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A knock at the door momentarily draws Aelwyn’s attention away from fussing over giving Hector his eye drops, and it’s all the distraction the mangy fur ball needs to tear himself out of Aelwyn’s arms and leap off of her lap. Aelwyn calls out “I’ll be back for you!” to the orange-and-white cat that races to a hiding spot in the back of her closet and stands up, dusting fur off of her shirt and pants before crossing the condo living room to answer the door. When she opens it, however, no one is there. Laying on her doormat is a bouquet of a dozen perfect red roses, tied together with a bold red silk ribbon. Tucked into the ribbon is a small white card. The sweet scent of the flowers is pungent and she can smell them without even bending down.
She frowns and looks about, but sees no one around who could have dropped off the flowers.
With a scoff, she casts Ray of Frost on the flowers, freezing them instantly, and then stomps on them, pulverizing them into fine little ice fragments. She kicks them off to the side of the walkway and returns inside, calling out for Hector.
The next day comes another knock, and Aelwyn pokes her head out the door to see a dozen while cala lilies, tied together with a lavender ribbon and a card. She scowls down at the flowers and sets them alight with a Fire Bolt, not caring that the mat catches fire, too.
Pink carnations, yellow tiger lilies, purple irises, orange marigolds, blue roses – all burned, frozen, or crushed without Aelwyn touching them and then kicked to the side of her doorstep. There’s a pathetic pile of ashes and crumpled flowers growing there.
Until one day…
When Aelwyn peeks out the door, there’s a simple potted green plant with long sprigs of purple flowers. A dark purple silk ribbon is tied around the white pot and, as always, a small white card is nestled among the blooms. As she steps out to dispose of this one, Hector squirms out from between her legs and sniffs the leaves. His eyes grow large and he begins to drool, and the cat flops down on the ground next to the plant and begins to paw at it. Aelwyn pauses, then bends down and plucks the card from the plant and turns it over to read what is written:
I see now that you are not the average lady. Please accept this catnip plant as an apology for soiling your doorstep with more mundane flowers.
– Your Secret Admirer
On the flip side is a crystal number.
She smiles, collects the plant and Hector, and goes back inside. Maybe she’ll give the number a call.
Maybe.