31 May 2025, 05:05
Private Planting
@Ellie Randensmith
Prologue
Time: Spring 2019
When Lillian was six, her parents had hired a Mexican gardener, Maria. She had stayed only a few weeks, because she had heard strange private conversations. It was one of the reasons the McMason family was unpopular.
Anyway one day young Lillian was bored. Her parents and her sister wouldn't play with her no matter how much she begged. So she went to the gardener.
"I'm bored," Lillian said, standing near the bent-over gardener.
Almost long enough for Lillian to think Maria didn't hear her, Maria spoke. "What is there to be bored over Miss Lilli?" said Maria looking up at the child in a fine pink dress. "Why plants can be your friends. They tell you when they are happy or sad. They give gifts of berries or flowers to their very best friends. Now, Miss Lilli be sure to make a few plant friends in your life."
Lillian stayed watching Maria till supper time. That was Lillian's only memory of Maria, because Maria left two days later. If she had stayed, Lillian and her probably would have been good friends.
31 May 2025, 05:57
Private Planting
@Ellie Randensmith
Time: May 23, 2025
Lillian hadn't thought about that memory in years. She had forgotten that Maria had called her 'Miss Lilli'. But she knew she liked it. It is amazing what a little alone time with plants can unearth.
Lillian had decided to do what several of the students had been doing in their free time, this month-plant some plants. She had approached Professor Sarai Toussaint and told her where she wanted to plant at.
She told her professor, the grounds and pointed to an empty spot. Lillian wanted to be alone, to think and to just get away from all the noise and hubbub in the Hogwarts building. There was always yelling, chatting, minor emergencies and complaining. Lillian wanted a break.
Now, she patted the ground near the third pink pansy seedling that she transplanted near the birch tree. "There you go, lil' pansy." Lillian said kindly, but softly, to the third pansy.
She couldn't help but talk a little to the plants, especially since they were so cute and pretty.
Then, Lillian filled the pansy's pots with the extra dirt that used to be in the ground. She walked over to the pile of pots that used to have seedlings in them, but now contained extra dirt. Lillian gently sat her three pots in the pile, then returned to her private spot.
She could hear a murmur of voices that belonged to a couple classmates who also chose today as 'planting day'. She could also catch the occasional word from the teachers who were in charge. But, mostly, it was peaceful. Just her, unless you counted the plants.
Lillian finished up another tree which was to have three pansies as well. Like a mother and her three babies, she thought, fondly, referring to the tree as a mother and the pink pansies as three babies.That's silly, she thought back to herself. Plants don't have families.
Lillian gave pansies to three more trees before she was told to find patches of ground that looked liked it needed more grass. Then she was to plant the grass seeds there. She walked for about a minute, and found a patch of dirt. Lillian scratched the dirt to get it loose, then she poked tiny holes in the ground with her pinky finger, evenly spaced. She poked two grass seeds in each hole and then gently covered them up. This is kind of fun, Lillian thought mildly surprised. It is like a mini farm, but grass is the crop.
As, she was almost done, ready to go in, she finally understood what Maria ment about 'plants can be your friends'. Gardeners were like parents to seedlings. Gardeners took care of plants like people do to children. Then, when plants grew up, they thanked you with some delicious food, or some beautiful flowers. Lillian finally understood why people should have plant friends in their lives.