Cheerful

Millie never worried. Some called her simple, soft, touched, retarded.  Those with the cruelest words didn't know her before. Before the world she believed in, trusted shattered into a million pieces; jagged, lonesome and worthless.

Milling wasn't a stunning beauty but she was purely, lovely.  She was kind, thoughtful and helpful.  She married a good man; Robert Waters and loved being Mrs. Bobby Waters.  He was decent, hard working, honest, adoring  and doting on his wife and later Robert Junior or Lil Bee as he came to be know since he was always buzzing, busy and doing something.  What a happy little family.

Her Bobby wasn't just a fantastic husband but also an important man of science. His work at the Air Force Base was very hush-hush.  He even had a top security clearance badge on him at all times AND a gun.  Millie knew he wasn't allowed to talk about what he did or where he went. He wasn't allowed to discuss the things he saw, even when the newspapers began to accuse the government of hiding things; people, aliens... Area 51 was not something mentioned. Ever.  Millie always waved it off: lots of beakers, tubes, and toys.  "Boys grow older, but they are still boys underneath and always look for new ways to play war and save the world from alien monsters." she often teased, until the day he didn't come home.  After seventeen years of marriage to have him not call, not show, she was understandably in a state.  She called his work (something only done one other time when Lil Bee was making his debut and she wanted him to stop for a sandwich to eat during their baby's long delivery). No one there acted as if they even knew him.

Another day

Another week.

A month. then two.

Then Millie had herself a dream:

Angels came.  They told her she could see her Big Bobby again if she did one simple thing for them.

Grow flowers and spread cheer.

It was a no-brainer to Miss Millie and so she cleared out her other flowerbeds and greenhouse where she used to toil and fuss to begin a new project; one she felt was as top secret as anything Big Bobby had ever done.  In fact, it was all FOR her Bobby.  The angels said it was okay. Millie's green thumb made the new endeavor easy and successful.  Nothing to it.  The tiny little sprouts flourished and blossomed.  And Millie doted on her new "babies".  Once she had raised the first batch and allowed them to seed themselves and become strong, she began to share them, as promised.  And everyone loved them.  They were petite, delicate and more fragrant than anything anyone had seen in eons.  They were almost intoxicating. The smell was delicious. She took them to church first and gave them to those in need of a little cheer.  People were flattered and grateful (that it wasn't one more casserole to freeze AND) for her thoughtfulness.  The blooms lasted forever it seemed and were so very hearty that most people just tossed them in the ground, happy to try their own hand at Millie's lil pick-me-ups. Millie happily kept at it. Being sure to inform everyone that the Angels brought them. As time went on, as Millie kept spreading cheer and the town began to pay it forward with the tiny angel flowers, The change in Millie began to slowly draw attention. but by then, it was too late.

The mutterings about seeing Bobby had all been interpreted as dreaming of him. Then she was found wandering around town with plants in her hand and leaving them at business steps, giggling about the angels and how happy they would be. Folks worried for her lil busy Bee. It was duly noted that he was missing school. But no one really wanted to correct or admonish Millie. She was doing the best she could of course. and the flowers WERE lovely. Why just here ... have one.. a gift from me to you... and so it went. Those silly little things just made everyone so... happy.

The boy never really knew or understood what had happened.  He heard his daddy ran off, was a drunk, killed a man, and was abducted by aliens.  He grew up fast, learned to fight and had only his Mama who was considered a little "skewed" to rely on.  After his dad disappeared, Mama faded away, was not affectionate and seemed at times to forget he existed. He knew and appreciated only that with those flowers blooming and going out as gifts, his Mama was more willing to participate in the world.  He was grateful for those times even though they were becoming few and far between.  

Lil Bee was hiding in the closet when he discovered the truth.  He found it in an old box at the back of the guest closet. He never could imagine why they had a guest room, guest closet, guest linens, when no one ever came. but he found them; journals, about eight or nine of them, written by his dad about some of the work he had been doing at the base. The crash of the UFO had been quickly covered up as were the contents. Of the life forms discovered inside, two were dead and autopsied and one was kept alive in a tank. communication was choppy at best.  As the craft sat in storage awaiting testing, it was noted that tiny flowers began to grow. The "pollen" was analysed and found to actually be a parasite which emitted a pleasurable, favorable odor that encouraged inhalation. Upon contact, the creature would begin to take root, building fibrous bridges and networks up the nasal cavity through to brain where it would encapsulate the hippocampus, amygdala and then invade the frontal cortex using its pathways almost like a straw to dissolve and destroy gray matter but allowing the host to function with what was left; short term memory, repetitive triggers and encouragement. They became demented, simple zombies capable of only chores and functions necessary to survive ~ for the invader. The government had been ecstatic at this discovery despite the fact that his two best friends had been exposed as Guinea pigs and had been destroyed. This was when Bobby began to destroy the plants and the data. He had smuggled out his notes on how they survived and how to kill them.  The last entry was the day before his father disappeared.

The young man staggered down the steps and sat in front of the computer.  Lil Bee fired up his game after shrinking his mother's main window. He was in the middle of a death match when the light began to blink.  Clicking back he discovered his mom's website. She had begun to ship those little bastards all over the US and even into Canada. His stomach churned as he rushed to his room, hearing her pull in to the drive and sing up to the door. She was happily going on about seeing Bobby  as the angels promised. She walked in, found the diaries and sat down. Her long thin fingers seem to grip the pages tighter and tighter the more she reads.  Her stomach grew thin and watery. Her head hurt as if being stuffed with thick damp heavy cotton while poor Millie tried to comprehend what her husband wrote; what he and this great nation had done. It seemed like a dime store science fiction novel.  She closed the books and headed up to Lil Bee to ask what this meant to him but he wouldn't let her in. He didn't respond or come out. She ate dinner alone for five days. Then it was time to visit his father and the angels. Certain that her friends would know how to handle this, Millie perked up a bit, forgetting to run the dishwasher again. It has been mistakenly filled with dirty clothes. Millie continued to sweetly sing and go about her strange chores like dipping her water glass in the toilet to drink and doing her business outside. Wait til Mr Johnson sees THAT! On the night of her visit she washed herself with a paper towel and spritzes of Windex, attempting make up and waiting for their signal. Excited to see her Bobby and anticipating help from the Angels with her problem.  When the noises and whisperings start, Millie began to fidget and pace. The light came and she stood, walking proudly into it as she had for so long, with the books she needed to show them.

Time dissolved. for Millie. The Angels were very eager to help her with her problem.

That next morning, Lil bee sadly moped in bed. He didn't going to school and nobody  missed him. He realized the whole town is going funky over his mom's weird flowers. "Like they're all stoned ... " he laughed to himself. The stores on Maine are growing thin with stock on their shelves.  He saw people's mailboxes overflowing and newspapers just stacked up in the driveways. Everyone was wearing the same thing, all the time.  They wandered around their yards, tending their flower gardens, but no one seemed interested in much else.

 There was a soft knock.

"No." he muttered flatly, covering his head. A small giggle, another little tap and that is all. More than an hour drifts by before he opens the door.

The tiny flower sat innocently in the sprout pot; almost waving to him. He picked it up and stared at it with  hate and disgust. Millie jumped from around the corner and blew a puff of breath over the flowers

"Gotcha!" she heehawed and tottered down the hall.

 Startled, Lil Bee swiped at his face. But he hesitates, noticing the most wonderful smell. It tingled in his nose and behind his eyes but in a silly ticklish way.  It smelled amazing. He sniffed the plant again and again.  His mother continued to laugh from behind the bathroom door.

Lil Bee smiled too for the first time in weeks; months. He heared the Angels his mother had talked about for a long time. They told him he could see his father soon.  If he just pays it forward and gives someone he knows ...

a thoughtful little flower. He can think of nothing better.

Soon, he will simply think of nothing.


I kinda like this one although it is a story versus an interaction. Even with minimal dialogue, I think it's creepy even while it gently plods along. To realize the magnitude and damage of paying it forward... very "Body Snatchers" -ish.  Minus the Donald Sutherland scream at the end (it's an old movie I know but it sure scared the bejeesus out of me with that scream... even now!) So I hope you liked it and I am sure glad you stopped in to see me.

I hope your week is good and nice things come your way. We all need nice things... want a little flower???

heehee.. so wrong.

Hope to see you soon.
Tessa