A Rose Petal and Sea Bubbles

“You look pretty. I haven’t seen that color. You are not from around here, are you?”

Said the sea bubbles to a gleaming, blushy, sandy-nude-colored rose petal adrift gracefully in the vast ocean. It is a sight for sore eyes. An ordinary object in an unordinary place.

“I am actually not. But I like the ocean. The waves, the horizon, the ever-looping seagulls- I think they are interesting; I want to see more.”

“I think you are interesting.”

The eyes never lied, like sunrays who intrude every gap without a goal; pure, raw, unbendable, and never needed a map. 

The rose petal, on the other hand, was convinced that he was on a journey to a goal. Somewhere, someplace, he was not sure, but couldn’t admit until he’d mature. He was convinced that every meeting would intrigue him, every conversation would fascinate him.

“Thanks! I got that a lot. They love me up there. Every one of us is special, but I did feel the love everyone gave me specifically. I was part of a flower after all. They treated us well up there. Saying each of us conveyed a certain message, so they handed flowers, person to person, hoping we could say something they couldn’t.”

The sea bubbles always said what it wanted to say, did what it wanted to do. Why would people give up this freedom to others? Let alone some delicate bunch of petals. No shade to the rose petal it’s currently facing; he’s beautiful regardless.

“So what did you say?” Asked the sea bubbles with genuine curiosity.

“What?” The rose petal frowned. He was as juvenile as a freshly plucked flower; what wisdom could he possibly possess?

“Yeah, what did you say to the people? You said you were carrying messages to say something.”

“I didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I don’t know. I never carry any message. I can’t even speak their language. It’s a made-up world where people believe what they want to believe.”

“And what do you believe?” The rose petal stayed quiet. He had never been asked a question he didn’t have the answer for.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“Yeah, I don’t understand, really. I was given as a symbol of romantic love; the others as symbols of motherly love, devotion, regret, sadness, joy, obsession, and faithfulness. Never really understood it. But I guess it’s just our duty as flowers.”

“You are too young to have duties.” 

The sea bubbles blurted a sentence that made them silent. The sun was warm and gentle. This bit of silence was as calming as it was captivating.  

“Do you like sea bubbles?” Said the sea bubbles, both hopeful and hopefully breaking the silence. No one ever liked sea bubbles, or so sea bubbles convinced itself. Actually, name every fish, and “yes” would be the answer when they were asked if they love sea bubbles. But they were never met. Sea bubbles were the stars to the fishes as stars were to anything but fishes.

“You’re questioning me a lot. I’ve never met sea bubbles.” The rose petal was not annoyed. It was an unprecedented experience. He was, in fact, a part of a rose; there were not a lot of questions circulating around him up above. “You are the first sea bubbles I’ve ever seen.” 

“How do you think I look?”

“You are shimmering. Like me, but muchier and shimmering.” The rose petal smiled as he saw his own reflection on the sea bubbles. 

“Yeah, I’ve got that many times.” The sea bubbles knew what everyone saw. 

And so the waves rolled. The rose petal drifted away. The sea bubbles could see a tiny yet beautiful spectacle, wishing him not to drown in the vast ocean.