbed slightly before falling back.
He picked her up and carried her to the nearest hospital. He told them she was mentally unstable. They whisked her away on a gurney up to a "special" room. Matt waited until they had her situated and drugged to see her again.
"How are you feeling?" He asked with a concerned tone.
"It was too late." She cried, tears in her eyes. "I didn't know what to do."
"You mean," Matt paused for a moment, "she was already dead?"
"Yes." She sighed with some relief that Matt understood.
"I'm sorry I had to put you here." He said rubbing her hand strapped down to the gurney.
"I'm fine. I needed the rest…you had a right to do it. I wasn't making any sense back there."
"Would you like to explain to me what you were thinking?"
"I had to get rid of her so she would never have existed."
"Who were you trying to keep her from?" He questioned curiously.
"I wanted to tell you. I guess now would be the time to explain everything. She was yours."