Safe

Jessica needed to avoid the outside world. It was far too noisy and dirty for her liking. Today she sits cross legged on the sofa watching tv. She couldn’t remember the last time her blinds have been drawn back. The sun was so hot and bright this time of year plus she could not stand glare on the TV screen. Of course now that she had thought of the glare that’s all she can see. She clicks off the tv as she stretches out her legs in front of her. She reaches for her drink but finds it is empty. Another thing Jessica needs is a beer. It's the only thing that calms her nerves. She quickly jumps up to grab another bottle of beer from the fridge. She places the crisp cool glass to her forehead and the back of her neck. An ahhhh escapes her lips as she enjoys the refreshment from the heat of the room.
​
“This heat wave is getting to both of us, isn't it?” She glances over to her hydrangea. Its leaves are wilted and droopy as they are starting to turn brown and die. There is no longer any bloom to the flower, nothing close to what it looked like when she first bought it.

“Why do I bother trying?” She asks herself as she adds more water to the bone dry dirt. This was her third try at keeping a plant in her home. She thought the hydrangea was so pretty and seemed like a hardy plant. She would keep thinking about how she just wasn’t the type of person that could care for anything alive. She would never dare try to get a pet for this reason.

She put her beer down and placed her hands on the counter to lean over and get a closer look. Were there any signs of life? There was a small hint of some bright green still in the stem. She turned around, her back to the plant, and brought the beer from the counter to her lips. She had a few choices, start taking better care of this plant, start over with a new one, get a pretty fake flower, or a cactus. I couldn’t kill a cactus, could I? She contemplated her choices.

She picked up the pot and without thinking took it outside to her balcony. Maybe some time outside will do us both some good. She found it to be nice and breezy, even a little cold, in the shade from the balcony above them.

When the hydrangea was at its prime it was so pretty and really added some colour to her kitchen. She loved having flowers. They reminded her of her childhood, running and playing in her grandmother’s garden back when she was far more carefree. Her mind began to run in circles about how this plant had to live, she needed some beauty in her life and the reminder of better times plus she had to prove that she could take care of something.

The sound of the traffic down below woke her from her day dream. The sun was now shining in her eyes. She began to become overwhelmed but the sights and sounds and smells of the outside world. She quickly rushed back inside. Locking the balcony door behind her and closing the drapes tight. She rushed to the kitchen and grabbed her beer chugging it back until it was gone and replacing it with another. She slid down to sit on the floor staring at the curtains, knowing her plant was on the other side, deciding whether she could go save it from the outside world and bring it back inside where is was safe.