Roses on the Breeze

Prompt ▼

Write a description/synopsis of a long story or novel you would write (this is a description, not flash fiction) using one of the titles below. These titles were taken from a list on https://www.nanowrimo.org's Adopt a Title thread, https://forums.nanowrimo.org/t/adopt-a-title/1659 where anyone is free to use the posted titles. There are probably thousands posted, so check them out along with other Adoption Society threads (Adopt a Plot, Adopt a Subplot, Adopt a Running Gag, etc.) at https://forums.nanowrimo.org/c/story-development/adoption-society/60.

Chosen Title: Roses on the Breeze

Written for "The Whatever Contest." "The Whatever Contest -- Closed for Now" 

Word/Line Count: 500

Roses on the Breeze

Cheryl Sommers and her five-year-old daughter, Kat, have just moved to Bisbee, Arizona. No one will know them there, Cheryl assures Kat, and they will be safe. Kat’s anxiety and night fears fade. Cheryl too relaxes and feels secure in their new life.

Shortly after the move, Cheryl and Kat catch the scent of roses. They follow the smell to a garden tended by Carlos Estasare, a police deputy. Cheryl feels sparks, and Kat likes him too. The roses become a favorite and calming scent.

As their relationship grows, Cheryl shares her background with Carlos. Once, she had the ideal life. Young, pretty; married to David, a prosperous import agent; raising a four-year-old daughter; living in a nice home in San Diego—she had it all. She was happy but, as it has turned out, oblivious to dark currents that swirled in the background of her life.

A deadly house fire killed Cheryl’s husband, David—and almost claimed Cheryl and Kat. The loss turned their lives to char and ashes, leaving them homeless and lost...and living in fear after the police find evidence of arson. Who hates her family enough to destroy and kill?

Learning that her husband recently purchased a large life insurance policy, the police suspected her of arson and murder. Only after Cheryl and her daughter were almost killed in a car accident, with clear evidence that their car was sabotaged, did the police back off.

Finally, with the investigation stalled, but with her husband’s life insurance and financial affairs largely straightened up, Cheryl had fled to Arizona.

Carlos checks with California, and learns that there are no new leads. Their relationship grows to intimacy, though always with doubt in Carlos’ mind. The doubt is squelched when a car repeatedly drives past Cheryl’s house, followed by a failed attempt to kidnap Kat. The family is again fearful and anxious; Cheryl and Kat move in with Carlos, grateful for his support and the reassuring roses.

In her initial look through the contents of their safety deposit box, Cheryl had been most concerned about wills and insurance policies. The rest she had glanced at and set aside. Now, going over those apparently unimportant papers, she finds a photo of David with his former business partner and several other men. Carlos identifies them as members of the Sinaloa Cartel, a Mexican gang trafficking in narcotics and ammunition in San Diego.

This clue leads to the arrest of David’s partner and top members of Sinaloa The partner explains that David Sommers had refused to cooperate with the cartel. Juan Burgos Perez, a cartel enforcer, had torched the house but, having missed the wife and child, decided to “tidy up loose ends”.

Carlos provides additional evidence on the stalking and attempted kidnap, and San Diego closes its investigation into the arson and David's death.

Carlos and Cheryl are married in the back yard, surrounded by new friends and roses. “I love you,” Cheryl tells him, “and the roses on the breeze that brought us together.”