A single red rose

100 words

To those they knew, Rose and Bill seemed the perfect couple. But all was not as it appeared. They concealed their troubled relationship behind closed doors.

Their neighbours hadn’t seen Rose for quite a while but that was not unusual as she often went to stay with her mother.

Bill was walking Poppy, their dog across a sun-scorched field when suddenly, she rushed towards some trees and started frantically scratching the soil, plaintively whimpering.

He snapped on her lead, tugged her away and dropped a single red rose to the ground

‘God forgive me’ he muttered as they turned and strolled away.