The door opened that ticked the bell that told the girl that someone was entering the shop, but the bell’s clapper was stuck and all it could manage was a dull thud. It was that guy; that glider guy, the one who looked like he was gliding, not walking – the guy who the boys on the sidewalk, the little dirt devils, called The Shadow.
The girl was behind the counter with her back turned, but she heard it. She missed little. She stood at a cutting table where she had laid out 10 fresh roses. Old Kennery, the owner of The Stem and The Glory, a flower shop and religious book store, called the girl “his miracle” – said he would have shut down years ago if it hadn’t been for her – and she wasn’t even family, just someone who showed up one day looking for work. The girl did it all there, even made deliveries when Crazy Morris was at rehab.
The Stem and The Glory survived on flower arrangements. They hadn’t sold a religious book in 2 years, Old Kennery just didn’t have the heart to take them down. He dusted them every now and then.
The girl had also discovered through her work that she was an artist, that she could see flower arrangements in her head, visions from another time and place.
She didn’t look up. The long stems took concentration. They had to be cut just right, at just the right angle, and she knew how to do it because she could see the stem from the inside out as if she were standing inside it. One time she had cut herself and bled all over and cost Old Kennery money. She vowed never to let that happen again.
The Shadow stayed silent in the back for a long time – so long, it began to make the girl nervous. She never liked it when people lingered. She swept some cut stems into a pail.
When she finally turned, she was face to face with The Shadow. She jumped back.
“Excuse me,” The Shadow said softly.
“Can I help you?” the girl asked, fidgeting with the shears.
“Those vases?” The Shadow asked, “…the ones in the cooler. Did you make those?”
The girl nodded making sure The Shadow saw the shears.
“Are you the only one here?”
“No,” the girl replied, nearly laughing at how badly she lied. She looked past the man and through the front window. The sidewalk was busy but everyone was passing the shop. She tried to will someone in, but the tide flows only the way the tide flows.
“You have kind eyes,” the man said, “…and it shows in your work, how you put the flowers together, the colors you choose.”
“Is there something I can help you with?” the girl asked with impatience.
The man thought for a second, then said:
“I’m in trouble,” then said no more, but slouched like a scolded school boy. The girl fell silent.
“I’m not here to hurt anyone,” the man assured, “I mean I wouldn’t.”
The girl didn’t know what to think. He sounded sincere, but she knew how naïve she was. Everyone knew.
Those flowers, the ones you just cut. They need water,” the man stated.
“Can I contact the police for you?” the girl asked, ‘Would that help?”
The Shadow’s eyes were fixed on the roses.
“Please,” he pleaded.
The girl was afraid to turn her back on the man so she backed up a few steps, turned to the side where she could still see him, gathered the roses, dropped them into a vase and with a shaky hand added water from a nearby pitcher. The man reached into his pocket and set a 100-dollar bill on the counter.
“It’s yours. All you have to do is listen.”
“Listen?”
“Yes, that’s all.”
“I don’t want money,” the girl said.
The man looked down and took a deep, labored breath.
“I’ve wasted it,” he mumbled.
“Wasted what?” the girl asked.
“My life,” The Shadow answered.
The girl didn’t know what to say.
“I’ve done things,” his voice broke, “Things not good at all, bad things. Very bad things.”
“Why are you telling me?” the girl asked.
The man looked up.
“Because I’ve been gifted 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes with anyone I wanted, but I have no one.”
He ran his fingers through his hair.
“My judges, these men who don’t know grace have granted me one, but since I have no one, I asked them to pull over, and now I stand before you.”
“A stranger?” the girl asked.
“Yes,” the man confirmed.
The girl tugged at her sleeve.
The man pulled some papers from the inside pocket of his coat, unfolded them and set them on the counter next to the 100-dollar bill.
“They’re legal, all signed. Bring them to the address I’ll give you and you’ll have a good deal of money. Do something with it, something good. I know you will, and you will free me from chains. These men, these judges are not patient.”
He placed his hands, palms down, on the counter.
“Please.”
The girl looked out again through the front window. Somewhere she could hear a thumping like a heartbeat. A dirt devil was throwing a rubber ball against a wall. Every time the dirt devil caught the ball, a puff of dirt rose. The girl looked the stranger in the eye. She believed him. She leaned on the counter and whispered.
“I’m going in the back and calling the police.”
“No,” the stranger urged, “My day is done.”
“You’re a human being,” the girl admonished, “Human beings can’t be treated like that.”
The stranger stared at the girl.
“I haven’t been much of a human being.”
“It’s not too late,” the girl urged.
The stranger looked outside, then back.
“That’s why I’m here.”
“I don’t know what to do,” the girl whispered, “You really don’t have any family?”
“Long story,” the man whispered, “This is my chance – at grace – I’m sorry.”
The girl lowered her head, then made up her mind.
“No,” she stated calmly, “You need help.”
The man smiled.
“Rivers can’t change course. It was decided for them long ago.”
The girl looked off.
The stranger backed up a step.
“It’s ok,” he said, then picked up the 100-dollar bill and the papers and put them back in his pocket. He looked at the girl.
“God’s love for the innocent is endless.”
Just then, the door opened that ticked the bell but this time, the clapper unstuck and the bell rang clear.
An elderly woman with snow white hair came in and walked up to the counter.
“I’ve never seen kids so covered in dirt and so happy about it!”
She laughed.
“Something for a baptism?” she asked the girl.
The girl stepped around the counter, brought the woman to the cooler, opened the door, reached inside and pulled forward an arrangement of white carnations with a plastic cross in the middle.
“Perfect,” the old woman glowed.
The girl brought the arrangement and the old woman back to the counter. The old woman paid for the flowers then smiled at the man.
“They’re beautiful,” The Shadow told her.
“Grandchild,” the woman boasted, “…first one.”
The Shadow then turned, took one step towards the door, then turned to the girl.
“If anyone should ask, would you say I’ve done a kindness?”
The girl looked at the roses in the water in the vase.
She nodded.
The shadow turned again then glided through the shop, opened the door that ticked the bell and disappeared into the sunlight.
“Nice man,” the elderly woman noted.
“Yes,” the girl acknowledged.
The old woman then left too, carrying her arrangement and leaving the girl alone again in the shop.
The girl waited for a moment, then walked into the back room and came back with another batch of roses. One of them had begun to open. She raised it to her nose.
‘What kindness must smell like,’ she thought before another vision arrived.
She spread out the roses on the table.
[Image Credit : Photo by Stefano Pollio on Unsplash]
by 
Joe Ducato
Latest posts by Joe Ducato (see all)
- The Stem and The Glory - September 26, 2025
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