The Expensive Vase

The abrupt prickling ring of the telephone woke her up to the news that a colleague was in hospital. Later on at work, together with a few other colleagues, she decided that it would be kind to go and pay the patient, who was very dear to everyone, a visit, which seemed like the appropriate thing to do.

They all met at the hospital reception and one of the boys had bought really long stemmed bright red roses. Everyone was surprised to see that the stem was as long as his legs. He was a pretty tall guy and the size of those stems was unbelievable, the bright blood roses were beautiful though.

The gang questioned him about not having cut the stems; he responded that he thought they were unique just like the colleague in hospital. It was a sweet thought. However, they would need to buy a vase to put them in. Certainly the hospital would not have a vase for the roses in the room. She hadn’t had time to buy a gift so she told the group she would do it.

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To the left of the reception desk there was a counter that not only sold flowers, but also sold vases, just their luck. They walked over there and found a vase that was as tall as her legs; perfect for the long stemmed roses. She took the vase and handed it over to one of the boys. The group headed towards the elevators as she stayed behind to pay for the vase.

“That´ll be $2, 500 dollars please” kindly asked the salesperson.

“Oh my! I don´t have that amount of money”

“I´m afraid you´ll have to give the vase back then.”

She dashed towards the elevators, but the group was nowhere to be seen. She pressed the elevator button and waiting for the longest time, nonetheless she didn´t know where she was heading. She was so nervous that her mind went blank. Besides, she didn’t get the information when she was at the reception desk, one of the boys did. It was no use taking the elevator. Therefore, she headed back towards the reception area to find out the room number.

“This patient has just been discharged and left the hospital a few minutes ago” said the receptionist. “Didn’t you notice the large group that came to escort her home?”

She was furious. How could the group of colleagues have left her there? Was she that insignificant? These questions boggled her mind. Nonetheless, she still needed to get the vase back otherwise her credit would be blocked and she could even be charged with theft. Not only that, but she had to leave a document behind to make sure she’s come back otherwise the shop could press charges.

As she walked to the parking lot, she tried calling up some of the colleagues but no one answer their phones. So, she called her brother and told him what had happened and asked him if he would accompany her to the patient’s house to retrieve the vase. He agreed and in no time she stopped by his office to pick him up.

They had driven nearly an hour before they finally reached their destination. Their eyes lit up like firecrackers at the sight; the street had been blocked and everywhere flowers and candles could be seen. The smell was as if they had reached a perfume factory. It was beautiful. However, how were they going to reach the house?

“Stop the car”, yelled a man dressed in a black suit as he threw himself in front of the car.

“Invitation”, he demanded.

“Invitation for what?” she asked afraid of what the answer would be.

“This is a private party for the patient´s return home. Invitations have been sent via email. You are only allowed through if you have one, otherwise, you will have to turn the car around and come back another day. You can show it to me on your smart phone.”

“But I work with her. I did not receive any invitation and besides, all I need to do is pick something up. I promise I won’t even stay for the celebration.”

“I am sorry Miss. Those are my orders.” As he said this, he waved his hands around like a butterfly, which was an indication for her to maneuver the car.

“What are we going to do now? I really need to get that vase and take it back to the store.” They had followed the orders from the man dressed in black and drove away.

As she said this her brother saw a shiny object in one of the windows. “Look over there. Is that the vase?”

“Yes!” she happily shouted. She abruptly stopped the car and turned off the engine.

“I have a plan. You stay here. I will sneak into that house, grab the vase and run back here as fast as I can without being noticed. Everyone is over there at the party anyway.”

“You´re out of your mind!  You know that if you are caught, you will be sent to prison.” He paused. “Just go over there, ring the doorbell and explain what happened and get the vase.”

“What if there is no one at home? I’ll have to take it. We are running out of time and also wasting time talking about it.”

Having said this, she got out of the car and casually but carefully walked to the house; looking over her shoulders. She reached the front door and checked the doorknob; it was unlocked - just her luck. She looked around and didn´t see anyone. This was too good to be true. She walked over to where the vase was, carefully took the roses out, opened the window and spilled the water on the lawn. Cautiously she picked up the vase and wrapped it in her coat.

As she was walking to the car, she heard someone call her name. She tried to keep her cool. The fear that she had been caught red handed and would go to jail ran up and down her spine. When she turned around the vase slipped from her fingers and it crashed into a million pieces. All of a sudden time stopped and the scene of the vase crashing on the ground played over and over again before her eyes, just like the movies.

“Oh no!” she cried repeatedly.

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(Written March 3, 2013 –based on a dream I had)
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