Chapter 6: Chapter 4: Gardening and Nostalgia

Adam managed to come back home at the same time as his mother, who was wheeling a small cart of potted roses back to their storage shed. She took one glance at his muddied clothes and narrowed her eyes, jabbing a thumb towards the house and giving him a look that said ‘Inside’. Adam groaned but relented, sitting on a number of rags so he didn’t stain the chair. His mother arrived shortly after, overalls coincidentally also covered in mud, but hers was likely more voluntary than his. She wiped her hands and arms clean before sitting across from him, leaning forwards with her arms on the table.

“Was it Felix?”

Maria tended to be straight to the point. She spoke softly, but her eyes were hard, and Adam knew that that look wasn’t aimed at him; Ma knew all about that specific rich boy.

Adam winced, turning away, which was all the confirmation she needed.

“Ma,” Adam began right before he was cut off by Maria raising a finger, her hair bleeding to a black-brown color as her mood darkened.

“Adam, trust me, dear, I know I can’t do anything about him. So, we can cut off our typical roundabout routine of you trying to convince me not to take action,”

She reached forwards and clasped his hands, and Adam looked her in the eyes.

“That will not stop me from being angry on your behalf. That little toad is a right piece of shit, hm?”

Adam smiled sheepishly, holding back a laugh.

“You don’t even know what he did!”

Maria got up, filled a kettle with water and struck a spark with a flint and steel to start a fire.

“I can guess, and the description is fitting no matter the situation. After how he treated you before… Well. He’s lucky his parents have so much influence.”

The subtle threat of her words was not lost on Adam, and he chuckled lightly as they waited for the water to boil.

“I got to see Olivia today,” Adam said absentmindedly, twiddling his thumbs. His mother beamed with pleasure, hair leaking back to it's normal white while she leaned against the wall next to the kettle.

“That’s wonderful! I miss that girl an awful amount; I really should visit. How’s her family’s store?”

“Good, says the store is surviving. They’ve started advertising in the cities. Got a bulk order for some noble’s daughter, apparently,” Adam paused and perked up, smiling at his mother, “Oh! The figurine lady, Eliza, also promised she’d teach me the fundamentals of wood carving tomorrow after lunch!”

Maria nodded, rubbing her chin.

“Mm. Very nice, it’s a good skill to have. I used to be able to do it myself, but I haven’t tried it in years. We can practice together if you’d like; it’s always good to have someone else to do things with.”

Adam nodded excitedly right as the kettle began to squeal. Maria hummed a wordless tune as she prepared some tea made from homegrown ingredients. It was one of Adam’s favourites, a fruity blend of different aromatics he didn’t remember the names of.

They sat and enjoyed the tea in relative silence, passively enjoying each other’s presence. Adam enjoyed his relationship with his mother and appreciated that he could feel comfortable around her even if they weren’t speaking.

Once Maria had finished her drink, she glanced up at the sun from their window and sighed.

“I was supposed to be finished with this job by the evening, but I’d forgotten just how many roses we had in the garden! I might have to buy more pots. Ah well, I’ll keep on plugging away at it until evening.”

She stood and stretched, kissing him on the forehead before she got up to leave. Adam watched her go with that familiar sense of longing for the outdoors, and he couldn’t help but wonder…

“Ma?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Do you think I could join you in the gardens today? Maybe make the work go by a little bit faster. I’ve still got a lot of pent-up energy, you see…”

Adam trailed off as his question seemed to legitimately shock his mother, who froze in the doorway. He almost took it back, thinking he’d said something wrong before her face split into a large warm smile.

“That would be lovely, Adam. Go and grab a sunhat! Your clothes are already muddy enough to use, I think. I’ll wait outside.”

She closed the door, and Adam dashed back into the hallway to peruse their collection of hats. His head had already been itchy and sweaty from his use of the winter cap, and he sighed with relief as he pulled it off and scratched his scalp. He froze as he saw his reflection, scowling as he saw just how much the infection had spread.

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Half the hair on the top of his head was white, and it was beginning to reach the sides that would be visible even if he tucked his fringe away. Adam cursed himself as he realised he had forgotten to seek out a barber; that would be tomorrow’s top priority. He would miss the long hair just a little.

Adam pulled on a light sunhat, adjusting it and tucking his white locks away until they were sufficiently hidden before stepping out the door to greet his grinning mother. They walked together until they reached one of her designated flowerbeds situated between two citrus trees. The work she had been doing was obvious; the dirt was churned up from where she’d been removing the old roses, and the orchids sat in their pots waiting to be planted. There were still a fair few roses left.

“All right, do you remember how to use the tools, Adam? It has been a while, after all.”

Adam grinned, picking up a shovel that was large enough for his proportions from the cart, “Have a little faith in me, Ma.”

She laughed, grabbing a shovel of her own. “We’re removing the roses and swapping ‘em with the orchids. Laurence in town said he liked the colour of the ones I’ve grown and was willing to do the exchange. Thought it’d be a nice change around here.”

Adam nodded and got to work, planting his foot on the edge of the shovel so that it pierced the roots and dug deep into the ground. The work was hard and sweaty, and Adam found himself tired after only an hour. Relying on magic had perhaps left him a little lazy, and he was glad for the exercise.

Adam had to admit that this was almost a little… Nostalgic. Why had he stopped doing this with his mother? There had been the jeering from his classmates, of course, but they wouldn’t have known if he’d continued or not. No… There had also been something else, some underlying discomfort with having interests in botany, being similar to his mother, that had discouraged him from this and pushed him to try and find someone like Felix. Adam, for the life of him, couldn’t figure out what. He decided to think about it later, simply focusing on the work.

All in all, it served as an excellent distraction from his recent worries. Neither Matt nor his celestial traits popped into his head as he worked, sinking into a new rhythm of shifting dirt and muddy shoes. What was he even worried about? As soon as he got his hair cut, there would be no chance of revealing the curse, and his life could return to normal. Perhaps it would even go away if he simply ignored it for long enough.

Anton appeared on the trail near the evening and was surprised to find them both working. Maria asked him to cook dinner tonight, and he happily agreed, walking back home further along the path. Isabelle followed close behind, pausing to watch them for a little while from a tree branch. She seemed almost amused by their physical labour and hopped onto Adam’s head as he took a break. He gave her a few good scritches behind the wings, and she quorked happily before flying off to go and find Anton again; She was his familiar, after all. Adam loved that creature, and the idea of getting a companion for himself one day greatly excited him.

“You know, I’ve missed doing this with you,” Maria mused, “I know you grew out of it, but doing gardening together was just so much fun. Don’t normally get to do this with others. Reminds me of when I lived with the rest of my family.”

Adam nodded, straightening up with his knees in the soil.

“I agree, it’s… Nice. I wouldn’t mind doing it more often.”

That made his mother visibly happy, prompting her to pull him in for a hug. However, this was fairly difficult when they were both kneeling, and they tumbled over with a laugh. After they had gotten up, Maria looked towards home and up at the darkening sky.

“Well, even with your help, we didn’t manage to finish, but there’s only a little bit left. I say we head back and enjoy whatever your Da has made, and finish tomorrow morning, hm?”

Adam nodded in agreement, pulling off his hat to mop at his forehead with a clean section of his shirt. His white hair spilled into his vision, and he sighed with relief as a light breeze graced his scalp.

It wasn’t until he saw his mother staring at him with eyes like dinner plates that he realised his mistake.

The bubble popped. Whatever barrier the gardening had built to push away his negative feelings broke down, and everything rushed back to punch him in the gut, much like Felix earlier that day.

Adam took a step back.

“I’m sorry,”

It came out as hardly a whisper, a breath underneath his breath as he watched the hair in his eyes turn green.

A spark of recognition flashed in his mother’s eyes, a realisation as his hair changed colours. Her expression softened, and she stepped forwards.

Adam felt a rush of shame at the look on her face. Was that understanding? His heart began to race, and his vision became blurry. It took him a moment to realise that it was because there were tears in his eyes.

Adam stood frozen as a terror unlike anything he’d ever felt gripped his spine and took hold of his nervous system. She knew. His secret was out. Permanently. There was no going back. What had he done?

“Oh, dear,”

Maria’s hand touched his cheek, and that seemed to trigger something within him. A flight response or something similar.

Adam dropped his tools, turned and sprinted into the forest, ignoring the cries of his mother as fear made his body light and fast. He needed to be anywhere but here. He wanted to disappear forever. Perhaps, in these woods, he could.

He didn’t look back.