THE LAST FLOWER

You see she too had a job though people were generally of the opinion that she sat around. True she sat down much of the time but she had a reason for doing so. For this was her job. It did not so matter where she sat as what she sat on. For so long as she sat on flowers then she was readily employed. She was a flower presser and so it was important that she stay put long enough for the deed to be done.


Unlike some jobs which call for a lot of running around, to and fro, this way and that way, up and down and around and about, her job was not of this nature.


It called for a certain resilience clear in the minds of those who knew what it took to stay put and yet certainly it was different from the non-activity of those who simply end up going nowhere. For she was employed to go nowhere and so her non-movement was given poise by the fact that it was a wilful and well-enough earning position.


How incredible that the same person when seated above these flowers; wedding bouquet’s, lover’s pacts and funeral wreaths was so noble, almost statuesque in her concentrated endeavours. Yet when denied this seating, as was the case in between shifts, she sat unsure of herself, unsure where to look and worried by the thought of life going by whilst she went nowhere. And then her mind fell upon thoughts of time itself and where it might end and what it might make of her. For well she knew the fate of the flowers was very different. The moment of their disappearance never came since before this moment was reached they were flattened, preserved, hung up- their colour dimmed but their ever-lasting presence ensured.


And so the young employee with a flawless record of very good sitting manners, when her season’s work came to an end and all the flowers destined to come her way had been flattened already, she carefully tucked herself under the onslaught of an on-coming lawn-presser then posted herself to her loved one. On the back of the envelope she had already written- for once flattened it is hard to write:


“To our ever-lasting love, affectionately, your flower”.