Drabble to go With Art
anonymous
May 8 2009, 14:57:32 UTC
Nataliya stared after the golden petals being carried away by the wind. Her blue dress fluttered around her, immaculate apron billowing above it like a cloud.
They had nothing in common with her, she thought. Sunflowers.
The one she was clutching between her fingers barely retained its yellow and orange tones, the pigments having long ago mixed with the browns of the seeds and the greens of the leaves. Broken and ripped by her fingers, it was nothing more than a mess now.
A disgusting mess that her brother somehow liked.
Nataliya was used to Ivan growing fond of strange things. Like the little Lithuanian boy he kept around. Or the other Baltic brothers that he so liked to play with.
Of course, she would make a much better companion than them. She was sure her brother realized it… he was just being distracted by these cursed weeds! Throwing the things a look of ice cold hatred, Nataliya ripped another sunflower from its stem and methodically tore its petals off.
What was it about these things that drew him so?
It couldn’t be the petals, she reasoned. Her brother, facing the fury of winter hail and freezing nights, had himself become akin to the spirit of winter. Surely, her colours of blue sky and blindingly white snow would be more pleasing to him that these jarring orange shades.
Her wedding dress would be white too, when she married him. She would have a bouquet of roses, white roses with blue bows on each one. Her sister would be there, smiling and walking behind her.
Looking over her shoulder, Nataliya could almost glimpse Katusha’s smiling face for a moment, before the dream faded and all she could see was that infernal orange field and the path of destruction she had made. Broken stems, scattered seeds, ripped leaves; these testaments to her floral carnage littered the ground in a winding trail as far as the eye could see. How long had she been in this place?
She would have to leave soon, to see her brother when he came home. She would come before him, because on the list of strange things her brother liked was hide-and-seek - she’d figured out long ago that he enjoyed the game, starting one with her whenever they met - and so, she would have to find a place to hide.
It was too bad he wasn’t better at the game; he never seemed to find her, so, after a while, she would just have to leave her hiding place and become Seeker herself.
Could one play hide and seek among sunflowers?
Nataliya looked at the dense wall of flowers around her and thought that one could. Maybe it was because of the stems then? Nataliya ripped a few stems from the ground and examined them. No, there was nothing special about them. Besides, they were growing too close to each other to be able to accommodate her own thin frame, saying nothing about her… big-boned brother.
Could it be the seeds then?
She had tried sunflower seeds before. Even cooked, they were nothing but average. Besides, she had never seen her brother eat them. Nataliya grimaced as she saw the center of the flower smearing pigment onto her white fingers. She shouldn’t have pressed so hard. Methodically, she ripped the thing into small pieces and dropped them. No, they didn’t look any better like this either. Unlike some people she had known.
The only other thing left she could think of was the leaves. But these were just ordinary green things, leaking a bit of green fluid when she tore into them.
Sighing, and grabbing another sunflower, she decided to try again. She was nothing if not determined to find out why her dear brother loved these things so.
The breeze played with her white blonde locks as she plucked the petals delicately. As they flew skywards, she could only notice how the light of midday made them glow golden, like the sun.
And for a brief moment, she thought she felt strangely warm, and thought that maybe, just maybe, she should have a few sunflowers in her wedding bouquet.
They had nothing in common with her, she thought. Sunflowers.
The one she was clutching between her fingers barely retained its yellow and orange tones, the pigments having long ago mixed with the browns of the seeds and the greens of the leaves. Broken and ripped by her fingers, it was nothing more than a mess now.
A disgusting mess that her brother somehow liked.
Nataliya was used to Ivan growing fond of strange things. Like the little Lithuanian boy he kept around. Or the other Baltic brothers that he so liked to play with.
Of course, she would make a much better companion than them. She was sure her brother realized it… he was just being distracted by these cursed weeds! Throwing the things a look of ice cold hatred, Nataliya ripped another sunflower from its stem and methodically tore its petals off.
What was it about these things that drew him so?
It couldn’t be the petals, she reasoned. Her brother, facing the fury of winter hail and freezing nights, had himself become akin to the spirit of winter. Surely, her colours of blue sky and blindingly white snow would be more pleasing to him that these jarring orange shades.
Her wedding dress would be white too, when she married him. She would have a bouquet of roses, white roses with blue bows on each one. Her sister would be there, smiling and walking behind her.
Looking over her shoulder, Nataliya could almost glimpse Katusha’s smiling face for a moment, before the dream faded and all she could see was that infernal orange field and the path of destruction she had made. Broken stems, scattered seeds, ripped leaves; these testaments to her floral carnage littered the ground in a winding trail as far as the eye could see. How long had she been in this place?
She would have to leave soon, to see her brother when he came home. She would come before him, because on the list of strange things her brother liked was hide-and-seek - she’d figured out long ago that he enjoyed the game, starting one with her whenever they met - and so, she would have to find a place to hide.
It was too bad he wasn’t better at the game; he never seemed to find her, so, after a while, she would just have to leave her hiding place and become Seeker herself.
Could one play hide and seek among sunflowers?
Nataliya looked at the dense wall of flowers around her and thought that one could. Maybe it was because of the stems then? Nataliya ripped a few stems from the ground and examined them. No, there was nothing special about them. Besides, they were growing too close to each other to be able to accommodate her own thin frame, saying nothing about her… big-boned brother.
Could it be the seeds then?
She had tried sunflower seeds before. Even cooked, they were nothing but average. Besides, she had never seen her brother eat them. Nataliya grimaced as she saw the center of the flower smearing pigment onto her white fingers. She shouldn’t have pressed so hard.
Methodically, she ripped the thing into small pieces and dropped them. No, they didn’t look any better like this either. Unlike some people she had known.
The only other thing left she could think of was the leaves. But these were just ordinary green things, leaking a bit of green fluid when she tore into them.
Sighing, and grabbing another sunflower, she decided to try again. She was nothing if not determined to find out why her dear brother loved these things so.
The breeze played with her white blonde locks as she plucked the petals delicately. As they flew skywards, she could only notice how the light of midday made them glow golden, like the sun.
And for a brief moment, she thought she felt strangely warm, and thought that maybe, just maybe, she should have a few sunflowers in her wedding bouquet.
Only because her brother liked them, of course.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment