Penflower

Chapter 10

The knotted twine feels like barbed wire in my fingers. The brown paper could be sheet metal. The object in the package has become a ticking time bomb. 

"Open it." Trilli holds out to me a cup of steaming lavender tea. 

"Do you know what's in here?" I ignore the tea and rest my chin on the tabletop. 

Trilli sets my tea down on the kitchen table beside me and points to the cup. "Drink. Now. Tea makes everything better." 

I take a sip. She's right. 

"Yep," Trilli says suddenly. "I know what's in there." She shakes her head slowly. "What your parents wouldn't give to be here now..." 

I didn't know I'd been pulling so hard on the knotted twine because I suddenly look down to find the brown paper unfurling. The little package inside the big one looks suspiciously like a seed packet. I read the label in disbelief. Penflower. 

I look at Trilli with my mouth hanging open. "How did my parents get a packet of penflower seeds? You must have known them before I was born...!" 

"Yep," Trilli says again as she sits in the chair opposite mine. "We were good friends, your parents and I. See, about seven years back, we found an old lady selling seeds at a roadside stand. We bought two packets of penflower seeds. I kept mine to plant later and they put theirs in a safe for you. And here you are." 

"My parents liked to grow plants, too? Just like you?" 

"Yep. We began growing the jungle in my backyard together, you know. See, you are a gardener because you're a Gardner." She smiles at her own quip. "But hey." she leans forward. "You kept our garden alive for several days while I was--mmm--away. That's no easy feat." 

"Trilli?" I stare into Trilli's dark eyes. 

The playfulness in her eyes fades as she silently returns my gaze, waiting for me to speak. 

"How did my parents die?" 

Trilli quickly drops her gaze and inhales sharply. The air in the room wilts gloomily and the lights from the old chandelier seem to grow dimmer. She takes a breath. "Your parents, Shiloh, never doubted that they would live to see you grow up. See, they never expected to have an enemy like him...they just didn't see it coming..." 

"Trilli." The strain in my voice cuts her short. 

"An accident. Well, half of one. Burke's.  It was Mayor Burke's half-accident. See, your parents made enemies they never knew they made by bringing those penflower seeds into Campbell. I kept mine secret. They didn't. No one knew I had them, but everyone knew about your parents'. Burke knew, just like everyone else, but he was different from everyone else. He wasn't the mayor then, however. Do you know who the mayor was at that time?" 

I drill my gaze into Trilli, not bothering to grace her question with an answer. Just tell me. A meow from under the table fills the uncomfortable silence. 

"Your mother, Shiloh. Amanda was the mayor of Campbell before the accident. And Jack, your father, held the position that Valek holds now." A distant look enters Trilli's eyes. "The two of them were so happy together and it showed. They brought happiness back to Campbell. But Burke..." 

I clear my throat. "Trilli. Tell me how." 

She meets my gaze apologetically and, "Shiloh, please understand that I knew your parents for ten years. Ten times longer than you did. Your parents were in their late twenties when they died; I was seventeen. 

"Your parents were my only friends. My only family. They sort of adopted me when I moved into Campbell at age seven." She studies her hands, which she clasps together and rests on the table. With a mirthless laugh she continues, "See, I had a difficult childhood. I ran away from home one day and never went back. My parents went on with their lives and I came to Campbell. I met your parents and they treated me like their own child, at least before you were born. Once you came into the world, they spent more time with you. But I never felt ignored, never felt like they loved me less because you suddenly showed up. 

"I helped take care of you until they died. But when they did, I knew I didn't know enough about parenting to raise you half as well as they would have. So I passed you off to your great aunt. But--" 

I look up from studying my knuckles. "What? What about Aunt Edith?" 

"She told me, when I passed you off to her, that you and I would meet again someday. She said that I belong with the Gardners and that we would find our way back to each other. I know that she wants us to be together. She--she would kill me for telling you this, but you were always a bit of a burden to her." 

I freeze. Trilli continues quickly, "Not that she doesn't love you. But I know that there are other things she would rather do than raise a rebellious teenage girl. She's doing it for your parents, you know. See, Edith is your mother's aunt, but she loved Amanda like she would her own daughter. She's raising her granddaughter of sorts because she knows that's what Amanda would have wanted." She smiles suddenly. "Remember that day, the day we met? I asked for your last name. You looked nervous telling a complete stranger so I told you that you reminded me of someone I used to know." She takes a deep breath. "Shiloh, you remind me of your mother. Of Amanda. She had the same...defiance about her." 

I nod slowly, letting it sink in. I already know that Aunt Edith never appreciated my tricks, but to hear it from someone else is a different thing entirely. I push the feeling aside momentarily. "Trilli, please tell me how my parents died." 

"Alright. See, Burke wanted the penflower seeds so badly that he tried to 'convince' the Gardners to leave Campbell without the seeds, just for a couple weeks. He talked them into leaving the seeds in a safe for their only daughter. Then he drained the brake fluid out of their car right before they left Campbell, just to make sure they wouldn't change their minds and turn around. They left Campbell soon after and began driving through the country. After a little while, a cow stepped into the road and their car swerved, flipped over into a deep ditch, and caught fire. 

"Mayor Burke never meant for your parents to die that way, but he certainly didn't have anything pleasant in mind when he drained their car's brake fluid. Anyway, he knew that your parents had put the seeds in the mayor's safe, so when their bodies were found, he made sure that he was elected as the next mayor. He 'inherited' the safe, the key, and the seeds when he was elected, even though the seeds should have gone to you right away." 

Wordlessly, I rest my chin on the tabletop again. A cat entwines its tail around my legs. As I reach down to pet it, it purrs so loudly that Trilli smiles a little. 

Finally I ask, "And what happened to you after...?" 

Her smile disappears. "Put simply, I retreated. Retreated into my house. My garden. My mind. I didn't leave my house after the accident. Didn't talk to anyone. Didn't even see anyone for several months. I barely survived; in fact, I lived off the vegetables from the garden until strangers came to my door offering food. See, that was when I got back enough courage and hope to leave my past behind. I got a job at the sandwich shop downtown and began to make just enough money to live on. And I've been living like this ever since. In fact, I--" 

I look up from studying the rings in the wooden table to see that Trillium's eyes are shining. Cautiously, I ask, "Trilli, are you okay?" 

She stares at me long and hard, her glistening eyes drilling into mine. "See, Shiloh, I'm nearing the end of my life's project. I started this with your parents and I'm finishing it with you. 

"I've done what I set out to do, which was to create a place where I can think, cry, laugh, dream, hope, and be at peace. I wanted a place where nothing could hurt me and I'd always be safe. When I finish, I don't know what I'll do with the rest of my life. I've only just begun to live." 

I stand up shakily and walk over to her. She doesn't meet my gaze and continues to stare straight ahead. 

"Trilli." I hold my arms out to her. She looks up at me and smiles wearily. She stands up and I wrap my arms around her. "I love you." 

I hear her breath catch in her throat and her tears fall softly onto my head as she hugs me back. "I love you too, Shiloh."