By the spring of 1914, Swanson’s Flower Shop had become the talk of Evansville.
Every table at the Elm Street Tea Room boasted one of Vera’s bouquets, soft peach roses and apricot carnations wrapped in cream paper and tied with silk ribbon. They seemed to glow even in dim light, and people swore they carried the scent of sunlight itself.
No one could explain how Vera kept her flowers so vivid, how they stayed alive far longer than any others. Some said she had a greenhouse up by the old orchard, others whispered about her late-night wagon trips toward the edge of town. But when asked directly, Vera would just smile that gentle smile and say, “It’s the soil. You just have to know how to talk to it.”
It was around then that Mr. Whitaker went missing.
He’d been a traveling seed merchant, the kind who’d steer his cart from state to state, swapping stories and samples. He came into town boasting he had found a new breed of rose that would put Swanson’s to shame. He stopped by the shop twice that week. The second time, he didn’t leave.
His cart was found thirty miles east, near Crimson’s Orchard, a basket of half-eaten apples in the back.
Still, the bouquets kept coming.
The new arrangements had a warmth to them, soft, almost blushing shades that brightened any room. Customers said the scent changed depending on who held them, sweet for some, bitter for others. Those who left the flowers too long in water claimed the blooms pulsed faintly beneath the surface, like breathing.
When asked about the new hue, Vera said it was called Brzoskwinia.
A foreign word, one she said came from her grandmother’s tongue, “It means a blessing for good weather and good fortune.”
That spring, Evansville had the longest bloom season anyone could remember.
The days were warm, the nights were soft, and only one person ever mentioned the faint hum that came from Swanson’s greenhouse after dark, like bees in glass jars, or whispers beneath the floorboards.
Swanson’s Flower Shop
- Chapter I: Shades of Blauw
- Chapter I (continued): Shades of Blauw
- Chapter I (final): Shades of Blauw
- Chapter II: Shades of Brzoskwinia
- Chapter III: Shades of Natura
- Chapter IV: Shades of Violaceous
- Chapter V: Shades of La Couleur Bleue
- Chapter VI: Shades of Brun
- Chapter VII: Shades of Noire
- Epilogue: The Geddes Report