Marigold of Glowing Life

Have you ever heard of a flower that can bloom even without water and roots? Most people would answer no to this question, but Margaret and Henry were about to learn firsthand about the undead flower. It would become a story that would be passed down and would eventually become just another urban legend, but this was very real for the people who witnessed it. The story has been passed down for many generations, much like many other stories. Only difference is, one family holds the proof of this urban legend in their hands.

Their first meeting was in second grade, when Henry moved to town and started school after the Winter holiday. He was placed next to Margaret, an outgoing, silly little girl with long, golden locks and freckles like tiny angel kisses all over her cheeks. Henry was a shy little boy with dark curly hair and a dark complexion. Margaret introduced herself, quickly pointing out she was the teacher’s pet. Henry sheepishly smiled and in a tiny, nervous voice introduced himself. Over next few months the two became best friends and over the years they became inseparable.

Today, 10 years later was the beginning of spring. It was still cool, but you could see the beginnings of new life. The fresh new growth of green leaves on trees in the park were a sit to behold. On this day Margaret and Henry were walking through the park, taking in the sunny breeze while gazing at the beauty of the plants, newly growing. Over the past 10 years the 2 had fallen in love with each other. You couldn’t really call this a love story though as it would end in tragedy, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Walking through the park was something this young couple often did. It was the beginning of their short-lived love story. When they were the young age of 13 this park was the first place that Henry worked up the nerve to ask his longtime friend Margaret to be his girlfriend. While walking through the park he saw some marigolds and they reminded him of his best friend’s beautiful golden locks of hair. He went and picked a few and offered them to her while asking her to go on a date with him. She smiled and quickly accepted.

Each year they would celebrate this day with a walk through the park, him grabbing a few marigolds few her just as he did each year before. This year would be the year they would graduate and each had plans of going to college though they didn’t yet know where they would be going. Henry was walking hand in hand with Margaret as he did every year on this day. As they made their way to the marigolds they noticed only one marigold had bloomed this year and it seemed to have an ominous glow to it. Henry wanted to make today important just as he had the years before so he picked the marigold and handed it to Margaret.

She loved flower and brought it home with her as she did each year, but this year it was strange. She tried to put it in a vase with water and immediately the water would be gone from the vase and the flower would glow even brighter. She did this several times and finally decided it would be alright just sitting in the vase without adding more water. She then went to sleep as she normally would, only this would be a permanent sleep. Margaret would never open her eyes again.

In the morning her parents went in her room to wake her because Margaret was normally ready for school before her parents had breakfast. Her mother found her lying in bed and on her chest lay the single glowing marigold and no signs of life, breathless. She screamed and Margaret’s father came running to the room and they called 911, but much to their horror it was too late. Henry came walking to her house as he did every day before school because they walked together, but today he was met by paramedics and distraught family members. Henry ran past them into the room looking at his loves cold breathless body with the glowing marigold still laying on the bed next to her.

Henry took the flower and put it in his backpack. He cried and asked God why he would take his love away from him. He said his last goodbye before the coroner came to take Margaret’s body. Henry quickly headed home, only to forget about the flower in his backpack. He couldn’t make himself go to school without her. He simply laid in bed, groveling over the loss of Margaret.

After a couple of days he noticed a glow coming from across his room and the faint smell of his lost girlfriends perfume. The glow was coming from his backpack, which was laying in the same spot he left it days ago. He opened the bag and saw the glowing marigold. It was radiant and reminded him of his lost love Margaret. This marigold should have long been dead as it should have dried out, but it was like it took the life of Margaret to continue to blossom.

It has now been passed down from generation to generation and still glows brightly and is a reminder of the lovely life that was lost and the love story that ended with the beginning of the glowing marigold. Was it the watering of the glowing marigold that ended Margaret's life, or just a coincidence? They may never know, but no one has tried to water the still glowing marigold since.