As the Flower Blooms Episode 9: “The Daisy Who Knew Too Much”

Nobody admired it.

Every bloom was turned toward the doorway.

“Only one flower knows where the other half of that letter is,” the voice repeated.

Camellia emerged from the shadows, her ivory petals edged in pink.

Daisy gave a small, nervous laugh.

“Well, that’s wonderfully specific. Shall we ask that flower and get on with our morning?”

Camellia looked directly at her.

“That was the plan.”

For once, Daisy had nothing to say.

Blue Hydrangea leaned toward Lavender.

“Write down the time.”

“Why?”

“Daisy has stopped talking. We may need witnesses.”

A Charm and a Confession

Rose stood beside her newly returned sister. Between them lay the torn letter, the faded garden photograph, and the silver daisy charm discovered beneath the keepsake box’s lining.

“Daisy?” Rose asked quietly.

Daisy stared at the charm.

“I wondered where that went.”

Peony’s blush petals trembled.

“It’s yours?”

“It was attached to a ribbon,” Daisy said. “Back at the old garden.”

Lily shifted behind a vase.

Camellia noticed.

“Oh, don’t wilt now, Lily. We’ve barely begun.”

Rose’s voice sharpened.

“Where is the rest of my sister’s letter?”

Daisy looked toward White Rose.

“I didn’t know you wrote it. I found a torn piece beside the potting bench after the showcase. My ribbon caught on a nail when I went to hide it in the box.”

“Why hide it?” asked Peony.

Daisy’s yellow center dipped.

“Because someone had written Rose’s name on it.”

Rose went very still.

“And you thought it was mine?”

“I thought…” Daisy swallowed. “I thought if Camellia found it, she’d never forgive you.”

Camellia’s petals stiffened.

“You let me blame her.”

“I thought I was protecting a friend.”

White Rose looked down at the torn page.

“That seems to be how everyone explains keeping a secret.”

The Flower in the Photograph

“Where is it now?” Rose asked.

Daisy nodded toward the faded photograph.

“Behind the backing. I moved it there when I realized someone had been opening the box.”

Peony leaned closer.

“There’s a loose corner.”

With the tip of a leaf, Daisy eased the photograph free. A folded scrap slipped onto the table.

The torn edges matched.

Nobody spoke as White Rose read the reunited letter.

“The flower named in those records is not who you think. The entry marked ‘Rose’ refers to the white rose. It refers to me.

“I saw someone changing the water at Camellia’s station before the showcase. Lily saw them too. Ask her what was tied around the watering can.”

Camellia turned slowly toward Lily.

“You told me Rose had been there.”

“She had,” Lily whispered.

“The white one,” said Rose.

Lily lowered her bloom.

“Yes.”

Lavender Hydrangea drew back.

“That is a rather significant detail to leave out.”

A Little Breathing Room

Everyone began talking at once.

Camellia demanded a name. Rose demanded an explanation. Daisy insisted she had intended to tell someone eventually, which Blue Hydrangea described as “a very flexible deadline.”

Peony’s voice rose above them.

“Stop!”

The room fell silent.

Peony looked surprised by her own volume, then continued.

“You’re crowding her. Give her a little room.”

Lily’s stem had bent against the vase beside her. Rose shifted back, and White Rose moved aside.

“There,” Peony said gently. “Now she can answer.”

Daisy glanced around.

“Apparently Peony runs the studio now.”

“Someone has to,” murmured Lavender.

Lily straightened.

“I saw the watering can,” she said. “There was a strip of lavender ribbon tied around its handle.”

Both Hydrangeas froze.

Blue turned toward Lavender.

“Please tell me lavender is simply a popular color.”

Lavender did not answer.

Something in the Water

Camellia’s voice grew quieter.

“What was in it?”

“I don’t know,” Lily said. “But afterward, your vase water looked cloudy. You began drooping before the judging.”

“And nobody changed it?” Peony asked.

“I went for a clean vase,” White Rose said. “When I came back, the original one was gone.”

Rose looked at her sister.

“And that’s why you wrote to me.”

White Rose nodded.

“I thought we could put the pieces together. I didn’t know the letter never reached you.”

Daisy looked down at the table.

“I’m sorry.”

This time, there was no joke after it.

Camellia studied Rose for a long moment.

“All this time,” she said, “I thought you’d watched me fade.”

Rose’s crimson petals softened.

“I would have helped you.”

“I know that now.”

Across the table, Lavender Hydrangea made the smallest movement toward the open cabinet.

Blue noticed.

“Where are you going?”

“Nowhere.”

“Then you’re taking a remarkably purposeful route.”

The Last Page

Lavender stopped.

“There’s something else in the cabinet.”

Rose’s expression hardened again.

“How do you know?”

“Because I put it there.”

Daisy let out a faint squeak.

“Oh, I do not care for being on this side of a confession.”

Lavender reached beneath the cabinet’s lower shelf and drew out a thin garden ledger.

A faded length of lavender ribbon marked one page.

Camellia stared at it.

“You had the records?”

“I found them after the showcase,” Lavender said. “I kept them because I thought someone would destroy them.”

“And then?” Rose asked.

Lavender looked toward Lily.

“Then I became afraid of who would be blamed.”

Rose opened the ledger.

Beside Camellia’s name, one entry had been scratched out so heavily that the paper was nearly torn through.

Beneath it, in a different hand, someone had written:

Water replaced before judging. Authorized by—

The rest of the page had been cut away.

Daisy stared.

“Does anyone in this garden own a complete piece of paper?”

But White Rose wasn’t looking at the missing section.

She was looking at the handwriting.

“That entry,” she whispered. “I know who wrote it.”

From behind her, Lily said:

“Before you say the name… turn the page.”

To be continued…

A Little Flower Wisdom from Petal Perfection

Fresh flowers benefit from a clean vase, fresh water, and enough space to avoid crushed petals and bent stems. Remove foliage below the waterline, use flower food according to the packet directions, and refresh the water regularly.

If the water turns cloudy, wash the vase thoroughly before refilling it and returning the flowers.

At Petal Perfection Flower Company, we prefer the drama in our stories—not in your vase.

Explore our flowers and floral designs at petalperfectionflowers.com.