Chapter 2. Did you know?

 2.Did you know?

“How did it go?” Cam asked. 

“Not an ideal first day of college”

“Oh”

I gave him a sad smile. He returned it too. In that moment, we said everything without words. Everything about how he was sorry my classmates found out, about how I knew I would never really be accepted in society, about how it felt to be illegitimate. Everything. It’s fascinating just how much a sad smile can hide. 

As we were crossing the footpath beside one of those beautiful ponds in the city, he asked me pointing at the water lilies “Lara? Did you know water lilies lasted for only three to five days?” 

Cam was sad. I knew it since he would throw random facts my way whenever he was. His way of coping up, I assumed. 

“No, I didn’t know that.”

~~~

“Hello?!” yelled the young man in the floral shop in the North-west valley.  He seemed to have been calling my name for a while now but I didn’t realise. 

“Yeah, sorry. Can I have a bouquet of blue water lilies please?” 

“Hmm…water lilies. It’s around late evening ma’am and around this time-”

Yeah, I knew what he was about to say next. I heard it in Cam’s voice. 

~~~

“And Lara, did you know they closed in the evening? Around night?”

“I didn’t know that either. But did you know” I was in tears and barely managing to breathe. 

“Once the flower can’t take it any longer, it slowly starts sinking into the water. Such a bad thing to happen to something isn’t it? When staying afloat seems pain. Living feels pain” 

“But Lara, you know what else always stays afloat? Dead bodies. Living entities naturally sink. They teach themselves how to swim” 

And just like that he had said everything again. He had given me hope. Not just hope, a thin rope to cling to while falling off a cliff. 

~~~

“Ma’am? It’ll cost you three dollars” said the cashier, shoving me back to the present. 

“Yes, thank you” 

I grabbed the bouquet and left. This time, I couldn’t muster the kind of courage to cycle further and go where I was supposed to. So I took a U-turn and left for home.

‘Today isn’t the right day’ I told the Cam in my head. 

“Tomorrow though, I promise I’ll swim. At least try to swim. 

For you.”