“Cyprus Garden”
By Emily
Waters
A
stone path twisted through a thick crowd of people from different countries,
emptying into a garden full of topiaries with a five story waterfall that fell
from man-made jagged rocks. Flowers cascaded over their confinements to flower
pots and perfectly green grass was cut to fresh perfection. Women in large hoop
skirts and tight curls erupting from bonnets pranced around with lace trimmed
parasols. People paused and stuck out their cameras to strangers who took them
graciously and positioned themselves in front of their woman of choice and the
camera owner. Her smile stretched across her face and she pointed her umbrella
up towards the sky.
After
night had fallen, the women in hoop skirts met by a rabbit topiary. It towered
over the women as they slipped their shoes off.
“Well, that’s quite rude of you to say!” Rosemary said, uniting her bonnet and
letting her curls cascade down her shoulders like the waterfall that no longer
rumbled beside them.
“It’s
true though, they never ask if they can take a picture, all they do is ramble
on and swarm me like a pack of bees!” Mary commented. “Although I am sweet as
honey, so I could see why they would want to.”
“Oh,
shut up, Mary,” Lucy smiled and closed her parasol.
“I
wish I would’ve gotten your dress today,” Rosemary said eyeing Lucy’s baby
blue, white lace enhanced attire.
“You
can have it tomorrow, maybe you’ll get the Japanese people,” Lucy snickered.
“You
are so mean!” Rosemary said laughing.
A
light appeared on the ground as a man in a white baseball hat and light-brown
leather tool belt ran towards the women.
“There’s someone in the lake, He’s facedown so I suppose his a goner...” he
said, flashing the flashlight in the women’s faces.
“Would you stop that!” Mary screeched holding up her hands to block the light.
The man blushed and turned off the light.
“I
swear I didn’t do it!” He said wiping away sweat that was collecting on his
brow.
“We
never said you did?” Rosemary said taking the flashlight from his hand. “But
you did sound awfully calm telling three girls that you had just found a dead
body out in a lake.”
“And
what’s with the tool belt?” Lucy added.
“New
gardener’s protocol,” the man said shrugging off her question.
“Funny that I’ve never seen you here before,” Mary said rising from her sitting
position on the grass.
The man stiffened and
fiddled with the hem of his moss-green t-shirt. Lucy and Rosemary rose from the
ground, hiked up their skirts, and began walking towards the lake. Dock lights
flashed from the other side where two story houses sat separated by a thin line
of trees. When they reached the shore and saw nothing, they looked back towards
the garden for an answer from the ‘gardener’ but neither him nor Mary was seen.
Lucy and Rosemary gasped and looked at each other placing their gloved hands
other their mouths.
“They
were just-” squeaked Lucy.
“Yes
I know,” said Rosemary.
“And
the dead body, we don’t know him, what if he tries to hurt Mary?”
“I
hope he doesn’t.”
“Just
think positively and remain calm!” screeched Rosemary shining the flashlight
around the lake area and back to the garden. Lucy rubbed her temples and
Rosemary shined the light back towards the lake.
“Why
do you keep looking over there, what if you see the body?” Lucy said knocking
the flashlight out of Rosemary’s hand. It hit the sand, spun around, and landed
on a beached object a few yards down the shore line. The pair looked at each
other and started inching towards it.
“It’s
not going to be anything, just driftwood probably,” Rosemary said squinting her
eyes. Lucy shot up in the air as a bright red line flowed down the shore and
into the water by the hem of her dress.
“Not
driftwood, not driftwood, defiantly not driftwood,” Lucy said. Rosemary nodded
and craned her neck around Lucy for a better view of the body- maybe she knew
the person.
His
brown hair was matted to the back of his head with a crimson hair gel and a
metallic stench filled the air. His moss-green t-shirt was ripped and bruises
streaked down his arms. The back of a white baseball hat was pink. His hands
were tied behind his back and two Nike shoes were strewn a few feet away from
where the body rested. Tools from a light-brown leather tool belt were
scattered around the man. A shovel leaned against an old oak tree that swayed
in the night wind. Lucy let out a whimper and Rosemary squeezed her eyes shut.
“Don’t you think we should call the police?” Lucy said walking to the other
side of the body to get a view of his face.
Lucy
shrugged and glanced nervously around her. A shadow flickered behind the
old oak tree and the shovel was gone. Rosemary flashed the light over towards
the tree and saw the tip of a pink parasol sticking out from behind it. The
girls started walking backwards towards the lake as the pink parasol grew in
length.
“What are y’all backing
up for?” Mary said, as her head suddenly popped out from behind the tree and a
large smile erupted from her face. “It’s just little old me, nothing to be
scared of.”
She walked completely out from
behind the tree. Red stains were splattered against her dress and one of her
one inch high heels was missing.
“What happened to your
dress?” squeaked Rosemary from behind Lucy. Mary’s eyes flashed down to her
dress and then back to Rosemary.
“Oh just a little
mishap in the soda shop earlier today, a little squirt spilled his strawberry
and cherry coke ice cream float all over me,” replied Mary with another smile.
“Don’t you just love kids?” Rosemary and Lucy nodded quietly and looked back
down to the dead body.
“I didn’t see the stain
earlier tonight, you know, under the topiary,” whispered Lucy and Rosemary
quickly nodded her head.
“I know, just don’t say
anything that will make her mad,” Rosemary said. They backed further into the lake, their
dresses slowly being submerged into the water. Mary walked towards the body.
She poked at with her parasol and looked back up towards the girls.
“Such a shame that he
had to die, I mean, such a shame that people die. I wonder how he died,” Mary
said looking back towards the girls for an answer. “If y’all want to go for a
swim, why don’t you take your dresses off? It would be comfortable.”
“No we are fine. Just cooling
off our feet,” said Lucy. An owl hooted from a tree and the moon hid behind a
cloud. The only sound was the lake as it lapped against the shore and the
sound of the girls slowly backing deeper into the water. Mary continued
grinning wildly and walking around the body.
“Shouldn’t we call the
police?” said Lucy through clinched teeth. Mary snapped her neck up.
“I would rather you
not. The gardener’s already dead, so the police can’t undead him,” she said
walking towards the girls. Lucy and Rosemary gasped.
“How do you know its
the gardener?” Rosemary squeaked
“Oh shut up,” Mary
said, her smile turning sinister as she lifted up her parasol. Lucy and
Rosemary screamed. The flashlight cascaded a warm light on the three girls and
crows left their perches on the towering oak trees.
“Please don’t,” uttered
Lucy as Mary bashed both girls’ skulls in.
(c) 2013 | Emily Waters
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