Gardening

“Tsk, tsk.” Mary surveyed the garden, eyes narrowed. “You’ve got a real muddle here, m’boy.”

I hung my head. “I’ve never done much gardening. I just… Mom got me that book, y’know. I’m obligated. I ordered the seeds online…”

“Might as well have just snatched them from a field at random,” huffed Mary. She knelt and tucked a stray wisp of iron-gray hair behind her ears. “Look here,” she said, pointing to a thick, flowering stalk. “That’s a bad one.”

“What’s bad about it?”

For an answer, Mary grasped the flower and turned it over, revealing the fanged, sucking maw.