Nectar of the Gods
It has been 4 years since I have seen anything beyond the walls of this padded room. But today I will be released, and shall once again taste freedom. I passed my psych eval and the powers that be have determined that I am stable enough to return to society. The only condition of my release is that I don’t go anywhere near Caroline.
Four years ago, I was a graduate student with a major in Botany and a minor in Genetic Engineering. My professors boasted then about how great my name would be, though my name has since become infamous for atrocities instead of scientific genius. I suppose, truthfully, it all started with that flower. A blossom of my own making, it was a marvel of genetic design. The Carolinus Caeli Formositas, I called it - the Heavenly Beauty. Caroline was my inspiration for the flower; I wanted to create a living, growing thing that matched her beauty as I saw it in my mind’s eye.
It was on a Thursday night that I presented Caroline with the flower. She had stared at it, her jaw agape, she was so entranced with its beauty. After a few days, though, I noticed something strange. I was no longer able to say no to Caroline. Anything she wanted, I would give to her, without even a thought of question. She loved the way the flowers smelled, and asked if I could make a perfume from their scent. I could not, but I knew of one who could. So the next day, I asked Alvina to create the fragrance for me. She was a shy girl, not terribly attractive, but very bright. She told me it might take a few weeks to get a working essence from the cross sections I had brought her.
A few weeks later, when I had gone to retrieve my samples from Alvina, I noticed she was wearing her hair differently, and her makeup appeared to have been professionally applied. She had transformed herself a living Venus. Somewhat reluctantly, she relinquished the perfume, but asked if she could have more of the flowers to study. I informed her that I hadn’t created any more as of yet, as they hadn’t bred successfully by that point. She seemed to be very disappointed by this. I dismissed any further curiosity, though, and delivered the perfume to Caroline, who was so pleased she tested it immediately; the scent was intoxicating on her.
Alvina had stopped by the next day and begged Caroline to spritz her with the perfume. She was on her knees, actually in tears, and seemed a broken down wreck. I was astonished. Caroline obliged the poor thing. It was shortly after this incident that Alvina moved in with Caroline, and Caroline bade me make her more flowers.
The first time I killed, it genuinely was a case of manslaughter. I went to Caroline and Alvina’s place, and there was a man there... he might have been there to see Alvina, not Caroline, but I was so overcome with jealousy that it didn’t seem to matter in that moment. I was truly blinded by rage, and could honestly not see straight. I punched him in the jaw, and the next thing I knew, I was throttling him. I must have blacked out, then. When I came to, he was dead, and Caroline and Alvina were discussing ways to dispose of his body.
I should have been worried, or at least taken aback by their callousness over the fact that I had just taken a life in their presence, but the only thing they cared about was removing the evidence and freeing me again to create more flowers. We chopped up the corpse in the tub, and buried the pieces in the planters for the flowers. Afterwards, the blooms thrived as never before.
When we returned to their apartment, I noticed that the only vegetation represented in the entire facility were the Heavenly Beauties. I was pleased that Caroline had so greatly loved my creations for her, and it seemed Alvina was very fond of them, also. Alvina’s overall appearance continued to improve, the longer she stayed with Caroline. At the time, I had thought it was because of their friendship, and beauty tips - secrets shared between the fairer sex.
Now I know it was the flowers.
When in time the flowers had begun to wilt, and there seemed to be nothing we could do to revive them back to their original health, it was quite by accident that we discovered what they actually needed. I had gotten myself entangled in an altercation with one of Alvina’s would-be suitors who happened by while I was visiting the ladies, and tending to my crops. Once again, I had killed, and once again, the encroacher was buried in the pIanters. This time, though, we took note how quickly the flowers soon perked up.
We had all become addicted to the smell of the flowers. It was more intoxicating than any drug. The perfume made both Caroline and Alvina beautiful beyond words, and no one could refuse them when they wore it. Alvina had created a cologne for me from the fragrance of the flowers. The effect on me was different. It increased my strength tenfold, and brought out a terrible violent streak. Only Caroline or Alvina could control me. Fortunately for me, the insanity plea my defensive team launched was successful.
I have been free of the plants’ grasp now for two years, and I am looking forward to being free in the real world once again.
In a storage locker that was paid up for ten years, there are seed packets, hydroponics equipment, and lab materials. Only Alvina and I have access to it. I am going to burn them, as soon as I get a chance.
I am waiting at the bus stop, when a familiar car pulls up, bearing in its rear seat, an all too memorable plant. The window rolls down, and Alvina beckons to me from the passenger side.
Caroline is driving. She always drives.
I get in. What else can I do?
LJI WEEK 16:
A TERRIBLE BEAUTY IS BORN