Dark Colors: The Black Rose

It was a rainy day on a bus, and a little girl in a yellow dress had six roses in her possession. It was her and nine other people that were passengers on the bus.

There was an old, white, married couple on the bus. The couple was celebrating fifty years of marriage. Although they had a car, they wanted to ride the bus on their anniversary because they had met and fallen in love with each other on a bus. They had their ups and downs in their marriage for years but that was all behind them now. Their longevity was something to admire to the little girl in the yellow dress. So, she walked up to them, smiled and presented them a red rose. The couple gladly accepted the rose and thanked the little girl in the yellow dress.

Meanwhile, another couple on the bus was kissing and cuddling. They were a young, white couple enjoying themselves. It was hard for them to keep their hands off each other, they couldn’t help themselves. They were engaged to one another and couldn’t wait to share a future together. The love and passion that they shared was special, and the little girl in the yellow smiled at this and presented them a red rose. The couple gladly accepted the rose and thanked the little girl in the yellow dress.

Some other couple was staring at the affectionate couple, and there was a deep sadness within them. They had sadly lost that passion and desire for each other. They were a white couple that was married for almost nine years. However, they were going through some hardship. The husband had cheated on his wife. The husband’s affair lasted for months, and it wasn’t until the couple’s anniversary that the husband confessed to his wife about his infidelity. He was ashamed of himself. He cried and begged for forgiveness, but his wife couldn’t give it to him right away. She asked him to leave and give her space. He respectfully did so. Their children were confused about the whole situation. They begged their parents for answers, but they couldn’t give the right answer to ease their minds. The husband loved her with all his heart and wanted another chance to make things right with her. The wife loved him dearly as well and didn’t want to lose him. So, they went to therapy, and the wife ended up forgiving him. As they looked at the loving couple across from them, they were saddened that their passion was gone. However, they were hopeful. They knew that with time, patience, persistence and hard work, their relationship would grow into something more strong and beautiful. They held each others hand and smiled at one another. The little girl in the yellow dress smiled at this and presented them a red rose. The couple gladly accepted the rose and thanked the little girl in the yellow dress.

Also on the bus, just minding their business, was another white couple. They were high school sweethearts and had just graduated high school. However, neither would go to college because the girl had gotten pregnant. They had dreams and aspirations they wanted to achieve before having children, but it wasn’t meant to be. Due to the pregnancy, they had both planned to work full-time jobs and support their future child together. They were loyal to one another, and it would pay off for them in the future. In the future, they will be married, have two more kids, attend and finish college, and have prospering careers. Their future would be bright together all because of their loyalty to another. The little girl in the yellow dress smiled at them and presented them a red rose. The couple gladly accepted the rose and thanked the little girl in the yellow dress.

Finally, a black woman named Monica was sitting alone on the bus thinking about her two-year-old son Jeremiah and his father Kenneth. Kenneth and Monica were together, but it was complicated. Kenneth was an alcoholic, and Monica hated that. He would get so drunk and angry towards her on a daily basis that it was hard to see the man that she once loved. She desperately wanted to get away from him, but she thought she couldn’t because of Jeremiah. Monica wanted to do what was best for her son, and she thought that a father was better than no father. She had to accept Kenneth. She had to accept the alcoholism, the anger and the deceit that came with Kenneth. The little girl in the yellow dress saw Monica’s distress, walked up to her with a serious look on her face and presented her a black rose. Monica was deeply offended by this. Why does she get a black rose? Was it because she was black? Throughout the whole bus ride, Monica saw the little girl in the yellow dress give couples red roses and because she was black and alone, she deserved the black rose? It was insulting to Monica, she refused to accept it.

The bus stopped, and the little girl in the yellow dress smiled at Monica and placed the black rose next to Monica.

The little girl walked away from Monica and was exiting the bus. The bus driver, who was a happy and fulfilled man, smiled and told the little girl in the yellow dress to have a great day. The little girl smiled at this and presented the bus driver a red rose. The bus driver gladly accepted the red rose and thanked the little girl in the yellow dress.
Monica couldn’t believe what she saw. Why did the bus driver get a red rose, and not the black rose? It was mean, Monica thought. She looked at the black rose next rose and refused to see its beauty. It was ugly to her, and she refused to accept it. When Monica’s stop came, she left the black rose where it was and got off the bus.

Monica got home and saw Kenneth spending time with Jeremiah. They were smiling and laughing with each other, and Kenneth wasn’t drunk at all. In fact, he was sweet. It warmed her heart to see Kenneth at his best.

Later on that day, at around 10:00 p.m., Kenneth had decided to go to the bar with some friends. Monica objected this, but he went anyways. Monica was disappointed by this. At 11:00 p.m., she received a call from her childhood friend and cousin Matthew. Matthew asked her if she was home and if he could come over, and Monica told him that he was welcomed to come over. Then, Monica tried to call Kenneth to let him know that her friend Matthew was coming over, but he didn’t answer. Instead, she left him a voicemail letting Kenneth know that her cousin was coming over the house.

Matthew came over to Monica’s house at around 11:15 p.m. and was welcomed in the house. Jeremiah was excited to see Matthew and gave him the biggest hug. Matthew asked where Kenneth was, and Monica told him that Kenneth went out drinking with his friends. Matthew just shook his head in disappointment.

Anyways, Matthew told Monica that he had big news for her, and he had to tell her in person. Monica was excited to hear the big news. Matthew told Monica that he was going to propose to Bella. Monica got excited and congratulated Matthew. Monica loved Bella and knew that Matthew and Bella were meant for each other.
Matthew and Monica ended up talking to each other till about 2:00 a.m. Monica opened the door for Matthew and gave him a hug in the doorway. In the shadows, Kenneth was there. He was drunk and thought that Monica was cheating on him. He heard Monica tell the guy that she loved him, and this made him angrier. As Matthew was walking away from Monica, Kenneth charged at Monica and pushed her to the ground with all his force. Then, he got on top of Monica and started choking her.

As he was choking her, he yelled, “How could you do this to me?”

Luckily, Matthew wasn’t far away, and he was able to quickly put a stop to Kenneth nearly killing Monica. Kenneth ran away, and Monica had passed out.
Monica woke up in the hospital and was in a lot of pain. She was surrounded by Matthew, friends and family. She couldn’t believe that Kenneth physically hurt her, and all she could do was cry. Monica didn’t know what to do and didn’t know what was best for her and Jeremiah. She looked to her right and was surprised to see next to her the black rose. Instead of pushing it away, she embraced it. Monica now realized what she had to do.

Monica realized that she couldn’t accept Kenneth’s alcoholism and abuse, so she ended things with him. Monica refused to accept Kenneth’s toxic love towards her and Jeremiah, and she knew that there had to be something better for her and Jeremiah. Monica became a single mom, and she was worried about raising Jeremiah. However, her hard work and dedication to provide for herself and Jeremiah built confidence deep within herself. She loved herself again.

A few years passed, and she met a guy named Shane. Shane brought laughter, joy and pure love to not only Monica, but Jeremiah as well. Shane had just graduated college, and he didn’t have a job lined up for himself. However, Monica didn’t mind. Shane and Monica promised to be loyal to each other. Eventually, Shane would get his dream job, and so would Monica. It would just take time and patience.

Months passed, and Shane ended up proposing to Monica. She accepted his proposal. Around this time, there love had grown to be passionate and true. Their love was a true and pure fire.

They got married, and their marriage came with ups and downs. Problems and mistakes were made, but they were able to forgive and work together on their marriage. Their marriage has done nothing but grow stronger.

Today, they have been married for more than 17 years and that’s something to be proud of. They ended up having three children together. Their longevity together as one is beautiful and wholesome.

In truth, Monica’s happiness and marriage would not have been possible if she had not seen the beauty of the black rose.