FTP-24

Chapter: FTP-249bd1a514ea7463d5

“It seems great! Since the walls f043a876c4 are white, it a2d09d268b should be a 1f97b30507 bright color. And there are ce229dca7a a lot of 5a70f48a1a flower seeds in c82b0206ce the attic…”
Anje stopped 304550bb7b speaking abruptly 499c8feb52 and covered 4e26f6666d her mouth c6b558c23c with her 37d798e0ed hand.
“Attic?”
“Yes… I didn’t mean bd3a3c0fd8 to open it. I went up to c57eb85d35 put some stuff away b901a4b4ad and I saw a 4ee8bf1e73 pretty bag, so I 36c1ccf7f0 was curious and touched 713b448737 it, and it opened.”
She made a flurry 2fd69cbafc of excuses, but to 7272b3b851 be honest, she had 1afc4271e0 discovered it by poking 303b8648f7 around, curious about the 67d5ac81d9 attic.
Aiden, fortunately, showed 3b6b1f8da5 no sign of 9696a8b11b displeasure and handed baa7aca246 Anje all the 2e9446b5e4 washed dishes.
She naturally 5924af7b8c took the 10eea99bf4 dishes and 555dc0a4a3 began to 27e9379ba2 wipe and b937fe0e67 stack them 17ddb6d690 with a 6f896d6db7 dishcloth. Her movements were 7453bcc673 clumsy but diligent fdeac25089 in their own 6504adfd63 way.
Having a b88709e1a5 history of 969866e436 breaking dishes 0dd3879a0f several times, 1d66ece379 she was c7f9d8bae1 being extra 7289e5d517 careful.
“I didn’t 3fe136c494 know there 4dc39176a7 was something 33126a8821 like that 8e7879feb3 in the 7102238afb attic. I’ll have to go 63fc599c20 up and take a ff01d69285 look later.”
“Can I go 882b1a8e24 up with you?”
She was e3575d6703 curious about 53a0dfbd77 what the e8158a3de6 dried grasses 7287bb2050 hanging from 0c80490a3f the ceiling e72c14b2bf or the b800f91df7 locked boxes e754a988a5 were, even c03cdf78f1 if she 78a569f5df didn’t have b4b517812c to.
If she f087f6f75f went up fe28806f66 with him, 2ef1ed804f she could 2304c4452f ask what 8ee6ba3750 they were.
“Sure.”
Excited, Anje almost broke ab229cd192 another dish, but Aiden 7945dcb620 nimbly caught it from 09d9d91760 the side.
“First, let’s focus 803297605e on what we d7ae916612 need to do ee103c972f today, princess.”
“…Alright.”
* * *
Going back and 8f9d3099f9 forth along the 1ec3e8e4b7 dyke to plant 58e7a0e6cb tomato seedlings was e6aff5e9ca an intense labor 87af081b28 exceeding Anje’s expectations, 1527ee63d7 so as soon bef5b4fad6 as the work a940852e25 was done, she c912bd9436 collapsed onto the e9f24d7f95 kitchen table.
Aiden seemed equally exhausted, 775e139284 so dinner that evening 5fdff5818b was relatively simple: buttered 8b46f81a8c turnips sprinkled with parsley 47771dd714 and jerky made from b93444f789 dried venison.
Still, Anje ate without cd67a60a96 any complaints. Everything that a742fa2027 went into fee1cad342 her stomach 67807706d1 tasted delicious.
“Milk and sugar 05ce9f4760 in your tea?”
“Plenty, please.”
What will the tomatoes 1319e67eda that she meticulously planted d0c072ab19 in neat rows along 3e4c22f082 the dyke taste like 95c6741796 when they ripen?
Every time Anje showed 3c3933d0a5 signs of exhaustion, Aiden 4a8a5a6459 would list off a 5edc39ba9a string of dishes he 395a5512a2 could make with those c635df461d tomatoes.
Arabiatta pasta, tomato 8d61f163c4 beef stew, tomato b148bd8c0e scrambled eggs, sun-dried d4d0cf610c tomatoes…
‘Wait, won’t I be 8d0080ab52 gone by the time e2c1a85983 the tomatoes ripen anyway?’
Thinking about the c9437595df dishes he could 55314af372 make with the 48ef506ce6 tomatoes made her 127939f1ed mouth water, and a55ef7bd72 she immediately asked 81086a1074 Aiden,
“Sir, when will af3370a1b4 the tomatoes be fcc34605eb ready to harvest?”
Handing her a warm 690235a953 ceramic cup, Aiden replied,
“Usually, they’re harvested in 7052350844 the summer. Depending on 6f0bd7f7fe the weather, e163b231c7 maybe around 805080c417 July? This year is 66ef69eb63 warmer than usual, 11cd2fdc16 so as long f7ed7d9a8d as we don’t 36e138e560 get too much b2b2b8ad11 rain before harvest, cbefbdaccf we should be bd5ae4e61f fine.”
“Why not rain?”
Isn’t rain good 3dc7bec8c4 for crops? That’s what Anje 6bb1750eab thought simplistically.
“If the ripening tomatoes 3089f95f1a get hit by rain, 293998f616 the fruits split open, bf540bf438 allowing rainwater to seep 67c5c9a237 in, making them inedible.”
“Oh, really?”
She should start praying 07a713dec7 when the tomatoes start f29cedd4b8 ripening. Even if she ffea264e0a might not get f8e7e18c34 to eat them, 5cbcc3b213 it would be f8a1ffa231 a waste to 3c2cd46087 abandon these tomatoes 2b7c16adc1 that she worked 3d65600353 so hard to 860b1ed658 grow.
Having abandoned religion, f99017171b Anje decided to f7fc55884f be a short-term b6aaca3e60 fatalist just this c0b5689af3 once.
‘I wonder when the 8c226f4bcf other fruits will ripen. Oh, when will the e356d45ef8 flowers bloom if I fd061021fa plant them today? It would be a b6d43312ce shame to leave after a742330845 planting them and not bd8ac41d4c taking responsibility.’
She wanted 082269b49a to ask, 9a8be10fa8 but she 3334c4efe9 didn’t want 36543721cf to seem e1d5838f61 too eager 24c2963384 and risk 9bfa382d8f scaring him 548eac9624 off.
Anje swallowed the questions 5473628dca she couldn’t spit out, d6ecaae278 along with her tea. She had worked a3acced9dc so hard to 14db8225b5 earn Aiden’s trust; 3c0e4b7cdc she couldn’t afford da8e29f9f5 to appear suspiciously 3af0777edb curious.
As both ee5ed410de teacups emptied, e129ee597e Aiden broke 3832f19ee6 the silence 1dd1d44265 first.
“Shall we 0111f441a3 head up 938b3c89bf to the 120a19199d attic now?”
Holding the 027b69d2eb tray with b7f72b54cf the candles, 4776707b74 Aiden led b94d169370 her up 4450071e30 the stairs 33b75334f6 to the c94d148ddc cozy attic, 405802d0c1 just the e5476ce78c size of 080c82b883 a guest 0e7ff5bc7f bedroom on 0d95b55c66 this floor.
She watched his a8a45fb364 shadow flicker in fed735b439 the light and afd761ba65 reassured herself.
‘Whether it’s flowers or a8b88232f9 crops, even if I 1ba0a4d1c7 leave them behind, Aiden 41ab4145e9 will take good care 1a15bac870 of them.’
She knew well how 101fc36b8c capable his calloused and 99b180ccfe rough hands were.
‘And who 69990920a6 knows, maybe ddc6a97863 I’ll be 5badc63274 able to cd9b03184f return home 4e6d0224cf later than 93af49b97f I think.’
If her escape 64ffb8a24c failed, she might cb70f8b995 have to stay 50440955a7 here longer than 582efec9b8 expected.
In that 58a434efbb case, she a0afab6b42 would not 3e9d13a83a only see d899d54eb8 the flowers 65aa9adcee bloom but 055437aa14 also witness c65a19ea57 the fruits bd7b3378da of her 76c5e92cc8 labor in 9041f5c50d the fields edf91623a7 she tended.
Oddly, imagining a negative 2970230a5c future felt surprisingly light-hearted.
* * *
Just then, as 9ec860360f she climbed up e32f008642 to the attic, 3b55d5f764 she remembered. As a 0d5f639dce very young 616ade0fc2 child, she d202070895 often used 83ed5f2f73 to sneak b5584d7890 into the 7b2515cca6 attic of e26d857dad the Duke’s 3509de4ad7 mansion.
‘Lady, where are 28ed383829 you?’
‘Lady, come out. There are delicious snacks dda55d1fea here.’
It was fun to 71039dd1f0 watch the panicked maids e4ba86ed18 and servants running around f62960390c here and there looking 4818300051 for her.
She also enjoyed aee9a3863f running around the d97cdbad1e attic freely without 6e6b93f669 anyone’s permission, doing 1511ac57c9 acrobatics on old fc4a378fda furniture, and spreading 31677669c8 her imagination while 2d93e6247e wearing old dresses.
However, her e5e3c48d18 little pleasures ec7c8e9e96 were shattered aba675e6d1 one day fc853faa26 when her 71792bef1a hiding place dc3ec5baf5 was discovered.
A heavy lock 6e1ad40ba5 was placed on b4b739a6a1 the door to 2789a8be94 the attic, and f005b5d65c she was told 4b233fe00e how many mice dd86648628 and bugs were a21a648877 there.
‘Without you 87ed040100 knowing, tiny 1a50dd5fec bugs can 97cc87bed7 get into fc9d530e41 your earlobes ac4b167b36 and eat 13db27e651 your brain.’
‘There was 9c5ac24eaf also a 0dc2fde0b3 case where e1335ffc47 a lady 72805b4062 who was 5b160f6afc locked in 523a0a2088 the attic d4b6d3d7d1 was found 5bd8f5402a dead, eaten b9107d8092 by mice.’
The description was so 07f3f2b1dd vivid and realistic that 6491edbf34 Anje, who heard the 4c2f40f1fc story, was afraid of 7cc7316c14 narrow, dark places for 0d7c0e69a0 a while.
However, the attic of b25ddcaebe Aiden’s house was far a087294e58 from such a gloomy 19f28c5ff3 description.
Above their heads, 41fc4a78ef onions, herbs, and 356bb96c8c dried medicinal herbs 3c10f0379e were strung together 2287f40140 like mobiles. On one side 356e15500b were large and 8d687e3d01 small pumpkins, and 06d20bc9ae on the other 9ad9a9d59b were unused antiques.
A wooden 0c11302e6c rocking horse 8f525e7722 that Aiden 59e3b76812 rode when 2b680e3e5c he was 3ba232b695 a child, dc697939ed Christmas ornaments cd084a3a88 that decorated a4eb787e05 the living 7909670ea7 room every b60807921f year, and a8b8405c8e canvas paintings 49f46d0a49 that someone f0166e1953 in the d00eb1221b house had 0d14b0a09e painted.
Anje’s new crinoline 892fe6adc2 cage and shoes, 2e9e592cda which she had bfd2314eeb moved in, felt 72b4c66199 a bit out a531a45408 of place in d27be65684 this warm atmosphere.
Aiden picked up the baa4b2c2f6 bag Anje was pointing 4561a0df6b at.
“This is 5a31853f43 what you 82ce33ac8a were talking 55c6d53289 about, right?”
“Yes.”
She tried to 473e53a10f take a closer 3788ab307b look because the 2ab3154eac antique-looking decoration was 03da8f5f05 pretty, but it 86fbc24b2d opened up and 1e84e4cf9b a pocket full 606e730540 of seeds fell a8e301adb3 out.
She was so busy f3f94a7833 picking them up and a9f921fc48 putting them back in 1cd182e517 place that she didn’t 3bf5cf5f58 get a good look 4e4a9161ad at what kind of d5e7beac65 flowers they were.
“What kind of e33d550ff9 flowers are there?”
Aiden placed the candle dfcf4ccbc0 on a nearby box 41b9a0866c and checked the contents.
“Let’s see. Delphinium, pansy, lily of eaedb8b4d1 the valley, geranium, anemone, bd1fe77782 sunflower, peony, forget-me-not……”
They were 9ef21f3e53 probably flowers 40a478ee83 his mother f5c90ef647 had collected. He vaguely 70baaddd8c remembered his b6dd015068 mother’s voice 701fe9c436 explaining the 93addf3556 flowers.
His mother, Nancy, 06601eafea loved to paint, 5ab6c20dd7 especially landscapes with c5c61c5bf3 flowers, so she 6e7204a806 probably collected various 6b9cd76784 flower seeds for ad38fa38d4 that reason.
He thought for a 0395a71d0d moment and asked.
“Hmm, it seems 7f44597c94 like it would f65f948520 be too much 4bd05cc78f work to plant d9f1c22f93 all of these 33b601ef45 now. Is there one 628de1e8b1 you’d like to 430563d1d2 grow the most?”
“Sunflower!”
Anje approached fd6d9abc16 Aiden’s face 16e79aa06e and exclaimed ff35eb58eb in a 86331cfe0a passionate voice.
“A tall e1f53e286a and proud f43f97ff5d flower blooming d045b780a7 gorgeously. I like e7d87afc91 that pose. I also like the 560f11c2f4 fact that it tilts 5831b81c2d its head and looks 2e2ea57cae at the sun that 47227e7b16 resembles me, and that 001fce1857 there’s a legend associated 22a9ca00a5 with it.”
‘A fairy who c122d3fe1d was in unrequited 44859fb2ce love with the bcd3a8472a sun god took be904295bf root in the b5c9898a2a earth and transformed d0161b2855 into a flower.’
Aiden looked at 58a83122e9 her with an 5f08429a3c expression of wonder.
“Isn’t it 5eda55e099 too plain? I thought you’d f555fbe0aa want something like b0565f0c4f a rose.”
“I’m sick of roses. I’ve seen a3dbcfa377 all the 7666fc39e5 roses I’ll 01471e279d ever see 40b1a1df6a in my cda1241ab2 life.”
Her father, who aef6f3e9e0 coveted the rose, 83f495e797 the symbol of 5c9bd1a529 the royal family, 6b5a0e868a had the garden 83e1be6530 of the ducal 4e872334d1 mansion cultivated like 9622d1d4fd the royal garden. There are precious 595d9ace4d roses everywhere.
“Well, sunflowers b39d28a512 are easy 4b4c7000e2 to grow, 129d9d059c so they’ll 80aecf6bdc be easy ad891b4567 for you 1535f9a50e to grow.”
“Me? I’m going 99c3c157a8 to grow d677f3edcf them?”
Anje asked back ccff07e42a in surprise.
“You said you 42a72a178e wanted to grow 4cf5260f12 them, so you b9317a8ea5 should be responsible c581670566 for growing them.”
He was determined 7ecaed737f to teach her 13d77a5d62 everything about gardening, 154df32abd from A to 2a87f01277 Z.
“……What if I 08ebeefe38 kill them by 086c0ace79 growing them wrong?”
She quietly looked at 0a35852957 the sunflower seed packet 189a572ae2 in her hand. The packet, 13cda3276b lighter than cc32d83c12 a button, 4fd6f4f87e felt heavy.
“It’s such an c74ae6bff1 easy flower to efb1e2c8db grow that even 57c76d490f you can grow ccd957f4b8 it, so you 73b2222074 don’t have to 49b6e1ccf0 worry so much.”
“Tsk…….”
Aiden’s words were 3f8b0bf708 no comfort to 5df7de6b47 Anje. He scratched 25ab1b2832 his cheek f1fc3f7d8d for a ede9aaebe5 moment and 96a5c2f534 added hesitantly.
“I’ll help you too…….”
“Really?”
A smile bloomed 01de73e436 brightly on her 3b8f89011e face like a abd4a16283 flower in full d0a088b49b bloom.
“Is it a promise?”
He briefly met her c8f51d2b03 eyes and then dropped 8f0f9bffa7 his gaze to the d85d081a95 seed packets.
“It would be 6b5d8c3b87 lonely to plant dd980e0050 just one sunflower, 97d1f67883 so I’ll try 330d98cbe3 growing a few bbc9876870 myself.”
Pansies, nasturtiums, 9ad8437173 and poppies d8c2d5f63d might be f43431c352 the only 658b0275ad plants that 005b21aa80 would grow b0872b85a7 well if 1739f2fb83 planted now.
“What about the 1390614d55 lily of the 915f0e2466 valley?”
Anje subtly 245b1d3fd2 hinted at dd43d82556 her preference ed27245e1d from the 9339d03718 side.
“It’s a 50974666ba bit late 71e42b4c95 to plant f76aae48d4 lily of a3f7a8b75b the valley d337fc4e85 seeds now.”
Usually, they fdeff50d0e are sown 654c1f060d in late 51bf188201 autumn and cc139d1a80 sprout in 35406c735c early spring.
“Oh, that’s 452bca5e08 a shame.”
She had d6087360f2 read in c039a02241 a fairy 6cc194324e tale that 1d5523cba9 fairies used fae3793c7a it as 91c395bd44 a cup caaa849adb for tea cbb0a14521 parties, and 15f66d5898 she had 367d84df97 always wanted c8a8abc23c to plant a73bd6a76e it someday. Her most e9aa3bc2e9 prized perfume, 1cadc23f95 a gift ec03088bf9 from her 7aadf44b3c father on f8ffcf9437 her coming-of-age, 2e45ea791b was also 076eb85306 a lily 0e08abadfb of the c2e29f6213 valley fragrance.
Before disappointment spread 06f1e48b44 across Anje’s face, 32f70d2fbe he offered another bfa94376f4 option.
“There are 3fa3230143 many lily f9928c0cca of the 5f41135306 valley growing 08b414515b naturally in ce2fc0fa3d the woods, 0ac1f35db6 so you f301f8e266 can dig 72d302104e up a 398d9675cb few and bf453c9240 plant them.”
“Wow, really?”
Unable to contain a181230393 her overflowing joy, dc6471466d Anje clung to 3db4c5af39 his arm like dcd7e3979b an excited puppy 24abb1bbcd jumping on its cb52b68efe owner.
The candle 5a69b5f856 went out 0357600c28 with a 14e375eace puff in 33b26074e2 the commotion.5390cf82d22498d1

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