Autobiography Of a Rose

A Story by Sanjeet Kapur

Autobiography of a rose***

'Roses',just thinking about them makes us feel good.'red','white','pink', are the most common we find, but everyone prefers the well known 'Red Rose'. roses signify love, happiness and all the joyous feelings.

i am a beautiful red rose. unlike all the other flowers in the small garden around me, i stand out. my petals softer than silk, my fragrance better than any perfume. im the only bud on the whole plant. my younger brothers and sisters are yet to come.....

i remember the old gardener, Anthony was his name. he cared alot for me. i never got to see my parents but he would never let me feel as if i had no parents. he would like a mother, protect me from the young children and selfish florists. and like a father would supply me with all of my needs, he kept me healthy and strong. but now he no longer comes to meet me. maybe i am old enough to look after my self or maybe he left because of his new job at the shop in front of my garden. i barely get to see him, but some times, when the wind blows, i get a sneak peek at him. i find him happy and enjoying his new job. in his happiness lies mine. i still remember those days when he would chat with me for hours. i dont know whether if he would have understood whatever i said. but yes, this much is sure that he would smile whenever i shook a bit. after he left,i was not lonely as the children from the near slum would come to play. they would all sit near me, smell me , touch me, and enjoy their time. although i get browsed up a bit,i enjoyed their company

my friends, Sunflower and Daisy would get jealous , but i understand their valid reasons. now after 1 week of life, i see a florist getting out of his van. He is coming towards me. I am getting scared and know whats going to happen. And it came true, I got plucked. The pain is unbearable, but the pain of losing my friends, the fertile land and the fresh air hurts more. As he put me in his van next to the other flowers, I captured those last moments of my garden, my friends and of my gardener in my mind. As the van starts to leave, i saw my gardener waving his hand, saying bye and shedding a tear. Now we reached the flower shop in the main market, full of traffic. I see many beautiful and young flowers waiting for someone to buy them. All were priced high, but the price tagged for me was way too less for my life.

i waited, many people came and went, Today is a Valentine's day. All the lovers are out to buy roses for their special ones. I too remember, my first and last girlfriend, a pinkish white rose. She was the most beautiful rose i had ever seen in my short life on earth. I miss her lovely words and the way she use to smile. Suddenly I saw a customer, quite young, coming towards me. He smiled and said that i am perfect. I was happy to get an owner. He took me home and presented me to his lovely wife. She was very beautiful, but not as beautiful as my first girlfriend. She smelt me, commented, kissed me and put me in a vase full of water. I was happy to see them both so happy and their unending love for each other. 3 days passed, the water in my vase is dirty now. I am feeling lonely. No one even looks at me any more. I know that my end is near. I took a deep breath, felt my dry petals, took a flashback of all my great memories of 1 week,4 days and 7 hours of my life and going into a deep sleep.....................forever.