Flowers and Kit Kats

Travis

I hate writers block. I'm done with everything. So this will not pertain to the actual story, it's just kind of like a vent/short story to help get rid of the block. You can chose to ignore this I don't really care. Contest counts for this chapter too but I doubt you can do it. Bonus points for turning this emotional mess into humor.

I ground my teeth and stared at the floor. There was nothing for me to do. Nothing for me to distract myself from her absence. Nothing to fill the empty house with sound. I picked up a book and immediately slammed it down after remembering that I didn't like books. I turned on the television but all I got was static. I hadn't been paying the bill for that. I walked into the garage to find anything that would occupy my mind.

I opened a drawer and started digging through it. I pulled out a packet of lily seeds and decided I could plant those. I pulled out supplies and brought them to the front of the house where I knew we had a garden from when she was still here. My mind suddenly betrayed me upon seeing the corner of the small picket fence. I crashed to the ground with the pain of the memory. I saw her face lighting up when I had dragged her from our bedroom to show her my hard work. A single hot tear rolled down my face and I wiped it away roughly. I felt something lift my chin like her gentle hand caressing my face. I opened my eyes and nothing was there.

I cleared my throat and recollected the tools that were now strewn across the yard. As I picked up the trowel, I saw something scratched into the handle. "KG". I felt another tear dash across my face. I dropped the trowel. I could do without it. I grabbed everything else, careful not to inspect them too closely in case another memory tried to resurface. I opened the little gate and looked away from the ground. Everything in my arms was on the ground again as I stared at the mess the garden had become.

I fell to my knees and my hands covered my face as another painful memory escaped from it's dark corner. The hours she slaved away in this garden were countless. She came in after dark mud covered and tired. I would curl up with her on the sofa after she had showered. Her hair smelt like fresh flowers. Even on our anniversary she had insisted that she work on her garden. She would cook vegetables and I would actually eat them.

My eyes flew open. I had been sucker punched. I couldn't breath. I scrubbed at my watery eyes and crawled towards the side of the house. I leaned against the pale yellow siding and squeezed my head between my knees pulling at the wild overgrown grass on either side of me. My fingers were frantically pulling at the dirt and I felt a chain wrap itself around my fingers. I didn't even have to look to know that it was the small chain she used to wear her wedding ring on.

My rough sore voice let out a roar and my hand closed in a fist around the thing that used to bind our lives. It had fallen off and she had almost torn apart the garden before I managed to calm her. She had been a mess as I was now. I felt something stir beside me and a hand was placed on my back. I lifted my head and turned to see nothing. The wind whistled in my ear but I could have sworn it told me not to be an idiot. I followed the side of the house digging my knees into the rough dirt.

I struggled through the thick patches of weeds until I fell into a clearing of sorts. Up against the house was a stone. I didn't dare read the name engraved on the stone. I looked at the area surrounding me. The plants had grown all around the garden except for on this little rectangle. And as if to pay respects to the dead. A single tulip grew in front of the gravestone. My damp eyes wandered around the area and then betrayed me by landing on the one thing the had yet to examine. The letters swam in my tear my eyes as if to laugh at me. My traitorous hand reached out to touch the engraving. I felt along each word.

The beautiful blossom that never had the chance to fully bloom
Katie Gardener
Lost in combat MIA

A sob shook my body and I curled into a ball. The tears wouldn't stop. I couldn't stop them. I didn't want to stop them. I heard a car pull into the driveway and I stayed where I was. I heard the doors slam and I stayed where I was. I heard my doorbell ring a thousand times and I stayed where I was. The door was thrown open and a woman's voice called my name I sat up calmly and wiped my eyes gently.

The woman was now in the garage. I could hear her rustling through the drawers. I heard grass crunch under her feet as she made her way towards me. I heard the creak of the gate and the clink of metal as she picked up the abandoned gardening supplies. I heard her murmur about how she loved lilies. I heard the grass rustle as she came closer. I felt her shadow on me as I stared at the cold ground.

She tackled me and hugged me. I recognized the small sturdy figure and suddenly the sound of her voice registered in my head. I push her away from me so that could see her face. I saw the familiar teary eyes and wiped my thumb over the soft smooth cheek and whispered. "Katie?" Her gorgeous head nodded and I pulled her face towards mine in an everlasting kiss.