Dead by Midnight

THREE

   It's different from the city.

Kit knew this. He anticipated it when he first thought to move, and his parents also warned him. Still, the thought hit him hard once he realized just how long he's been in town.

Two weeks since his arrival, Kit noticed how slow everything was.

There's no rush to anything. No having to hurry to this place and that, no having to pick up the pace due to other people hurrying as well. And there's no sounds of noisy cars and chatty people.

It's quiet.

Kit liked it.

The other people in town seemed to be more unnerved by it than his presence.

Kit pretends he doesn't notice and continues going to the flower shop. He learns a lot from Aria and was quite clumsy when arranging flowers. He's getting used to it though and finds it fun. It beats having to do research paper all the time honestly. Kit hated it.

Though work with Aria's grandmother was tough.

She doesn't let him play with flowers. Instead, Cora always nitpicks with him about strange things like salt and what types of flowers to throw outside. Frequently, she complains about his late grandmother, too. He might've spoken up about it if it weren't for the small tone of fondness in her voice, a clear sign of missing someone.

"And what should you do if someone offers a deal?"

Cora sat in her seat with a grumpy look. She was too busy mixing in different types of flowers and what looked like mere weeds into a bowl to even look at Kit.

Kit sat across from her and politely responded, "Take it."

"Good! In this town of ours, any deal is a good deal!"

"Is it really?"

"Don't question me," she harshly responds.

He doesn't. Kit only watches her murmur out some nonsense about dumb antlers and how rabbits are bad for the environment of this town. By the time she was done, she poured it into a small vial and scooted it towards Kit.

"For your yard."

"I sprinkle it?"

"Of course! It keeps away those wretched birds! We don't want any of them!"

"Ah... okay. Thank you very much."

Cora doesn't seem to like animals at all. Even when Kit expressed his excitement to see some since there's hardly any chance to witness them in the city, Cora said not to dwell on them and to focus on his job.

There's not much going on for him other than learning which flowers should go with each other, and that he needed to learn how to make pretty bows to tie around vases. There were times when people came inside the flower shop though, so Kit had the chance to make a good impression. He introduced himself politely as usual with small smiles, hoping they would at least make eye contact with him.

They did after he said he was Adeline's grandson.

It seems the townspeople really loved his grandmother. He used that to his advantage to make himself get acquainted with them. The progress was slow, but Kit seemed like a good person and he interacted very well with them.

The only problem was when they asked what he was doing in town other than inheriting his grandmother's house. After Kit said he was here to help and to provide therapy for those who needed it, they seemed a little hesitant.

Aria was right about the townspeople being reluctant in taking part of his sessions. Kit didn't mind. He expected it.

Other than his time at the flower shop, Kit was also busy fixing up the house and the yard. Despite Cora's verbal warnings and disdain for the animals, Kit kept leaving out apples from time to time. He couldn't help himself.