The Hell Flower

The Hell Flower #7

Dahlia felt like she hadn't been out in such nice weather so early in a while; the previous weekend had been rainy and kept them inside. She walked with Helen on her arm and Clara silently following them, all three enjoying a rather silent walk until they hit the main street. The vendors were just opening for most, and the street was still quiet. Helen immediately greeted the organic farm owner behind his stall, who'd gotten familiar with her. Dahlia found it cute that several vendors in the street had even learned basic sign language for her. For a while, it was mostly the two of them following Helen in her grocery shopping for the week, with Dahlia stepping in to translate sometimes. However, her friend was mostly fine making herself understood; she was used to interacting with the Hearing world. As she'd explained to Dahlia soon after they met, she had grown up as the only deaf person in her family, and her parents hadn't even learned sign language. She mostly discussed with them through lip reading and writing. Her twin brother had learned BSL with her, but most importantly, he had taught her how to do anything he could do, so she wasn't shy at all, even upon her first interaction with people, and was stubborn about interacting herself rather than letting Dahlia help her. If someone tried to talk to Dahlia rather than her, Helen would insist, and Dahlia stayed put. Meanwhile, Clara was quiet all along, following them without saying much. She was the only one in the flatshare who hadn't bothered to learn sign language, saying she didn't have time. Dahlia suspected that was the reason she and Victoria didn't get along very much, but Helen herself didn't seem to mind very much. None of them could deny that Clara was busy, and an introvert to begin with. Even now, she was following them without saying much, sticking behind Dahlia and Helen and just glancing around.

"Anything you wanted to get?" Dahlia asked her while Helen was busy chatting with the baker.

"No... I'm trying to save some money."

Dahlia nodded. She knew Clara was on a tight budget.

"How about you?" Clara asked, looking a bit bored. "Are we just getting groceries?"

"Mh... I was thinking of getting some flowers for the kitchen," said Dahlia.

"No mimosa then, I'm allergic."

"Don't worry, I know," she smiled. "And Vic is allergic to lilies and wisteria. Don't worry, I think none of those are in season. Also, it will be Victoria's birthday in a few weeks, we should start looking for ideas."

"That's going to be hard, she can buy anything she wants herself..."

"All the more reason to find her a nice present she wouldn't buy for herself," Dahlia winked.

Clara nodded. In the end, she did show some interest when they stopped at the local little bookshop, and got a bit lost reading the book's backs. Helen, too, stayed for a while in the hobbies and crafts section, visibly interested in a book about crochet for beginners. Dahlia, on the other hand, felt a bit uneasy in there; the shop was very small, its aisles only large enough for one person to pass through. She soon felt a bit too stuffed, and in need of air. She quickly signed for Helen to know she was going to the flower shop across the street, and stepped out. The main street was getting a bit busier, with the sun shining high and bright above. Luckily, the flower shop seemed empty. Dahlia walked in, greeting the vendor, a nice old lady. She immediately felt a lot better, standing amongst rows and rows of flowers. She loved flowers, plants, and anything that grew from the ground. As fall was coming around, the lady already had lots of blooming chrysanthemums and dahlias in all colors. Dahlia set out to compose her bouquet herself, picking the stems carefully. If her mother hadn't pushed her to go to university, she would have happily settled for being a florist. Even now, she felt a hint of regret. She could recognize any flower around, its blooming season, and its needs. Soon, she had a nice little bundle in her arms, in white and orange colors like the fall, and walked towards the window, wondering if she could see Helen and Clara in the bookshop from there.

Something else caught her attention. Someone was staring right at her, from across the street. A man. The oddest part was that he was standing right in the middle of the street, facing her, and nobody else seemed to notice his stance. Dahlia's heart skipped a beat. She felt... troubled, looking at this man. Her whole body was getting a bit hot, her palms sweaty. She stepped closer to the window, and her heart suddenly remembered to beat, too fast. She felt the blood rush thumping in her ears. The man was staring right at her, no doubt. He was tall. Tall, and thin, all dressed in black. Or perhaps a dark gray... It was like the sun had suddenly disappeared to paint the entire street in black and white. Everything had slowed down but this man, standing right there and facing her. Dahlia tried to stare more intensely, but it was like her brain couldn't quite make out what her eyes were seeing. At times, she felt like she was watching an old man, with a silver-gray beard, and then, she discovered the man was a teenager, with shaggy black hair down to his shoulders and a hairless, skinny face. He didn't move an inch, and yet, his looks kept changing, as if she couldn't remember his appearance. The only thing she was sure of was that he was tall, skinny, and wearing dark clothing... And it was frustrating she couldn't figure out anything else. She wouldn't even allow herself to blink, trying to figure out what she was seeing. She stepped closer, her nose an inch from the window, focusing so hard her head was swelling. His eyes. His eyes were like a stormy sky, cold, and... sad. Incredibly sad. Her heart thumped. Then, she saw his lips move. She read them.

"Dahlia! Dahlia!"

She woke up on the cold, tiled floor of the flower shop. Clara, Helen, and the flower vendor lady were all above her, looking concerned. Dahlia blinked. She had passed out? Helen pressed her hand, visibly worried.

"You alright?" Clara asked.

"She just fell like that!" the lady exclaimed. "One second she was looking at my flowers, the next she was out cold on the floor! You alright, love? Did you have breakfast this morning?"

"We had breakfast," Clara replied, a bit annoyed. "Dahlia, can you hear me? You with us?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright... How long did I pass out?"

"Not five minutes, darling. But those were five long minutes! Blimey, you wouldn't wake up! I was about to call the ambulance when your friends walked in..."

"Water?" Helen signed.

"Yeah... I'd like some water, please."

Her throat was dry, and Dahlia was suddenly feeling hot. Helen helped her sit up while the lady went to get that glass of water, and as her friends moved around her, she was able to see the window, with the street outside. Everything was back to normal, the sky shining, and that man was gone. It was as if it'd never happened. For some reason, though, Dahlia was sure what she'd seen had been real. She hadn't dreamt that, and she knew that man was familiar to her, too.

"Did you see someone standing outside?" she asked. "A man?"

Helen and Clara exchanged confused glances.

"No... I mean, the street was busy, I didn't pay attention that much, and then we walked in here and we saw you like that, we didn't pay attention to what was going on outside. Why? Did you see someone? ...It's not another stalker, is it?"

"No, no... Nevermind."

The lady came back with that glass of water, and Dahlia drank it gratefully. She still felt a bit weak, and it took a couple more minutes before she felt well enough to stand up again. Helen paid for the flowers, and the two of them helped her outside, to a bench. Clara went to the bakery to buy her something to eat, leaving her alone with Helen. Dahlia couldn't stop staring at the spot she'd seen that man standing. She glanced around briefly, but he was gone. Who was that man? Why did she feel like that when she saw him? Even worse, why did she feel so desperate to see him again? She couldn't even remember what he looked like...

Helen tapped her leg.

"What's going on? You look odd."

"I... I saw someone. A man. He was staring right at me, and... I feel like I know him."

"You don't remember who it is?"

"No... It's really strange."

Helen didn't press the matter further. She glanced towards the bakery, as Clara was coming back with a little box. She tapped Dahlia's knee again with a sorry expression.

"We texted the others to let them know. Sam's worried. You should text back."

Dahlia nodded, and took out her phone while they ate the mini beignets. Indeed, Sam was going frantic in the group chat, as her latest texts hadn't been answered. Dahlia quickly texted back that she was alright, but Sam insisted to know what had happened.

"Wow, Sam needs to chill," Clara commented. "...But I agree with her, we should probably take you home. Are we done with the shopping, Helen?"

Helen agreed, and they set out to go home. Dahlia felt dejected. They should have spent a nice matinee outside, but it was cut short because of her. Again. Her friends flanked her without saying anything, but she could tell they were looking out for her passing out again. She felt fine, though. As fine as she had felt an hour ago. Her heartbeat was back to normal. Her mind, though, was still obsessed with that man. She had a feeling that if she'd just drafted his silhouette, it would have fit perfectly with the one she'd seen the previous night, and the one in her dream...

Once they got home, Dahlia sat in their little garden salon, which was really just a pair of chairs and a small table, while Helen was preparing some tea for her. Clara had excused herself to go back up to her studies after making sure she'd be alright and Helen was looking after her. While the water boiled, Dahlia called Sam back, who was not letting it go.

"Are you okay?" was the first thing she said.

"Yeah, I'm alright. We just got home, I'm with Helen too. I told you, I just passed out for just a few minutes, nothing big. I'm better now, and I ate something sweet too."

She hardly believed her passing out had anything to do with a lack of food or sugar, but she hoped it'd alleviate Sam's worries. It didn't work, though, and Sam seemed more frantic than usual.

"Why did you pass out?"

"No idea," Dahlia said. "I just... I was in the flower shop, and I saw someone outside, and as I stared, I just started feeling numb, and before I knew it, I was-"

"You saw someone?" Sam cut her off. "Who?"

"A-a man," Dahlia replied, taken aback by Sam's question. "I feel like I know him, but..."

"What did he look like?"

Something in Sam's tone made her feel like something was going on, something she didn't know about. She nodded as Helen put the warm cups of tea between them on the table, but she was growing unsettled because of how weirdly Sam was reacting.

"Uh... Tall, thin, with dark clothes, but that's all I can remember... Sam, why are you asking? Do you know something?"

"No," Sam replied, too quick for Dahlia to believe her. "Just stay home with Helen, okay? I'll be home soon."

"What?" Dahlia exclaimed. "No, there's no reason for you to come home, I'm fine!"

"See you soon."

She hung up just like that. Helen, who was just sitting down and noticed Dahlia's shocked expression, asked about it.

"Sam's coming home!" Dahlia signed.

Helen frowned, visibly dumbfounded too.

"You told her you were OK?"

"I did!"

"Maybe she's very worried," Helen shrugged. "Banana bread?"

But Dahlia shook her head. She couldn't stomach any more. The tea was welcome though, and she had a sip, grateful for the warm water filling her up inside. Helen couldn't resist starting the book she'd just bought, with a little ball of yarn on her lap, while Dahlia had decided to grab a notepad and pen. Despite her lack of drawing talent, she wanted to try and draw the man she'd seen. It was frustrating. The more she tried to remember, the less she could. It was like his image was staying just out of reach, frustrating her in every way. She roughly drew a dark silhouette, but when she tried to draw his head, his face, nothing came to mind. She had a rough image of a bearded man, or a teen with shaggy hair, but their faces were blank. How could she have seen two different people in one person? Dahlia was getting frustrated, and put down her draft, staring around the garden. It was just a few square feet, a patchy little land of wild grass, with bushes against the high wooden panels and a single terracotta pot for the herbs Helen had tried to grow that summer, a few baby tomatoes still going strong. It wasn't big enough to do much with it, but it was enough for their summer lunches outside and to enjoy a bit of sunlight whenever there was some. They'd taken countless sunbaths there and sometimes worked out on mats on the grass. It was barely big enough to be called a garden, but she liked it nonetheless. It was their own little green space, with its wild flowers and a few bushes of random plants. With her back turned to the kitchen door, Dahlia was facing a corner with the thickest bush while lost in her thoughts. She kept staring without really seeing it until something moved. She frowned, not worried. Perhaps a cheeky squirrel. But something tickling down her nape made her nervous. A squirrel wouldn't have made the bush move so much... She slowly stood up, thinking something was off, catching Helen's attention. Her friend rose her eyes from her yarn, saw her, and turned towards the bush, too, as Dahlia stepped cautiously towards it. There was something in there. Something big... That restless feeling was growing in her stomach, and her instincts were screaming not to get too close. She slowly stepped between Helen and the bush, and felt her friend grabbing her hand nervously. She definitely wasn't dreaming this time.

A large paw stepped out, and Dahlia's nape went ice-cold. A large, golden creature slowly stepped out of the bush, growling. She could barely believe what her eyes were seeing. She heard Helen gasp loudly behind her, echoing her own panic. At least she knew she wasn't dreaming, they were witnessing the same thing. A lion. There was a large, golden lion in their tiny garden. Dahlia's head was ringing like crazy, her heart beating like a drum. Somehow, she knew she had to move, but she was scared one wrong move would set the creature off. That thing was big, and while she'd never seen a real one, she was sure it was bigger than a normal lion. It was moving slowly, but the growling and visible fangs left no doubt that this was no friendly encounter. Its big, shiny gold eyes staring right at them were terrifying. The fact that their garden was so small made things so, so much worse. They had little room to run from that thing, and there was scaringly little space between them. Dahlia tried to breathe slowly, and took a step back, pressing Helen's hand to reassure herself that her friend was still behind her. The lion was growling and completely stepped out of the bush, with its large but skinny body. It moved like it wanted to circle them, but the space was narrow. That thing was just a step away from them... Dahlia tried to think, quickly. She was right in front of that thing, but at least she was standing in between that creature and Helen. If Helen ran back inside quickly enough, perhaps...

The lion growled louder, Helen cried out, and that thing suddenly set off, jumping right at them. No time to run. Dahlia only moved to shield Helen as much as she could, and she saw first hand that lion as it jumped at her, fangs and claws out. She probably should have closed her eyes, but she didn't. Something in her told her not to, to face death like this, with her eyes wide open. She was prepared to die, and suffer first. But just then, she heard a loud, deep bark, and something dark covered her vision.