flowers in the sky 天空裡的花
boy meets girl in Tianmu
—
CAST
MIA - A florist in her twenties. Sweet, bright, and full of feeling.
AUNTIE YU - Her mother, also a florist, and a matchmaker at heart with 4 daughters.
JON - A recent returnee to Taiwan. Good-natured, well-mannered, and slightly clueless.
—
SETTING
A neighborhood flower shop in Tianmu District, Taipei.
Morning light. Bouquets bloom. A blue sky above.
—
FLOWER SHOP — MORNING
Gentle sunlight streams through the side window. Single-stemmed flowers resting on the windowsill, waiting to be dressed.
Petals and leaves lie scattered across the white floor tiles.
The ceiling fan hums. A slow, pulsing spin, as if waiting for an arrival.
MIA’s hands are arranging a bouquet of lilies in a stone vase. She whispers to the flowers. A secret shared between living things.
—
AUNTIE YU
Mia, don’t forget the orchids for Mrs. Chen.
MIA
Yes mama, they’re already ready.
AUNTIE YU
Today her son is coming to pick them up. Not her.
—
MIA nods, says nothing. She continues to arrange the lilies.
—
AUNTIE YU
His name is Jon. He’s a very nice boy, just moved back to Taiwan to be closer to his mom. Isn’t that the sweetest?
MIA
Mama, I hope this isn’t like the last time.
AUNTIE YU
Like the last time? But nothing even happened!
—
MIA lets out an inaudible breath. Her eyes lift to meet her mother’s and something unspoken passes between them.
—
MIA
You’re right mama, nothing happened.
—
A silence settles comfortably in the shop. Minutes pass. The door opens, the bell makes a small ring. The wind wafts in and the petals on the floor flutter.
MIA keeps her eyes focused on arranging flowers.
AUNTIE YU looks up with delight and anticipation. Her face breaks out into a welcoming smile. She clasps her hands in front of her.
—
AUNTIE YU
You must be Jon! Come in, come in. This is my daughter Mia. She helped prepare your mother’s flowers today.
JON
Good morning Auntie Yu. Hi Mia.
—
MIA looks up. A faint smile crosses her face before she resumes her flower arrangement.
JON looks around bashfully. He runs a hand through his hair, not knowing what to do.
—
AUNTIE YU
I’m just going to pop into the back room to find your mother’s flowers. Please make yourself at home here! Mia can show you around.
—
AUNTIE YU hurries to the back door. She pauses, sneaking a glance at MIA’s face, before exiting the room and closing the door behind her.
MIA doesn’t make eye contact but silently laughs to herself.
JON sheepishly smiles. He starts browsing the flowers, occasionally bending forward as if inspecting the details.
—
JON
You know, to be very honest, I don’t know anything about flowers.
MIA
Well, the ones in front of you are called roses.
JON
Of course I know what roses are!
—
MIA lets out a tinkering laugh. She’s stopped arranging the flowers and is observing JON with amusement.
JON chuckles in response and rubs the back of his head. His body angles towards MIA without him noticing.
—
JON
My mom really likes this shop. She always buys her flowers and plants from here.
MIA
She’s a lovely regular. She’s very down-to-Earth.
JON
Yeah, me too.
—
MIA laughs a little more this time. She takes a breath, tilts her chin upwards, and basks in the warm sunlight that has shifted onto her face. Like a sunflower finding her nourishment.
JON can’t help but stare, then looks away with effort. A faint tint is on his cheeks.
—
JON
So, uh, I know our mothers set this up, but I’d like to invite you out on a proper date.
—
MIA’s smile widens and her eyes brighten. She sweeps her long, silky hair to the back of her head.
—
MIA
Okay! What are you thinking?
JON
How would you feel about a home-cooked meal? I make a mean steak.
MIA
Wow, that’s very ambitious for a first date!
JON
What can I say, I’m an ambitious guy.
—
JON says it with a burst of pride, but shyness catches up. He resumes his pretense of looking at flowers.
MIA finds him funny and endearing. He reminds her of a husky dog.
—
MIA
Okay, I’m down. We can cook together so you don’t have to do all the work.
—
JON looks up at MIA. He’s surprised by her answer and also pleased to hear it.
—
JON
Then I guess it’s a date.
MIA
It’s a date.
—
AUNTIE YU re-enters the room with the pot of orchids. She’s beaming. She hands the flowers to Jon.
—
AUNTIE YU
Here you go, Jon dear. Send my love to your mother.
JON
Of course, Auntie Yu. She’ll love these.
—
MIA steps closer to the counter and pulls out her phone to get JON’s Instagram handle.
The room is still, like it’s holding its breath. AUNTIE YU busies herself with the rest of the day’s orders.
—
JON
Well, it was nice to meet you Auntie Yu. Mia.
AUNTIE YU
Oh, it was lovely to see you Jon.
MIA
Thanks for coming by.
—
JON starts heading to the door with the flowers.
AUNTIE YU waves genially from the counter.
MIA has a playful smile on her lips.
—
MIA
I like my steak medium-rare.
—
JON nearly trips as he leaves the shop, but it’s too late. He’s already fallen.
Thank you for reading!
While this is a work of fiction, it was inspired by my two friends who really did meet because Mia worked at her family-owned flower store and her mother, with Jon’s mother, conspired for them to meet. And then they got married and now have an energetic young daughter who is growing up with their energetic husky. I love these kinds of stories!
If you have any feedback or comments, pls leave me a msg on this Google form.