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xreflections
10-14-2015, 03:09 AM
I read this short story in a collection many years ago. It was about a girl who lived with her mother; they grew flowers and vegetables together. One day, the girl took white lilies from the garbage can of a church and planted them in their garden. The pastor came and tried to destroy the vegetables, saying that what they were doing was wrong and pagan. In the struggle, the mother accidentally killed the pastor and buried him in the garden. When the girl's mother got sick and died, she tried to bury her in the garden, but before she was finished with the grave, she was taken away by people. She tore up the lilies and when she woke in a strange (hospital?) room, laid them underneath her on the bed. The story ended with her feeling the lily sprouts digging into her back.

In that same collection, there (I think) was also a story about a sheep dog whose owner died. One day, the dog tried to chase a boy away from a cliff and was killed by the boy's father.

bounty
10-17-2015, 06:16 PM
xreflections---do you remember the context you read the stories? how you came upon the collection? you might be able to trace the origin through that...

xreflections
10-17-2015, 11:12 PM
It was in a book of short stories that I got at a used book sale. It had to have been at least 7 years ago. I can't remember the name of the story collection, but I think it had to do with scary stories. I've been looking for this short story for years now, and it frustrates me to no end that I can't find it.

bounty
10-19-2015, 08:17 AM
don't mind me---how did the book come to be out of your possession? is tracking down the person who presently has it an option?

alternatively, can you go back to the place of its purchase and ask the seller?