The Onyx Rose
Chapter 1- A Bad News
Alex had picked it up at an estate sale. She had been riding her bicycle home from the mall, when something shiny on one of the rickety tables had caught her eye. She almost didn't stop, but some nagging feeling in the back of her mind insisted. Almost hidden between the Vegg-O-Matic and silverware set, a rose lay on the table. Alex, though she certainly wouldn't call herself squeamish, didn't want to touch it; it was so caked in filth. But that little voice in the back of her mind was already in control of her, and she reached down and grabbed it. The tiny woman who was selling it told Alex that the dirty rose was her mother's favorite paperweight.
Alex had paid the three dollars that the woman wanted for it, gotten a bag to put it in, and asked the woman if she could perhaps use her bathroom. The woman had agreed, and showed Alex quickly to the bathroom, leaving her with instructions back. As she washed her hands, Alex let herself take in the bathroom. It was a typical old-lady bathroom, she thought to herself. The wallpaper was a faded and yellowing floral print, and everything else in the room had a similar floral motif, from the wall-mounted toothbrush holder to the lacy curtains. Alex finished washing her hands, and looked around for something to dry them on. There was a small hand towel on the sink, but it was covered in a thin film of dust, obviously unused for a while. As Alex moved about the tiny room looking for something suitable, her eyes felt drawn to the window. Hands still dripping, she used her elbow to nudge the curtain aside and gasped at what she saw.
In the tiny backyard there were roses. Orange, yellow, white, red, striped, pink; tea roses, garden roses, shrubs and climbers. Alex looked out at them and was simply astonished. After a moment she mentally shook herself and dragged her eyes away from the window, and headed back through the house to the front door. When she came out the woman was waiting for her, smiling. "I'm sorry ma'm I couldn't help noticing all the roses in the back. What will happen to them?" Alex asked. The older woman smiled wider. "Do you like them?" she asked, so softly Alex almost thought she imagined it. "They're very beautiful." Again, the old woman's smile widened. "Wait here," she ordered Alex, and swept off.
Not more than a moment later she was back, struggling to carry a rose plant to Alex. It was a climber, planted in a small plastic bucket. There were no blooms on the plant yet, but there were a few buds. "It was my sister's newest." The old woman told Alex. "She collected them," The woman continued, "and I think she would have wanted you to have it." She gave Alex a sly wink, and without another word set about tying the plant to the back of Alex's bike. Somehow the older woman managed to secure the plant in a few minutes, and had sent a mildly confused Alex on her way.
By the time Alex realized that she was majorly late, she was almost home, and she knew she was in deep shit. From the end of the street, she could see her mom's van in the driveway, and she groaned. She knew exactly what look her mother would give her before the lecture came. The disappointed, I-thought-I-could-trust-you-but-I-guess-I-can't look. Then the didn't-I-raise-you-better lecture, and the threats to send her to live with her cousin, further away from all her friends, in some lame, boring old shrine in Japan. Alex sighed as her bike rolled into the driveway.
She hopped off the bike, and walked it to the shed. She tried to untie the rose plant from the back of the bike, but in a few moments she had achieved nothing but frustrating herself. Alex slid a hand into her back pocket and retrieved her small switchblade knife. She flipped it open with ease and in seconds she had cut through the twine that was holding the plant hostage. The knife went back into her pocket, and she gathered the plant into her arms and headed into the house.
She left her shoes in the mudroom, snuck through the kitchen to the back stairs, and made a break for her room. She got to her room, opened the door only to find her mother sitting at her desk, looking as sharp as she always did in her light blue work suit, but unmistakably pissed off. Alex groaned inwardly and quickly entered the room closing the door behind her. Trying to ignore her mother's stare she crossed the room to put her new plant with the rest of her collection of flowers in one corner of the room. Alex kept her hold on the bag with the dusty rose inside as she walked calmly into the bathroom adjoining her room.
"Are you even going to ask me why I'm waiting for you to get home?" a strained voice asked from the bedroom. "Not really" Alex returned, taking the rose from its bag. She turned on the water and held her purchase under the water. "Did you even bother to go to school today?" Alex looked up; her mother was now in the door. "Your principal called," she continued, "Alex, this is not a joke. You've missed over two months worth of classes, and when you do go, you get into trouble!" Alex rolled her eyes. She knew she had missed school, but it was just so boring, and the teachers hated her, so pulling pranks didn't bother her a bit. Alex's mom foraged on, "They've expelled you. Alex, you've given me no choice. I've already called your Aunt Kumiko, and made the arrangements. You'll be leaving on Sunday." She stood in the doorway for a minute longer, then turned and left the room when Alex continued to ignore her.
Alex heard her mother leave and pushed her mother's words from her mind and picked up her nail brush, and started using it to clean the rose. Ten minutes later, Alex had managed to clean away only a few layers of grime, and sensing she was getting no closer to cleaning it, she washed her hands, and left the rose in the sink which she filled with warm soapy water. She dried her hands off on a hand towel, and walked back into her room. She looked at the rose plant as she passed, but ignored it and flopped down on her bed. Sunday, her mother had said. That only left her tonight and tomorrow.
Alex wondered what her cousin was like. Last time she had seen her, they had both been six, and it was at her dad's funeral. Alex smiled. Her dad had been the nicest person she had even known, and she missed him, and she couldn't help but smile when she thought of him. Still, just because she was going to be living with her father's sister and her cousin didn't mean she would like it. She remembered her Aunt Kumiko as being a sweet kind woman, but she seemed like a bit of a pushover. Kagome had seemed like goody-two-shoes, but she had been someone to hide under the stairs in the funeral home with and watch the grown-ups go by.
Alex closed her eyes. 'It wouldn't be too bad to get away' she thought. 'I'll get away from mom and Aaron, and maybe even get to meet some cute guys.' Alex got lost in her thoughts of boys, and she didn't her hear door open, or her sister come into the room. "Kat, you know you're not supposed to be in here." Alex said half-heartedly as she felt a weight settle on the foot of the bed. "I know, but Mommy said you are going away." The six year old gave Alex a look that said this had better not be true. "Sorry kid," Alex said, ruffling Kat's hair, "but it's true, they're sending me to stay with cousin Kagome."
"But why?" Kat asked her, earnestly perplexed. "Because I'm a bad girl, and Mom thinks this will make me a good girl." Alex replied. "Oh." Kat paused to think for a minute, then asked "Can we have tea when you get back?" Alex chuckled. She might hate her step-dad, but she could never deny her half-sister anything. "Of course we can." Alex replied. "Yippee!" Kat threw herself at Alex in a hug, and Alex knew that she would honestly miss the little girl. "Maybe you can help me find something pretty to wear for when I meet Aunt Kumiko?" Alex asked, knowing that the one thing that could get Kat more excited than make-believe tea parties was playing dress up with Alex.
The small girl grinned and flounced over to Alex's closet. She pulled the door open and began to survey Alex's clothes with the greatest seriousness. Alex rolled over on the bed and grabbed her camera off the nightstand and snapped a few pictures of Kat. The little girl was almost a perfect copy of her father, while Alex was almost a perfect copy of their mother. Little Kat had bright red hair, precious blue eyes, and a smile that could light up a room. Alex was darker, with mahogany hair and forest green eyes. Both girls had small builds, they were both tall and thin, though Alex found she was beginning to fill her clothes out nicely.
A few hours later Kat had selected the perfect outfit, as she dubbed it and the girls were now busy watching Sponge Bob Square Pants, Kat's favorite TV show, when they heard "Dinner!" Kat scrambled off the bed and rushed out of the room to go set the table before anyone else could do it. Alex stretched, taking her time, wanting to putting off going downstairs as long as possible. She carefully put away all the discarded outfits that Kat had had her try on. Alex looked around the room, but everything seemed to be in its place, so she reluctantly made her way downstairs to the kitchen.
Dinner was uneventful, except for the strained silence filled only by Kat's excited chatter. After dinner Alex set to work washing dishes, one of her chores. To her surprise her mother grabbed a towel and started drying plates as she washed. "Look, Alex, I wish I didn't have to do this, but I don't know what else to do." She fell silent for a moment. "Promise me you'll try and behave? Kumiko said that Kagome is having some trouble with her school, so you'll both be at a private school starting in the fall." Again silence fell. Alex nodded at her mother's question; she would at least try to behave.
"You're father and I-" "He's not my father." Alex cut her off. "Fine. You're step-father and I are concerned about you." She paused and looked around conspiratorially, and then turned back to Alex. "He wanted to send you to boarding school, but I thought if you go stay with Kumiko you'll at least get to see where your father grew up." Alex looked at her curiously. So her mother had actually saved her? 'Whatever,' she thought, 'after Sunday I don't have to deal with her.' The two women finished the dishes in silence. "Alex," Her mom started, "Tomorrow Kat and I will take you shopping, and when we get home she can help you pack. Make a list of what you want, so we'll know what we're getting tomorrow." She smiled at Alex, and Alex managed to force a smile back.
Alex spent the rest of the night cleaning out her closet and dressers. It was a good thing they were going shopping the next day, she realized, she didn't have very much to wear. When she was done she decided that a hot bath would help her relax, so she poured bath salts into her large bathtub as it filled with water. While she waited for the tub to fill, she plunged her hand into the now cold water in the sink, finding the stone rose and bringing it to the surface. Most of the grit and dirt had come loose and Alex could tell all it needed now was a good scrub. She turned to water off and tested the temperature, but it was too hot to get in yet.
While she waited for the water to cool, Alex turned back to the sink and once again grabbed the nailbrush, carefully cleaning the rose. Fifteen minutes later the suds on the rose had gone from grimy brown to a white color, so Alex drained the sink and rinsed the rose off in hot water. She set it down on the side of the tub to dry, and removed her clothes, finally sliding herself into the warm scented water of the tub. It was nice to relax after such a bizarre day, and Alex took the time to wash and pin up her hair before letting the warmth seep through her skin and into her muscles, making her sigh with contentment.
For a long time she just lay in the water, imagining what it would be like to live where her dad grew up. After some time the rose on the side of the tub caught her attention, and she finally inspected closely. The petals were of a smooth, opaque, black stone while the stem, leaves and thorns were made of a clear green stone. On a whim, she held the flower to her nose, closed her eyes and inhaled. Immediately her eyes widened in shock. 'Maybe I'm going crazy' she thought, 'but I could swear that I actually smelled roses.' Alex shook her head and settled back into the tub, closing her eyes again.
It didn't take long for the warm water to lull Alex into a doze, the hand holding the stone rose coming to rest under the water in her lap. Alex smiled slightly in her sleep, caught up in a dream. Somehow she was already in Tokyo with her cousin, who turned out to be pretty decent. They were at the mall, boy watching after a long day of classes. The crowds swarmed like crazy, and Alex had a hard time picking out any face in particular. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a red haired boy stepped out of the crowd, and Alex couldn�t keep her eyes off of him. He was headed right towards her, but when the crowd surged again, and she lost sight of him. She could feel a burning sensation in her hand and looked down to find the stone rose glowing. When she looked back up, she gasped. Standing in front of her was a tall boy, with white hair down to his waist, golden eyes, and fuzzy white ears on top of his head. Alex found herself stepping backwards, and the boy reached his hand out, reaching for the rose in her hands. Again, Alex stepped back, and suddenly found herself back in her bathtub at home, the water freezing cold and shivering.
Alex looked down at the stone rose in her hand and climbed out of the tub, pulling out the drain stop on the way. She set the rose on the sink counter and grabbed a towel. When she was dry she wrapped the towel around herself, grabbed the rose, and walked into her bedroom. She set the rose on her bedside table and shuffled to her dresser to get a pair of pajamas. Alex pulled on the loose silk pants and shirt, and slid between the soft cotton bed sheets. It wasn't long before she fell back to sleep.