The Tale of the Marigold

Lizzie laid on her bed as her mom walked into her room.

Her mom noticed the way she was fidgeting with her fingers nervously.

“What's wrong, aren't you excited about your new room?”

“Yes, but I'm scared,” Lizzie said softly.

“It's weird not sleeping in the same room as Jenny.”

“Why don’t you try it out tonight and we’ll see how you feel in the morning, yeah?”

Her mom asked as she placed a kiss on her forehead,

“Yeah.”

Lizzie saw her mom walk over to the door.

“Door open or closed?”

“Open please,”

Her mom nodded with a smile and turned off the light as she walked away. Lizzie laid on her bed with her eyes wide open.

“Lizzie?” She heard a whisper say. She sat up quickly.

“Lizzie,” She heard again a little louder, this time, “Move your pillow to the other side.” Lizzie crawled to the foot of her bed and looked out the door and down the hallway to see Jenny laying down with her door opened and her pillow on the opposite end of her bed.

“There now I can see you” Jenny whispered loudly.

They smiled widely at each other as Lizzie quickly moved her pillow to its new spot.

As her head still laid at the foot of her bed, Lizzie felt herself stir awake. Her eyes opened slowly as she turned on her side. She looked out into the dark hallway only to be met with a sign that read.

'Only Lizzie Allowed’ on Jenny’s door. All she could do was replay that memory over and over again. Lizzie squeezed her eyes shut.

The unsettling feeling at the pit of her stomach returning. All these days have been the same. She just wanted to fall asleep because she didn't want to feel the pain anymore.

If only there was something she could have done. Why did Jenny have to go?

…

Jenny woke up to the noise of shuffling leaves. She shot up suddenly unsure of where the noise was coming from and soon felt disoriented. As she lifted her body off the ground, She noticed small scratch marks scattered down her arms. Jenny didn't remember how she got there or where she was.

“Lizzie, where are you?” she called out.

“Where am I?” she whispered.

She felt her feet begin to move beneath her, only she had no idea where they were taking her. Her movements grew frantic when she realized that the only things around her were trees. Her eyes shut as her fingers gripped her hair tightly, hoping to remember something but the only thing she could recall were two bright lights and then everything going black.

…

Lizzie woke up that morning feeling extremely dejected. Today was the day of the funeral and she had to force herself to get out of bed. As she looked out of the window and saw the flowers blowing in the wind and the sun shining through the leaves, she grew angry that the world seemed so happy.

Her body soon began to move as if it was moving on its own. Lizzie felt something tugging at her heart, but it wasn't anything she had felt before. This feeling was different as if something was telling her to move and showing her where to go. In a second, Lizzie found herself sitting inside her car and beginning to drive.

She knew this road far too well and the further her car went into it, the more nervous she became. Her foot pushed down on the brake slowly as she arrived at the place. She didn't dare turn her head but her knuckles turned white as her grip tightened around the wheel.

Lizzie took a deep breath and turned her head to the sound of rustling leaves. She got out of the car and stood on the edge of the street where the pavement and the dirt met. Her eyes closed, as the wind blew through her hair. When Lizzie opened them her eyes quickly caught sight of the big field of marigolds. Their beautiful colors distracted anyone’s eyes away from the broken trees.

Lizzie moved to the center of the flower field and let her body drop to her knees. The sweet scent reached her nose and for some reason she felt a subtle peace flow over her.

She let her hands run across the petals.

A few moments later she remembered something her mom would always tell her and Jenny. She felt tears begin to roll down her cheeks. Never in her life did she hope this much for something to be true. She picked up a single marigold and allowed herself to blow the petals into the wind.

…

Jenny had walked through the forest for a while now and was beginning to think she was lost for good. She took a deep breath and felt herself back up onto a tree.

She let her body slide down the trunk and brought her knees to her chest.

Jenny was growing tired and worried of where Lizzie might have gone.

“What were those lights?” She asked herself. Then let the tree truck cradle her cold body.

She allowed her head to gently fall on the hardwood and looked up to see the canopy formed by the tree tops above her. The sun rays had managed to sneak through the leaves and for a moment Jenny felt at peace. She took a deep breath and sat there for a moment.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw something orange floating by and getting caught in her hair. Her hand instantly reached up for it, letting the texture sooth her fingers.

As Jenny brought it to her face she noticed it was a flower petal.

“Where did this come from?”

She hadn’t seen any flowers around here. Another flash of orange caught her eye once again.

Jenny stood up and walked towards it and bent down to pick it up.

As her hand hovered over the petal a subtle smell reached her nose and lingered. She didn't know where it was coming from but was deeply inclined to follow it.

Jenny looked out into the distance and saw petal after petal moving through the air. The more she followed them the stronger the scent became.

Jenny came to a sudden stop when she heard faint crying in the distance.

“Someone else is out here?” she asked surprisingly.

The idea of not being alone anymore was overwhelming to say the least. She felt her feet pick up speed as she began to run towards the cries.

Through the trees she could see the silhouette of a person sitting on the ground.

Jenny moved as fast as she could. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as she came closer to her sister.

“Lizzie!” Jenny called out but Lizzie didn’t move a muscle.

“Why isn't she turning?” Jenny said

She slowed down when she found herself at the edge of the marigold field. Jenny opened her mouth to call out for Lizzie one more time. But as her eyes trailed down to the bright orange flowers, she felt her blood run cold.

“I’m so tired today,” Jenny yawned.

“We should've stayed home and just gone tomorrow.”

“You know how dad is,” Lizzied stated.

Jenny relaxed her head on the headrest as she looked out the window to see the different colors of the sunset.

“Do you want me to drive?” Lizzie said while looking at her sister.

“No, I’m fine,” Jenny turned to her and smiled, letting her eyes become glued to the road once again.

A half hour passed and another big yawn escaped Jenny’s lips.

The more she looked out onto the road, the heavier her eyelids became.

It was only for a second that her eyes closed completely.

“Jenny!”

Her eyes shot open to Lizzie screaming her name. Two bright lights were shining in their faces. In a split second Jenny’s hand reached the wheel and turned it sharply to the right. Lizzie’s screams seem as though they were distant. Everything seemed to go in slow motion but happened so quickly at the same time.

Jenny felt her body jolt all around and then a sharp pain going through her side. She let herself whimper in pain, her body ricocheted off the seat one last time and then everything went black.

Jenny finally remembered what had happened. She was in shock. As her eyes stayed on the flower field, all she could remember was the words of a story her mom used to tell her when she was young.

“This can’t be happening,” Jenny felt tears prick her eyes. She shut them tightly and opened them once again hoping that it was all a dream.

“I know we learned to live apart, but I don't know how to live alone,” Those words echoed through Jenny’s head as they were choked out by Lizzie. Jenny felt herself faintly recomposing. She looked at her sister through sorrowful eyes as she never wanted to see her with a tear stained face and puffy, red, tired eyes. Jenny saw Lizzie fiddle with her fingers, something she’d often do when she was nervous.

Instinctively, Jenny let herself fall next to Lizzie and placed her hand on hers.

“It's ok,” she whispered.

Lizzie froze, her breath became ridgid at the sudden vague words she heard in the wind and the weight she felt on her hand. That was her voice.

They both sat there for a few moments trying to understand what was happening. Lizzie knew that she should have been afraid but she felt that same peace wash over her once again.

“Jenny?”

Jenny felt a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. They both looked at a marigold that laid on the ground and thought about those words once again,

“Marigolds are said to lure souls back from the dead to the land of the living with its vibrant colors and powerful scents. That is why they are called the flower of the dead.”

It was true.

“Jenny if you are here,” Lizzie choked once again.

“I miss you so much. I really don’t know what to do, dad and I are alone now,” she cried.

“How do you live without someone who was always supposed to be there, you are my best friend and in case I didn't say it enough,” Lizzie sniffled.

“I love you,” She sobbed.

She wasn't able to form any more words after that but Jenny knew everything she wanted to say. She gave Lizzie’s hand a small squeeze and heard her give a small whimper as a smile began to form.

“I'm here, you're not alone and you never will be,” Lizzie took in the small voice as much as she could.

They sat in silence for minutes on end just enjoying the company of each other. The more time they spent like that, the less alone they felt. Lizzie didn't fully understand if she was going crazy but she didn't care. Her twin sister was by her side and she knew that even though she had to say goodbye now, it wouldn't be forever.

Jenny felt at peace. She didn't know what would happen from here or where she was supposed to go but being able to see Lizzie was the thing she needed.

“Will I be able to see you like this again?” Lizzie whispered.

Jenny’s eyebrows slightly furrowed in thought.

“I don’t know,” she whispered back. Jenny looked over at Lizzie and saw her nodding slowly.

“I love you, okay?”

“Okay,” Lizzie smiled.

Jenny looked over to her side when she heard light footsteps and crunching leaves. What she saw filled her heart with joy. She squeezed Lizzie’s hand one last time and let go. Lizzie felt a light panic quickly replaced with happiness when she heard one last word in the wind,

“Mom.”