Pressed Flowers

Every petal had its place and each flower represented a moment of time that she never wanted to forget. A short story to practice a different style.

She carefully plucked a rose petal from the bouquet. It was graduation day and her parents had bought her an arrangement of flowers as a gift. As she set the petal in the old encyclopedia she never used anymore, she could remember each flower that was pressed between the pages.

 

Between the last page and the back cover was the buttercup she'd received in third grade. Danny Shepards had given it to her before he moved away. It was the first in her collection.

 

There was a purple flower that she didn't know the name of pressed a couple dozen pages from the back. She had picked that one after her grandfather recovered in the hospital from pneumonia. It was one of her favorites.

 

A yellow rose petal rested in the pages about San Antonio. Her best friend, Bethany, had sent her that flower on the Valentine's Day after Steven had broken up with her. They'd spent that day going to Dairy Queen and sitting in the playground of their old elementary school.

 

Every petal had its place and each flower represented a moment of time that she never wanted to forget. As she placed the red rose petal in the book, she also left an index card to serve as her reminder: June 15, 2010�"Graduation Day.

 

She knew her bouquet of memories would only continue to grow as time went on, and she couldn't wait to add to her collection.

Author's Note

While I do keep a collection of pressed flowers, this is not based upon my graduation. Mine is June 17, 2011. But since writing this story, I have taken to placing a notecard with every flower I press, so I can always remember where the important ones come from.

Please let me know what you thought.