Bloom

             Elise found herself walking through an overgrown garden, following Lance as he gave her a tour of flowers she’d never seen before. They were enormous, all of them, and their petals turned to face her as she passed by, their stamen twisting and turning as if they were studying her. She looked toward Lance and saw vines growing out of his forearm, digging into the earth beneath as flowers sprouted all along his body.

            The sight felt like it should be grotesque, but somehow it was too beautiful to read as horror. Lance turned toward Elise and smiled. His body was unrecognizable now, covered in vines and flowers and petals and leaves. A few vines extended from him, little flower bulbs growing and blooming as it formed the shape of a hand. He beckoned toward Elise.

            She stared at Lance, her thoughts as twisted and tangled as the plants in his arm. She gave a quick glance my way before approaching Lance warily. The vines stretched out from Lance to meet her, to touch her, wrapping around her fingers and hand. They crawled up her arm and up her shoulder up to her neck. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as they swirled around her head, surrounding her face in a cocoon.

            When they finally stopped moving, she slowly opened her eyes, revealing a strange and beautiful flower blooming right before her eyes, growing from deep within her.