Her love

She picked up the lilies and smelled them as if she had never seen them before. As soon as the sweet scent went up her nostrils, she spiraled back 11 years into the past. She was about to pull into the parking lot of a burger shop when she got a call from her boss, he needed some documents urgently, she cursed him under her breath, reversed her car and went back all the way to her office. She was exhausted. Have to forget about dinner now. She had also run out of groceries. Desolated, she went to attend her business. When she came out to the parking lot, she was surprised to see a brown paper packet lying on the bonnet of her car, she slowly walked to it and stood near the bonnet examining the packet. It was from the burger shop where she had been earlier this evening. She looked inside. There was a cheeseburger, fries and a coke. On top of the coke was a note. She took it out. It said “ You remind me of white lillies, I used to love them as a kid. Please accept this treat, I want nothing in return, just to see you smile again”, there was a smiley face after the full stop. She looked around, there was no one. She didn’t knew what to do with the packet, she was starving and had no energy left to go back to the burger shop and wait for an order specially on a Saturday evening when the place was booming with people, she looked at the packet again and decided to take it. She picked it up and fumbled for the keys in her bag while walking towards the door and stopped dead in her tracks. There was a bouquet of white lilies stuck to the handle of the car door, she slowly moved towards them and took them out, they were beautiful, she smelled them and the sweet scent which went up her nostrils, strangely refreshed her. She was smiling. She looked around one final time, with no sign of her stranger, she ducked into her car, started the engine and steered out of the parking lot. All the way to home she was in a happy mood and kept humming a song. By the time she got home, her whole car was filled with a sweet scent from the lilies.

The bell rang, which brought Steffi back to the present, she kept the lilies down, wiped off a tear trickling down her cheeks and went to answer. It was a package for her husband, she took it, signed for it, kept it on the shelf, and returned back to the room, sat down on the sofa, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel the ring on her finger, she traced the outline of the ring, while trying to imagine it with her eyes closed. She could see it perfectly. It was made of silver, with a small diamond at its top, one of the most beautiful rings she had ever seen in her life.

It had took mike sometime to show himself. He kept buying her lunch from time to time by dropping it on the bonnet of her car. They used to talk by the chit on top of the coke can. She came to know he was very shy and was afraid if he went up close he would say something wrong and she would get offended and won’t talk to him again, until one day she refused to eat. She wanted to see him and he won’t answer her. She kept waiting without eating a morsel of food for mike to show himself and finally he did. He walked into the parking lot, shoulders slouched and a shy smile on his face. Steffi fell in love with how naïve and innocent mike was. They sat and talked for a while, after which mike said he had to leave, but promised they would meet again. They kept on meeting day to day, mike would bring her fresh lilies every day soon her whole house smelled of lilies, she was very happy. This went on for a while and then mike proposed her. On the most magnificent day of her life she got married. She had always been happy. Mike was the best husband ever. As soon as this thought came to her she pulled the ring off her fingers and threw it straight at the glass window in front of her “YOU BASTARD! “ The window broke and so did Steffi, she kept on crying and bawling for a long time, then she got up washed her face in the washroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Her life was ruined. Her husband had been cheating on her for the last 3 months, and she didn’t know what to do. She loved him with all her heart but he didn’t. Not anymore. She took a deep breath and went to the kitchen, she was cooking mike’s favorite chocolate cake, she took it out and poked it with a toothpick. It was ready. She kept it on the table and while doing so once again broke into a fit of tears, she went straight to the shelf wiping them and brought back the parcel. She sat down on the sofa, tore open the packet and took out the bottle. She wiped off her tears from a pillow cover and opened the bottle up. Then she poured the cyanide all over the cake. It settled in. She went and brought some cookie chips and sprinkled them on the top. With everything set she sat back and waited. A tear fell down her cheeks as she smiled for the last time remembering the brown packet on her bonnet, and the note on the coke. Then the bell rang, perhaps for the last time in that house.