I could see the man’s shadow through the thick and thorny rose bush that surrounded him. His body curled up like a baby in a womb. The police began to yell at him to come out from his encasement. No reply. I stared completely bewildered by what was happening in front of me, not knowing what to do.

July third, one day before the incident.
Donnie’s barbeque has been in effect for at least an hour already when I arrived, fashionably late of course. Lydia, Donnie, and the other parents stood by the grill making small talk, the children were splashing each other, screaming out every curse word they knew. Welcome to the white trash barbeque, I thought to myself. The pit bulls were barking and screeching, making their presence known. I stood on the one patch of grass that was actually green in the yard, everywhere else was either covered in dirt or garbage. Their rusty trailer sat lopsidedly on a small knoll, every time I glanced at it, it seemed to be slanting at a different angle than the last time I looked. The windows were extremely filthy, some of them were even broken or just a rectangular-shaped hole in the wall. I knew I didn’t want to come, but I came anyway because the guy I liked was going to be there. His name is Konner His parents were hosting “the big shebang”. He wasn’t even the slightest bit trashy, he was absolutely perfect. Perfect hair, perfect eyes, perfect everything. If I would only actually talk to him. He was leaning against the massive oak tree in the corner of the yard when I first noticed him. I huffed once, and began to walk towards him. He noticed me awkwardly approaching him, and then he smiled at me. Calm down, I command myself.
“Hey Grant! Enjoying the par-tay?” He said, greeting me with genuine excitement.
“Oh, yeah. The food smells great. I can’t wait to eat, I’m starving,” I replied, chuckling a bit.
“I’m surprised you’re talking to me. It seems like every time we’re at the same place you never talk to me. Do you not like me?” Konner said, frowning.
Oh lord, HELP ME NOW.
“Oh, no. Not at all. I absolutely do like you. I might even have a little crush on yo-” I said, cutting myself off. My entire face went from pinky peach, to beet red in 0.1 seconds.
I turned to walk away, fearing the worst, when he grabbed my arm lightly, and smiled again.
“Oh, finally you speak up!” Konner exclaimed, “I’ve known you’ve liked my for some time now. I notice you staring at me all the time. Don’t worry though, I find it very flattering.”
“Uhhh,” I spurted out, “I’m sorry. I’m such a creep”.
“No, no, no. I, um, I might like you too.” He responded. Now his face had turned red.
“What? There’s no way you like me back,” I said.
“The first time I saw you I wanted to ask you out. I just didn’t know how you felt about me,” Konner said, speaking quickly. He was the nervous one now.
“Well then, how about we go on a date tomorrow? It is the fourth of July tomorrow,” I asked him, not knowing how I was able to ask him out.
“Sure,” He said, his face was beaming with delight.
Forty minutes later, we’re in the pool with the kids splashing at each other. Despite how horrible their house looked, their pool was amazing. Konner turned around to avoid my attack, when I noticed his tattoo on his shoulder blade. It was a thorny red rose with a thin black stem that bent at odd angles. The petals were so detailed I could almost reach out and pluck one off and let it lay in my hand. After about twenty minutes of choking on water and laughing we dried off and said our goodbyes. I waited until he drove off until I started the engine of my 2010 Nissan Altima. I smiled the whole way home.
July fourth, two o’clock in the afternoon, thirty minutes before the incident.
Konner and I met up at the local Starbucks to sip some coffee and have small talk. twenty-five minutes passed before we decided to head to the park to pick a spot to watch the fireworks for tonight. Halfway to the park, we were crossing the road when a car came barreling down the road, straight towards us. Konner rushed and pushed me onto the sidewalk and out of the way. He saved my life. The car crashed into Konner. His body is rocketed into the air, at least ten feet. I could see that his legs were broken, and his face was cut up from when he slammed into the windshield and broke it. Glass littered the street. Konner’s blood was splattered all across my pants and face and on the road. I sat there wondering what had just happened. I glanced over to Konner, who was laying in the street. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t even breathing. I stood up, dusted myself off, and ran to him. I fell onto my knees next to him. I began to cry when out of nowhere a light illuminated his body from underneath him. I stepped back, not knowing what to expect. Thorny vines came shooting out of his chest and wrapped around him. They formed a gigantic ball around him. I then noticed a few cuts on my hands and face. I didn’t even know the thorns had cut me. I ignored my slight pain, and just focused on Konner who was trapped inside a cocoon of thorns.
I could see Konner’s shadow through the thick and thorny rose bush that surrounded him. His body curled up like a baby in a womb. The police began to yell at him to come out from his encasement. No reply. I stared completely bewildered by what was happening in front of me. I didn’t know what to do. I feared the worst for Konner. Was he dead? Did my date die on our first time going out? I thought. I just kept peering at the ball, trying to see Konner. I had to know if he was okay. I began to rip the vines away, but just as quickly as I was removing them, they were growing back into place. Blood began to pour out of my hands and onto the vines and ground. Tears streamed down my cheeks. Before I knew it, I was sobbing uncontrollably. I crumpled onto the ground, defeated. I closed my eyes. I began to pray to a god I didn’t believe in. I just needed something, anything to save him. I heard a gasp from the crowd that had circled around the strange formation. I looked up to see the vines receding back into Konner. When the last vine disappeared, an illuminescent explosion of pink light and rose petals erupted from him. I had to shield my eyes because it was too bright. When I put my hands down I frantically looked at where Konner was. He was sitting up, completely unharmed. He stood up and walked over to me, then he held out his hand to help me stand up.

“What- What was that?” I ask, almost screaming at him.
“I’m so sorry Grant. I should’ve told you about me. When I went to China last year, I met an elderly man who was sitting on the side of the street asking for money. I threw in a few yuan and began to walk away. He called after me and told me that he could give me a special tattoo that could protect me from harm. I agreed and followed him into his tiny store that looked like it had been closed for a very long time. After about two hours, he told me he was done. I loved the work he had done on my back. You must’ve seen my tattoo yesterday at my parents house, right? Well, that tattoo has saved my life on more than one occasion,” As he explained, I had no idea how to process what he was telling me. Old man in China with magical tattooing abilities? I thought, This is too crazy.

“You must be completely weirded out. I’m so sorry for what I put you through. I understand if you want to leave and never talk to me again. Just please forgive me,” He said, looking down at my shoes instead of my face.
I grabbed his chin and lifted his face to where he was looking me in the eye. “I just got you, why would I leave you?” I responded. Then I kissed him as the crowd roared.