No Gardenias

The floor was uneven, the stairs were uneven, the walls were falling apart and the hallway smelled like sweat and cigarettes. There was a fresh coat of paint in the walls but it was all for nothing. The wall looked like a beige painted cliff side with light brown wood panels on the bottom edge. The wooden frames on the doors and windows gave the place a bit of class but thanks to the sloppy work of some cheap painter they looked more like a two-year-old’s paint book masterpiece. A place like this was not beautifully odd like a surreal painting, it was painfully real and to be completely honest, depressing.

“Maybe we don’t all agree in the concept of beauty but after seeing the sun set on the beach it’s hard not to have high standards,” he said candidly to his friend after a lengthy discussion about the depressing nature of the apartment building and the city which spawned such a place.

“We don’t all come from the land of mojitos and rum, so deal with it you lucky bastard. Most of us don’t get to see that in our life. Do you think Vladimir will ever see a warm beach in his little fishing shack in Siberia? Do you honestly think that Cleatus the shotgun carrying fine citizen of West Virginia will ever see the beach or anywhere outside his county? You know, you’re lucky you had the chance to experience that,” said his friend before taking a sip of a tall glass full of some strong smelling alcohol.

Once the conversation ended they continued doing something odd. It was something they’ve done before, watching the plants grow. At least that’s what they told everybody when they asked. The main attraction was a gardenia plant about the size of a large green watermelon. They’ve never seen the plant with flowers and they’ve never smelled the soothing scent so distinctive of the gardenia flower. Sometimes it would grow new leaves but that was it. The plant was also growing uneven, fitting in perfectly with the rest of the asymmetrical apartment building. After a few drinks it seemed like a good thing to do, shut up and watch the stupid potted plant grow in this unnatural and depressing place. That’s what they kept saying to themselves.

“I’m sure gardenias are not supposed to grow in places like this. I guess if I was the plant I wouldn’t even try to produce any flowers. I would try to migrate but I guess plants don’t have that option,” said the man from the land of mojitos and rum, Carlos Garcia.

“You know, I’m pretty sure plants can’t grow wings or feet and move around much. Although they can send their seeds pretty far away, pretty much as far away as the birds would take them,” said his friend, David.

“Thank you for the pearls of wisdom David, I’ll keep it in mind for the next time I have a show and tell for my second grade science class,”

“We can watch the science channels on cable and get more of those pearls,”

“Nah, it’s going to be really crowded in a bit but maybe later,” Carlos said after standing up to open the door. He had a brown Hawaiian shirt with white flowers and that’s the first thing people noticed when they saw him that night.

People kept arriving in small crowds of seven and much of the enthusiasm was concentrated around the assortment of alcohol. Like bees around honey they all buzzed around the table filled with the goodies. But when Helena entered the room, everyone stopped. It didn’t seem like much to her but people always seemed to flock around her. She did have a temper, that’s what most people said, but she was brilliant. She was also from the land of rum and mojitos but she was different in one way, she didn’t care much for either one.

“Why I let you two invite all these people to my apartment is beyond me. Carlos, that plant sucks, it will never have flowers, so deal with it,” she said while taking off her coat. She reached for a chair and pulled up next to them. “You know, I don’t think I know anyone here, and this is my apartment. Did you invite them Carlos?” she questioned him as she took as sip of his drink.

“Hey most of them are your friends; David here is the only one I really know,”

“Well, would it be rude if I tell them to leave?”

“Yeah,” both David and Carlos reply.

“Oh, well. Give me that drink. I’ll see if there’s a good movie on TV,” she replied as she takes Carlos’ drink.

Carlos left to get another drink and the guests seemed to disappear one by one. At the end of the night only a few were left. David always stayed until the last minute. After a few drinks he was ready to pass out on the couch. The only other guest left in the apartment was a girl that blended with the background all through the night. Her name was Kuchinashi, a Japanese girl that recently graduated from college and was friends with Helena.

They all had a chance to get to know Kuchinashi. By the end of the night they all agreed to baptize her with the nickname Kuchi. The little lady seemed to be intrigued by all of them, it almost seemed like she was analyzing them.

They each had a unique way of interacting with society. Helena was the type of woman that could tell when people were lost or looking for guidance. Most of the time she didn’t know what to tell them, in fact most of the time they irritated her. David, on the other hand, was incredibly good at giving advices. But they often went unnoticed or were never put to good use because he couldn’t tell who really needed it. Most of the time he would offend those he was trying to help. Carlos, was a particularly good listener and if pushed could also give good advice. Unfortunately he was terribly disinterested and unmotivated.

“So, is it ok if I stay here with you guys?” asked Kuchi. She was by all accounts a petite girl. She had pitch-black hair and a perfectly white smile. A white shirt with long light green gypsy skirt made her look a bit eccentric. She had brown Ugg boots that she took off when she arrived and colorful socks that had a white flower on the side. “I hope you don’t mind if I take my sketch pad and draw the gardenia plant?”

“Sure, knock yourself out. But without flowers it almost seems pointless,” said Helena as she picked up the plastic cups from the coffee table.

It was early November and there was snow on the ground. We all looked from the window as small dusty white snow descended upon the fair city. Eleventh months have passed since the year officially began but the introduction of Kuchinashi into the group that day gave the year a new beginning. Her visits became more frequent and she started to be a good friend to all of them.

She sketched a part of the gardenia plant each time she visited. Helena noticed that Kuchi added flower to the plant in her sketch. One day she dared ask.

“How can you draw flowers that don’t exist?” asked Helena as she approached Kuchi’s personals space. Neither of them seemed to mind but Kuchi seemed confused by the question.

“Why not? When I see a plant that should have flowers without flowers, I just see a plant in need of reassurance,” replied as she caressed a leaf, “or maybe it’s just that I like flowers and I wanted to add that into my sketch, I’m an optimist at heart you know.”

“Ok,” after which came an awkward silence that was eventually broken by the sound of a defective heater. “Well, I guess tonight is going to be cold in this apartment,” said Helena in an almost forced cheerful tone.

“I don’t think so. The heater always makes that sound,” said Carlos from the distance. He started to walk towards the living room to meet up with them but Helena caught up to him. “What’s up?” he said when she stopped him in the hallway.

“Look, it’s weird. There’s something about her that’s off. I mean, it’s not bad. It’s just sometimes I don’t think she’s telling us everything about her,” she whispered in Carlos hear.

“I admit she might be a little strange but maybe been like that is actually better than been normal in this day and age,” he replied as he takes a sip from a metal mug filled with green tea.

“Does it make me a bad person to think she’s hiding something?”

“Everybody has something to hide Helena, even you. It doesn’t make you a bad person to think that way. It’s your actions which determine what kind of person you are. As far as I know, your actions towards her make you a good person,”

Both started to walk to the living room when they saw Kuchi looking at the plant closely. It almost seemed like she smelled something weird in the leaves.

“OK, you win,” whispered Carlos to Helena. They both looked at each other perplexed but they both thought about it for a second and realized it wasn’t that weird. People, “normal people”, do a lot weirder things. Like throwing coins into alcoholic drinks as a game or replace your eyebrow with a tattoo that looks like a thinner version of the original eyebrow. So they both smiled and revealed an unspoken agreement to give the girl a break.

“Hey, guys? What are we going to do tonight, any more good movies?” asked Kuchi.

“I don’t know yet, I haven’t checked,” replied Carlos as he sat down on the sofa. A few minutes later David arrived with a ton of beer. It almost seemed like a party was about to take place but in reality it was a get together of four.

Kuchi was cheerful and brought a particular sense of joy to the usually depressing environment. They all looked genuinely happy. Carlos stepped out of the shadow and talked for hours. David didn’t feel the need to drink at all. Yet the most drastic change was Helena. She smiled and for the first time felt optimistic about life.

At some point the night had to end and when it did everyone left in a good mood. Kuchi felt accomplished and for the first time left their apartment without a worry in her mind. She had made it her mission to make these three miserable people find joy in life. More than anything she wanted them to find the joy in themselves.

The next day David, Carlos and Helena met on a busy street. Neither of them new they were going to meet each other there but when they all look at the window of a flower shop in downtown they see a gardenia plant full of flowers. They all decide to buy it and bring it to the apartment.

All three of them were exited about the new plant, it was to represent a new era. “This new plant has so many flowers, it’s beautiful,” said Helena with a cheerful tone.

“I’m sure Kuchi will love it!” said David.

“Yeah, it’s time to take out the old one and let this new one bring this great smell to the room,” said Carlos as he carried the plant to the car.

They all arrive to the apartment filled with enthusiasm. They put the other plant out in the dumpster and place the new plant right in the middle of the coffee table. They felt like they’ve never felt before, happy to be in that apartment. Kuchi was about to go up and meet them when she saw the old plant outside in the trash. She picked it up and shed a tear. The plant was starting to bloom and flowers were already starting to show. Kuchi took the plant and decided never to return.

As days went by the new plant started to die and the flowers quickly began to fall. Their mood started to change as well. David and Carlos watched the plant grow without flowers and revisited their old conversations about the depressing nature of the place. Helena felt betrayed by Kuchi and was thinking of leaving the city. It was hard for her to trust people again and she was now more pessimistic about life. Everyone enjoyed life a little less and they all agreed it was the city, the apartment, the street, the plant and everything else. The thought the place had drained the joy off Kuchi and everyone.

“Maybe we should have kept the old plant,” said Helena as she took the dead plant away from the window. “You know, why don’t you two get a life? I’m tossing this plant out; I don’t want it here anymore. It’s depressing me,” David and Carlos looked at her confused but did nothing.

“I think your right; maybe we should have kept the old plant. I bet by now that plant would be full of flowers, I think we underestimated the poor thing,” said David in a tone that was part serious but part joking.

“Yeah, maybe we didn’t have to look for something new to be happy. We had it all along we were just to busy complaining to notice,” said Carlos as he left his chair to help Helena with the trash.

“Whatever; you think what you want but I hate this place and I want out,” argued Helena as she tossed the plant in the trash and left the room. “How could I have been so blind as to think we found what we were all looking for; part of me thinks we did but we let it slip away. Anyway, there are no gardenias in the plant and we’re all as lost as we were before everything,” she whispered to herself as she looked herself in the bedroom.

Carlos stared at the door for a minute after she locked herself in the room. He had no clue what happened. David was in the same boat and when he went to talk to Carlos they both stared at the trash. The plant wasn’t growing anymore but they felt the need to do the same thing they did before, creatures of habit these two. Nothing changed, no gardenias bloomed, and for the first time they’ve felt like they truly lost something.

It was November again and nobody had hopes of anything happening. On the 11th a package was left in the door of the apartment. They open the door to find the old gardenia plant but this time it was full of flowers. The smell was so powerful it filled the hallway with the wonderful smell. There was a note from Kuchi, it read: The gardenia flowers are inside all of you.

“Ha, that’s cheesy,” said Helena with a smile on her face. Then they all laughed and for a minute they were all genuinely happy. “Now what?” she asked.