Bloom

Anthurium

Anthurium

🍂 Caelum 🍂

She opens the front door and smiles, the sunlight pouring in highlights the happiness swirling in her eyes. Evolet crosses her arms and leans against the doorframe. Her hair is twirled into a messy bun and her shorts accentuate her long legs.

"Hi Caelum, welcome to my humble abode."

"Thanks, I'm curious about the graveyard."

She beckons for me to come inside, and I happily follow her directions. It's spacious for what I thought it would be. The lounge room and kitchen share one room but the couch divides the space into their own areas.

"I'll give you the two-second grand tour first." She chuckles.

"Obviously, here's the lounge room and kitchen." Evolet points to the area behind her. "Under the stairs is a small laundry and upstairs is the bathroom and bedroom. If you need to use the bathroom, just go upstairs."

"It's a nice place."

Despite the size, which is enough for her, it's a beautiful home. The kitchen leads to the outdoor entertaining area and she's started decorating the space with plants, which is always a beautiful sight.

"Now for the graveyard." She sighs.

"Is the peace lily still alive?"

"Yup." She proudly smiles as she points to the pot plant near the back door.

We wander outside and there's an abundance of plants scattered across the lawn. There's a few overgrown plants in the garden beds but most of it is empty.

"What happened to the graveyard?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Welp, I did some gardening this week and binned the dead plants. I also found time to go plant shopping." She grins.

"There's a lot of plants."

She clasps her hands and swings to the side.

"I know there's a lot of different plants here, but I like all of them."

"Gardens are beautiful because they're filled with plants you like."

Her posture softens and her smile widens.

"I also purchased some twinkly lights for the deck. If you have time and wouldn't mind." She nibbles on her lower lip.

"Sure." I nod.

"I have some ideas of where the plants should go, but you're welcome to change them around. I don't want to plant them in the wrong places."

"Let's get started."

I help Evolet drag plants across the yard, occasionally swapping a plant and offering some advice. She bounds across the yard with even more excitement and determination. Once the plants are spread across the yard, she takes a step back and carefully inspects it.

"What do you think?"

"It looks good."

"Okay." She nods.

"Do you have a shovel?"

"Oh, yeah."

She hands me gloves and a shovel and I dig a hole for a medium hedge bush. Evolet crouches beside me and digs a small hole for a perennial flower.

The sun beats down and sweat trickles down my forehead and soaks the back of my cotton t-shirt. She brushes her arm across her forehead and fans her face.