Purple Flowers

Chapter 2

Danny spun around and gasped. The shapeless blob was now at least ten feet tall. It kept growing and growing as the petals swirled around it, getting more numerous and vigorous by the second. Danny closed his eyes and expected the worst. The wind howled all around him. The trees swayed violently and banged against each other. Danny wished more than ever that he was back in his hometown, safe, warm, and far away from this creepy town.

At last, the wind died. The trees stopped hitting against each other and stood still. Everything fell silent. Danny opened his eyes. Everything looked the same as when he just entered the lawn, until he looked at the ground.

It was covered completely in purple flowers. Everywhere. The tables, the umbrellas (that miraculously did not fall over), the grass, some corners of the garage, and even the swimming pool. Danny was almost delighted. The petals were a lovely shade of lavender and violet. It was a beautiful sight, a really beautiful sight. Danny nearly smiled and thought it was a lovely experience, until he looked at one far corner of the lawn.

As tall as the flat and leaning against it, was the creature. It was purple from head to toe, except that Danny could neither make out a head or a toe. It was completely shapeless. Some folks describe it to look and moved like slime but smell like perfume. Some say it moves like water, but is not wet. Some say it looked like fabric from afar, but it’s not something you would want to wear. At this point, standing there, Danny could not decide which person is right. Two round, pupiless eyes popped out on the creature high above the ground. They glowered at Danny when they spotted him.

Danny screamed. He tried to make a run for it again. He looked past the gates and noticed that his skateboard was gone. The wind must have blown it away. “Crap, I’m trapped!” he thought. The flowers on the ground began moving towards him. Danny decided that it was the day he meets his end.

Whoosh! He was swept off the ground and carried towards the corner by a flowery tentacle. He screamed again. He knew what was coming. He could almost feel his heart stop as he inched closer and closer towards the large, dark hole forming in the corner. As he, regret-filled, whispered a short goodbye to his friends and family back home, he noticed that the ground below him had stopped moving. He looked at the creature. It looked at him, too, both staring at each other in frozen silence.

Danny didn’t know what he did to save himself, but the hole began to close up and the creature began shrinking in size. It shrank and shrank until the purple flowers reached about only twice Danny’s height. The tentacle beneath him dissolved and Danny fell onto the petal-cushioned ground. He stood up, dust himself off and looked at the monster again. Its eyes were no longer glowering at him, but stared at Danny as if it was a long time since it last saw a human walk through its gates.

Danny’s heart slowed down. He managed a small, cringey smile. “H-h-hi,” he said to the creature. The ground moved. Another tentacle, a smaller one this round, picked him up and moved him closer to the creature’s eyes. It examined him again. Danny was pretty sure now that the creature was not going to eat him, so he decided to introduce himself. “M-my name is Danny.”

The creature put him down and did not say anything. Instead it began rubbing its flowers against Danny’s body. “Hey! Stop that!” Danny cried out. The creature must not have had someone to play with it a long time. It did not listen to him. It wrapped a blanket of flowers over Danny’s body, at the same time touching different spots on his face, neck and feet with more tentacles.

“Hahahahaha!” Danny laughed out loud when the blanket and the tentacles tickled him. He never knew he was ticklish at all until today. The creature looked delighted, by the shape of its eyes, as it kept playing with him. Danny began to enjoy his new friendship with this legendary creature. He decided that legends may come true, but not all parts of it may necessarily be accurate.

Finally, the creature let Danny go, and he stood back on solid ground. Danny smiled at the ground. “Thanks,” he said, “but I have to be going now.” He checked his watch. “It’s getting late.” So he walked through the gate, which was unlocked again, and miraculously, his skateboard was right where he last saw it. He looked at the petals on the ground and smiled again. He didn’t know if it was the creature’s doing, but he certainly knew he had a wonderful experience today as he skated home.