Beneath the Marigolds…!

“Mar” was the prompt for this month’s write-up. I lacked ideas, so I came up with a story. And ta-da… my main characters are named Mara, Maya, and Mark.

Mara sat by the window, watching the last rays of sunlight disappear behind the mountains. The memories of Mark’s laughter still echoed in the house, though it had been months since he had left. Marigolds, once his favorite flowers, wilted in the vase on the table, untouched and forgotten. Muffled sobs broke the silence as Mara clutched the letter he’d left behind, its words still haunting her. Behind her, Maya stood silently, her heart pounding—she knew Mara was sad, but it was too late to turn back now. She couldn’t tell her sister the truth, not when Mark’s body lay buried in the garden, slowly rotting beneath the marigolds they had planted together.

As the last light of day faded, Mara remained lost in her grief, the weight of Mark’s absence pressing heavily on her heart. The marigolds outside, a cruel reminder of their shared moments, whispered secrets only Maya knew. In the quiet of the twilight, Maya’s own sorrow intertwined with her sister’s, a silent burden she would carry alone. The truth, hidden beneath the blooms, remained buried alongside Mark, a secret that could never be unearthed. As darkness enveloped the house, the echoes of Mark’s laughter seemed to merge with the shadows, leaving Mara and Maya to grapple with their shared loss and the unspoken truths that lingered in the cold night air.