Back to the shed

It had been twenty-four years since she’d last seen it, but the place looked exactly the same. She mentally congratulated herself: she totally did a good job hiding the shed. While every other room in her former home was either destroyed or messy, the shed remained just like she remembered it. The stained walls, the ripped curtains and the footsteps drawn in the dusty floor where enough to prove that she surely had some visitors while she was away. Yet, whoever they were, none of them was able to discover the shed. Putting it under the first floor stairs surely was the right choice, but keeping the keys despite the years was the best one.

Of all the rooms, the tool-shed was the one she missed the most. She had done so many things, so many plans, so many memories inside… She knew that, as soon as the door closed behind her, she was going to travel back in time. She wasn’t even finishing that thought when her fingers turned the key and the unmistakable sound of the lock was heard.

There she was, all alone, in her favourite room. The same one she made way bigger than necessary, probably even bigger than her own bedroom. But it was an unavoidable thin to do, as she found herself spending more and more time inside. That place was different from the rest; nobody was listening, seeing or coming in. Whenever she stepped inside it, she became the absolute ruler.

Yet, every ruler had duties to attend. Because her beautiful garden wasn’t going to grow by its own.

Years and years of hard work needed to be kept. She couldn’t let the garden wither, not after she had made it more beautiful than anyone ever did. Where everyone had seen just a piece of dead land, all she saw was flowers blooming and immense yards filled with threes. Now, each day that vision seemed closer and closer. She only needed to make good use of her gardening skills, just like she had been doing.

She already knew what to search for. They were already waiting for her, hanging in the wall just like she had left them. Her faithful shears, always ready for the duty. She opened and closed the shears a couple of times, trying to test their sharpness. Hearing the air being cut off was enough to please her. No leaves, sticks or roots stood a chance against them.

First things first: trimming the shrubs. She already had an idea of how she wanted their shape to be. She always did and that idea wasn’t’ going to change anytime soon. It was definitely the best choice and even if had flaws (not like it actually had much) why she shouldn’t trim the shrubs in any shape she wanted? Her garden, her rules. It was logical.

Another thing caught her attention, resting in the shelf above her dear tool. Green, big and fluffy. Of course, she thought with the smile.

She couldn’t forget the gloves. Even if she wasn’t going to have direct contact with the shrubs, she still had a lot to do, so gloves were essential. As much as she loved gardening, she couldn’t stand having her hands stained. It was bad, difficult to remove and easy for others to notice what she just did. She couldn’t just walk around like that, not without having her reputation severely damaged. After all, someone that doesn’t wash their hands cannot be trusted, can they?

Besides, her flowers didn’t like being touched by such unclean hands. They may not say it in front of her, but prefer to talk on her back instead. They think she can’t hear them. How naive. Of course she does. There’s no possible way for her to not do so. A good gardener would never leave a plant without any supervision, she’s sure of that and she always considered herself a good gardener.

She ended up hearing some…interesting things. Apparently, some plants didn’t feel like they were watered enough. Others, instead, thought that their pots were way too small. And there were even some that swore that she tried to cut them off just like weeds.

How could they have the nerve to say such things? About her, despite caring about them so much!

What a bunch of lies. She always made sure that their needs were met. When some plants began growing out of their pots, there’s always someone ready to fix that. A flower complained about the ground? No problem, a transplant to a very far land would be immediate. And those who bloomed the best, would’ve totally securing themselves a place in the greenhouse. They could even end up taking a place in her house, if they showed enough gratitude towards her.

Too bad that the greenhouse wasn’t getting full like in past years. Last winter, many plants couldn’t meet the requisites and they were merciless slaughtered. While the loss had affected her, she still could had the comforting thought that it wasn’t her fault. It doesn’t matter how good a gardener is, some flowers are just not meant to bloom, especially those that reject being taken care of.

However, she still had a lot of seeds coming from the ones who actually appreciated her. And she was going to make sure to plant as many as them as she could.

She looked around, wondering if she was forgetting something. The trowel? No, there weren’t any weeds left for today, or at least, she hoped so. The wheelbarrow? No, it wans’t necessary and it was full with the previous transplants anyway. The rake? Maybe she could use it later. There were a lot of dried leaves in the ground, but they were so many, that she really doubted that she could get rid of them before someone noticed it. 

Yes, it was a good plan. With that settled, she could finally go outside.

When she opened the door again, she realized she couldn’t.

She only needed to look at the broken windows to see her wrinkled face reflected in what remained of them. Of course, those times were over. Why she had to be so nostalgic?

It was really getting into her head, wasn’t it? She had already lost her precious garden long time ago, and yet, she totally forgot about that fact a few seconds before.

She shouldn’t be back there. She knew it, everyone knew it too. If someone saw her there, she wouldn’t be very welcomed. She’ll have to left in a hurry, just like she did the last time.

It was very daring for her to do such a thing, but she hoped that the years had modified her features enough. Coming back wasn’t something she wanted to do, it was something she needed to do. All the flowers, the threes, the shrub, and some many more. Those images wouldn’t get out of her head. How could she forget that garden? No, how could she forget her garden? Even if she wasn’t currently taking care of it, the fact that there were probably a lot of the plants she planted, made the garden still hers to some extent, right?

She sighed, and determined to make this visit the only one from her, she went back to the shed. She made sure to leave everything in the same place. Even though she was aware that outside her old house weren’t any flowers waiting for her, she could still remember the shed being intact, which was the only thing that could made her pretend that wasn’t true…and that was all that mattered.