The wind picked up as we indulged ourselves. Conveniently enough, it cooled each spoonful of our soup and tempered our hot teacups, doing all the work for us. Abbey was not too particular to sit outside with us, nestling on the table amongst the clutter of cutlery, porcelain, and what else, feeding off the bits of chicken I served to her on a separate plate.
A bit of silence presided over our meal as we began. We took the time to enjoy the food while it was freshly served. I took my first bite of my biscuit as Sophia leaned back, taking a deep breath of the breeze. “Ah… The weather has been great, hasn’t it?” she breathed out as she spoke. “Hasn’t been too rainy.”
I nodded. “Indeed.” Still chewing, I finished up before speaking further. “Though, it comes with other concerns.”
“For what? The flowers?”
“Yes, part of it. I’ve got a garden as well.”
“Ah, what’re you growin’?” She shoveled a spoonful of soup.
“Nothing special, really. Tomatoes, a few potatoes and berries.”
“Mmn.” She lowered her spoon and took a prolonged gulp. “Potatoes, you say? Do you grow your own food?”
“Just a hobby.” I sipped some tea. “I don’t think I grow them well. And I don’t rotate them as I should.”
“Ah, well, you know… Self fulfillment, is really the purpose for most of us. Don’t need to be the world’s best gardener.”
“We had a neighbour back at our old home who was very particular…” Her eyes briefly widened as she emphasised. “Had a strong set of beliefs on what was the best way to farm. And he’s got these systems… and complicated rotations… and rules—or maxims, I think was what he called them… and… But… we…” She put a hand to her chest. “We weren’t at all that serious. All we really grew was a bit of wheat—bit of potatoes…”
I felt Abbey’s tail flick across my nearby arm. Glancing down, she was still nibbling away on her plate of food, perhaps unaware of where she was placing her tail.
“And I really shouldn’t say ‘we’ as it was mostly George doin’ that work. I enjoyed the animals more than the crops, so I spent my time there. George only continued what his father started, but he had his eyes set on the city.”
I fished out a bit more of my chicken and set it on Abbey’s plate. She only retracted her head for a moment, then dove back in.
“And gradually, he was leaving more and more of the responsibilities to Oscar, until we—Oscar is his younger brother—until one day, he left it to him, and we moved to the city—to here.”
“What’s he doing now?”
Picking up a biscuit, she took a nibble. “He’s just working harder. Might find some friends to help out in the fields—” Abruptly, she lowered her hand. “Oh, you mean George? He’s got a job at a newspaper press. Not exactly what he wants to do, but it’s a stepping stone into the city.”
“Ah, I see.” As we went silent again, I took the opportunity to eat more of my soup before it got too cold. The breeze was really blowing today, ruffling my hair around a little too much for comfort. I had to constantly brush my hair to the side, out of my face. Usually the surrounding trees catch most of the wind. Not really the case this evening.
Sophia straightened, still chewing, and gestured towards the clearing. She quickly swallowed what she had before speaking. “What’s your secret? Do you do anything special with these flowers?”
I turned my head along with her. “No. There is fairly minimal effort on my part.”
“Well, I adore them. Brilliantly bright and colourful.”
As I stared out at the flower field, a familiar feeling washed over me. A sort of déjà vu.
“… almost magical—like a wonderland.”
These words made me stiffen. Immediately, without much movement, I silently worked to contain myself. Prevent all signs of off-putting emotion or anxiousness from surfacing.
“How lucky you are for this gifted setting.”
“… Yeah.” My eyes wandered the field with no real purpose. Right away, my mind started racing for an excuse. A sunny day—or the golden hour, accentuating the colour of the field. Yes, that was it. But before I could part my lips even the slightest amount, I caught myself. I considered seriously what I was about to say, and realised the sad reality. This chasing of an excuse—it was another familiar sensation that had become far too common the past couple weeks. For what was I trying to excuse myself for? I never did this before. Brushed it off, sure. But surely, this was more of a denial. Had I no fear of harboring a spirit… no knowledge of the signifiers she could leave in her wake, would I have the same thoughts? The same impulse… of being needlessly defensive about what should be nothing to others.
“What’s wrong?”
My hands unwittingly squeezed tighter around my cup. My shoulders tensed. “Heh?” I turned my head back to her. Sophia was no longer smiling.
“You look almost sad, looking out at your garden.”
“… Do I?”
“Yes.” Her expression did not change. The look of concern in her eyes. It was the same as Jane’s.
I felt my face growing warm. “I… didn’t realise… I looked that way. Just… being nostalgic.”
“… I see.” Her eyebrows lightened. “Looked sad to me.”
Trying to shrug it off, I raised my teacup back up to my mouth, staring down at it’s glossy surface. “I get told that a lot.”
“You used to be a cheery little girl.”
The tea was already tepid. Swallowing, I set down the cup and poured myself some more. “I wouldn’t say I was the most outgoing girl on the schoolyard.”
“No, not really. But you weren’t as sheepish as some of the others, like Darcy.”
“Well, I’d like to say I matured, then.”
She laughed. “Well, that’s very lady-like of you. That’s more of the girl I remember.”
“Surely you’re just jesting now,” I lightly scoffed.
“Jesting. I like that one.”
I felt the table tremble a bit as Abbey leapt down, quietly thumping the wooden boards of the porch. With a quick glance, I saw her strut under the table, reappearing to my right and continuing her way towards the steps. Sophia took notice and peered under the table, ducking enough to see below the tablecloth.
“What? Is she bored of our company?” Giggling, she raised a hand and gave the cat a small, brief wave with her fingers.
I eyed the cat as it hopped down the porch steps. “Perhaps.” I took another sip.
After another moment of silence, Sophia leaned forward, lowering her voice to an excited hush. “Say, let’s go on a little exploration ourselves.”
I glanced, meeting sparkling little eyes as she gayly smiled. I wondered what the hush was about. Her voice suggested she had more to say. Lowering my cup, I raised my eyebrows a bit. “Go on.”
“Out into the woods. Show me around, would ya?”
“This late in the evening?”
“Sure! Why not?”
“There will be several nocturnal animals roaming around, and there’s glowing orbs that could be a bit of a spook.”
“Oh, par for the course!” she piped. “Critters, spirits… I’m not afraid of them! I lived out in the country too!”
It was a good point. I shrugged. “Where abouts are you interested in?”
“Up to you. Wherever you’re interested in showing off.” She laughed. “Show off your forest, you know?”
“Not too far, I suppose.” I took one final sip as I eyed the forest. It was already dusk. “It’s not my forest.”
“Oh, you know what I mean!” she bantered. “Show off the neighbourhood.”
“You’ll have to give me a moment to change, then.”
“Surely!”