Monday Rose

Entry for Daily Flash Fiction contest.
Prompt: must use "secret," "rose," and "home"
Word Count: Approximately 241

The rose was there again – just like every Monday since Dan had first noticed it two months ago. It was always on the same step in front of the same building every evening as he walked home from the bus stop. A couple of times, he had left work early in the hopes of catching its owner in the act of leaving it, but it was already there, its red petals perfectly arranged against the grey stone. Once or twice, he’d hung around the coffee shop at the corner with its clear view of the stairs and waited to see who might pick it up, but no one had. It had still been there when he finally gave up and headed to his apartment.

For some reason, Dan had become increasingly obsessed with the flower and even more so with its mysterious giver. Thinking about it at work and at night as he tried to sleep, he’d come up with a hundred tales. He’d imagined everything from a lonely widower paying tribute to his dead wife, a teenager who had lost her dog there in an accident, or maybe even a remorseful lover trying to win back the affections of someone who lived in the building.

Every week, Dan had another theory as he walked down the sidewalk, his anticipation growing with every step. Somehow, he felt connected to it, and he dreaded that it would disappear one day, that he’d never know its story. But, so far, his fears had been unnecessary.

One day, he told himself, he’d pick it up himself – maybe then he’d learn its secret.