“What are you doing out at night?” Graden asked. “It can be dangerous.”
“I stay in the shadows,” the boy answered. “And away from the groups of drunk men.”
“Where is your father and mother?”
“I don’t have a father. And me mother died a long time ago.” The boy pointed ahead. “It’s just up here.”
“You hid it in the thicket?” Graden asked in disbelief.
“Yep. Safer than keeping it with me.” He looked up at the opening in the trees above him and then moved forward, as if following a map. Finally, he ducked behind a growth of bushes beneath a tree.
Graden grabbed Ella’s arm, halting her. “It could be a trap.”
The boy disappeared into the thick shrubbery.
Anxiety churned within Ella. The boy had the blue rose and now he was gone. He had their coin. She glanced at Graden to find him staring at the spot in the bushes the boy had gone into. She wanted to rush after the boy, to find him, to make him show them the rose. Why was she so desperate to get it? Why? Because she didn’t want to feel so sad. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to feel life again. She wanted to be forgiven.
Just as her hope began to fade, the boy emerged, dusting off his hair. In the other hand he held something.
Ella’s heart beat in anticipation, in excitement.
“I wasn’t really searching for it,” the boy was saying. “Red roses are common. Ya almost can’t turn around without seeing one.” He lifted his hand. Pinched between his thumb and forefinger, he displayed the blue rose to them. “You’ll never guess where I found it.”
Ella didn’t care. She stared at it, her fingers curling in anticipation of touching it. She almost sobbed at the sight of the blue petals.
“It’s rare. Hard to find. Others couldn’t find it. But I did!” He twirled it around in his fingers.
“Can I see it?” Ella asked.
The boy looked down at the rose. He pulled it against his chest protectively. Then with a small sigh, he held it out to her. “I suppose.”
Ella reached for it, but just before she touched the treasure, the boy yanked it out of her reach.
“Ya won’t run away with it, will ya?”
“No,” Ella promised. “Of course not.”
The boy tugged it closer to his chest. “Because some would.”
“We’ve already given you coin, boy. What else do you want?” Graden demanded.
The boy looked up at Graden and then at Ella. “Maybe, after I give you the rose, I could have a good meal. One that fills me stomach.”
Sympathy tugged at Ella. “Of course. Every night for a full week.”
“Gaw!” The boy erupted. He held the rose out to Ella again.
Ella reached for the rose reverently. It was beautiful! Even in the muted light of the moon, she saw the petals were deep blue. She carefully wrapped her fingers around the stem. She couldn’t believe it. Finally. After all the attempts at growing it. The blue rose her mother had told her about. It really existed!
Graden stared in shock.
“Thank you,” Ella whispered, staring at the flower. It was lovely. Simply beautiful. It was all she could have imagined. Everything her mother told her about. Their search was finally over. She could be happy if she gave this flower to the woman in the woods.
Graden reached for the rose.
A feeling of relief and absolution crested over her. Tears rushed to her eyes. “Thank you,” she repeated.
The boy grinned.
