53 Ganymede

Episode 3 - The Package

A girl walks through the garden. The sky is deep navy with splashes of pink across the ever-brightening horizon. Dew drips from the leaves and petals, darkening the hem of her violet dress where it drags through the grass. The world is not-quite-silent; there are leaf-rustlings and bird chirpings and the occasional tinkling of the chimes as they collide in the warm, gentle breeze over the lake. It is a cacophony so ingrained in its environment that it can hardly be remarked enough to be considered proper noise.

The girl's steps are leisurely, as if she belongs there amongst the hostas, bachelor's buttons, and bleeding hearts. But something is amiss. Perhaps it is her age – what business could a girl of maybe twelve years have so early on a summer morning? Or perhaps it is her dress – old fashioned with a lace collar and long, pleated skirt. It could also be the small packageB neatly wrapped in brown paper and twine that she holds carefully between her hands. Yes, Claire decides as she stares down from her bedroom window, it is this last detail that stands out most.

She continues to watch the young girl as she walks further into the yard, toward the left side of the garden. She tries to recall whether Sara has ever mentioned a resident who matches her description. Isn't there a young girl living across the hall?

She watches closely as the girl finally stops in front of a patch of lavender and crouches down. Claire has to squint against the sunlight and the distance, but she is certain that the girl has laid down her package in the dirt. The girl stands, bows, and walks back to the garden gate, quicker this time. Claire cannot hear the gate open or shut with the windows closed, but neither does she hear the front door open to indicate that the girl has come inside.

Claire continues to stare out the window until the clouds change from blue, to pink, to mostly white. Her curiosity beckons her out into the morning air. She dresses hurriedly and brushes her poufy bed-head into a quick ponytail. Her steps are slow and deliberate, making as little noise as possible on the old creaky stairs. There are no signs of life yet in the old house and she does not wish to wake anyone.

It is warm outside, but there is enough wind to keep the humidity at bay. Claire glances around the garden. She has been so busy stocking her apartment and adjusting to life on her own that she hasn't had a chance to fully explore the grounds. Though stunning from her apartment window, the gardens are even grander rolling out ahead of her.

The shape and placement of the beds are without rhyme or reason: strawberries spilling out onto the narrow lane of grass here while hostas and ornamental grasses neatly line another path there. Small vegetable beds are interspersed with flowers, trees, and bushes – mulberries, Japanese maples, Rose of Sharons... the variety is spectacular. Though the placement seems almost wild, or at least accidental to the untrained eye, Claire notes the sense in many decisions. Naturtium and marigolds grow alongside tomatoes and onions. Sunflowers tower over broad beans and lavender. Each placed to offer protection from pests or to cycle nutrients through the soil.

She wants to ask Sara who tends this garden, but for now she trains her focus on the tall stalks of purple flowers to her left. She breathes in their floral scent, feeling her muscles in her neck and back relax. She remembers bringing home sprigs of lavender from the greenhouse, dropping them into her sister's bath. The way her hair would smell like lavender when she would sneak into Claire's bed in the middle of the night. She shakes her head, an attempt to dislodge the bittersweet memory. It retreats, but not completely, the familiar scent preventing it from straying too far from her thoughts.

Claire leans down, turning her head sideways to look between the stalks to the dark earth beneath. There is nothing there except some pebbles and the web of a spider, jewelled with dew. She moves some of the plants aside, gently, searching deeper into the patch. Had she been mistaken about the location? Or had the girl taken the package away without Claire's notice?