Their Bodies, Like Flowers

A little unfinished project.

Their bodies had become like the flowers. Scattered. Free. Beautiful. Admired. Sought after. Ripped from the grounds where their roots lay. It was no wonder they were mistaken for lovers. Two bodies rotting away simultaneously, hoping to be found with the same desperation. If she was the beauty and delicacy of the petals flying away with the push of the wind, he was the vines and aggressive species threatening to eradicate her.

What would have become of them if they had never crossed paths? Would they still be alive, or would death find them still hiding in the shadows, somehow lurking even in daylight?   

Jimena Martinez wasn’t sure what had become of her.

She could ask why her, why out of all the girls in the planet her, but the world Jimena lived in was known to be cruel to girls. Now she was forced to lie with the flowers, with the vines, the mud, the sand, all in hopes of building space between her body and his.  

She never liked flowers; for some reason, she hated their smell, and the mess left behind after they had withered. They were, as she used to say, a pathetic and sad reminder of how something so beautiful and lively could become nothing. Maybe her hatred was because they reminded her of girls.    

“How long will you stay like this?” the wind had whispered as her memory began to fade.  

“How ever many years it will take,” Jimena had whispered back. “Because justice will be served.” 

The wind caressed Jimena’s body, pushing her hand slightly away from the man who lay next to her.

It was the sound of the river's waves that would keep her sane on days when the clouds had deprived her of sunshine. Winter would come soon; she reminded her spirit. It would give her time. A precious amount of time that autumn was beginning to steal away with occasional heatwaves and humidity. Her body just had to hold on to the cool winds and refreshing days until the first snow, until the earth became her keeper.

Mother nature had been kind to her for that first month, allowing for the cold to slow down the decomposition of her flesh. The news called it record-breaking low temperatures. They warned people not to leave their houses unless it was absolutely necessary. A few people listened. Many had mouths to feed and duties to fulfill.  

But while their bodies were being preserved, warning signs had plagued the path to them. Very few people would dare to climb the hill and those foolish were at least smart enough to avoid the edge.  

She knew it had been exactly forty days, and mother nature could only do so much for her. The natural world had to run its course, only leaving behind bones.    

She begged the wind, the rain, and the dirt under her for help, but what were they if not loyal servants to their mother? Many tried; the wind kept holding on to the cold from up north, the ground tried not hold on to moisture.

But when the first snow had finally cleared, they banded together with blessings from Mother Earth and brought the two bodies towards the marked trail. It became a rather dull sight. Two bodies half eaten by insects and the other half grasping to its form.

But no matter how horrific it looked, to the public they stayed lovers.

At least they died together. The headlines pointed out when their bodies were discovered.   

A young woman in her mid-twenties found them. She didn’t describe them as lovers. She knew better than that. She described the sight as gruesome, her dreams to be forever marked and haunted by the hand reaching away from the man.  Jimena wanted to erase herself from the girl’s mind.

It wasn’t fair, she thought. It was the only way, Mother Nature had answered.

There was still some consciousness left in Jimena’s bones. She often wondered if he also had some left in him. If he found pleasure in knowing that even in death, their bodies lay next to each other. In those moments, she appreciated the whispers of the wind, the dancing of trees, the singing of birds. She found peace in them even though it was a constant reminder that she was gone.