HERBAL REMEDIES FOR TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS
Dahlia didn’t know what to do about the daisies. Daisies overflowed from old kombucha bottles and recycled jars. The delicate blooms crowded into wine glasses and teacups, stems twisting out of mixing bowls. It looked as though a boyfriend in a romantic comedy was proposing. But this wasn’t the sort of thing Dahlia’s boyfriend would do. In fact, Todd hadn’t been over for days. He was allergic to daisies.
Dahlia ran a hand through her hair, catching a stem tangled there. She pulled it out, cringing from the brief sting of its removal, and looked into the cheerful yellow centre rimmed with white petals. It was so cute. She added the daisy to a bunch in the salad spinner and taking a boiling kettle off the stove, poured hot water into the only cup free of flowers. She blew on the steaming liquid as her twig tea steeped.
Green sprouted out of her hand, breaking skin. She could see her own pink flesh through the slight crack. She resisted the desire to rip into her skin with her fingernails, splitting herself open so the first dill-like leaves could uncurl. She looked out the window where her street intersected with Melrose Avenue. Rain wasn’t coming down now, but the streets were still wet, reflecting headlights as cars swished through old rain.
Her phone lit up with an incoming call, making her grimace. Dahlia loved her sister, but hated her calls. She took a few deep, meditative breaths, letting the phone ring until she was able to answer with false exuberance. “Hello!”
“Finally,” Natalia said. “God, you take
