"Full Moon Howling - With Scary Story" The Plant Betty opened the door. There stood a man holding a large potted plant. “Delivery for Ms. Mason.” “I didn’t order a plant,” she said. “Ma’am, I just deliver them where I’m told.” He set the plant down and held out a clipboard and pen. “Please sign here.” He picked up the plant. “It’s heavy, Ma’am,” he said. “Just show me where you want it.” Betty looked around her then pointed to a table in the corner near the front window, where she had other plants. “There will be fine.” He set the plant down and left. She looked at it. It was a strange looking plant with broad dark green leaves with white spots and one large purple bud at the top. A card was clipped to the branch with the bud. “Dear Betty, I’m sorry we had to break up, but I could not just say goodbye without giving you something to remember me by. I still love you, Peter.” Betty crumpled the card and threw it in the trash. The night before she had told Peter that she did not want to see him any more. She tried to be kind but he didn’t seem to understand. He had even cried pleading with her to change her mind. Finally she had to say it straight out. “I don’t love you. I don’t even like you. I only went out with you because I felt sorry for you.” The moment the words were out, she regretted them. It was the truth, but he looked so hurt. He turned and walked away without saying another word. She thought, what an odd looking plant, almost as odd as Peter. She had never seen anything like it; she had no idea what kind of plant it was. Betty loved houseplants but this one made her feel uneasy. She poked around the leaves trying to see if there was any kind of instructions on caring for it. There was nothing. The next morning, the phone rang while Betty was getting dressed for work. “Did you like the plant?” the voice asked. “Yes, Peter, it’s lovely, but it doesn’t change things.” “I didn’t think it would,” he said. Now Betty started feeling guilty. “Peter, I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t really mean that I don’t like you, I just don’t feel the way you do.” “It’s all right, I won’t bother you any more,” he said and hung up. Betty went into the living room and was surprised to see the plant had more than doubled in size, its pot had split apart and the roots spread over the table knocking the other plants onto the floor. They were all dead and shriveled. She didn't believe it but a glance at the wall clock told her there was no time to clean up the mess. She was already late for work. She picked up her purse and ran out the door. When Betty returned that night, she found the plant was even larger. Its leafy branches had spread upward and outward from the corner. They were wrapped tightly around the curtain rod and draped over the sofa. They had knocked pictures off the wall and toppled the floor lamp. The roots spread out over the floor. To her horror she realized it was still growing. The large purple bud, now in the center of this monstrous plant was beginning to open. At first she thought it looked like an gigantic pansy. Then she noticed that the dark purple marks were eyes. Slowly, the center of the flower unfurled revealing a mouth full of long pointed teeth. Betty stood transfixed as a long tongue shot out of the mouth. She tried to run but the roots wound around her feet. She tried to scream but the gaping mouth came down over her head. Days later when some friends came to her house, all they found was a huge pile of rotting vegetation...Meanwhile on the other side of town, Peter hummed to himself as he worked in his green house. He carefully wrapped the flowerpot with pretty foil. Then he took out a card and envelope. On the card he started to write, "Dear, Cathy, I’m sorry we had to break up... The End. Happy Halloween Month! J.Michael Piper *GO-SEE-HEAR-AND- EXPERIENCE THIS WEBSITE AND GET YOUR FREE DESKTOP IMAGE DESIGNS, SCREEN SAVERS, THEMES AND MY NEWEST PAGE - CUSTOM T- SHIRT DESIGNS! IT'S ALL AT ARTIMATIONSDESIGNCOMP.CO M* http://www.artimationsdesignc omp.com/ *If You Missed It~See It On My Website!* J.MichaelPiper©2012 All Rights Reserved