20th Spring 516 AV
"Speech"
"Speech"
Spring meant a lot of things to the landscape of the mountains. As Winter's snow melted, water was released to the gushing rivulets and streams that existed only as dusty, stony channels for the majority of the year. The earth could breathe again, after the hard frosts and harsher covering of whiteness, and plants could begin to flourish. It was only early Spring, so grey snow still lurked in the shadows of Saiyin's garden, but already the earth was showing signs of new life and that made her glad. Today, being full of Syna's light and almost warm enough to dispense with the cloak, was a perfect day to plant her carrot seeds.
It looked sad, in her eyes, to see a lack of plants. The only thing growing was the weeping willow at the bottom of the garden, but even that was leafless during the colder seasons and it would be a while yet before the delicate green leaves would unfurl. It had never been a pretty garden, although there had once been grass and that at least remained growing throughout the year. Now, it was muddy and tangled with the tiny weeds that had survived the snow. She stood at the base of the abandoned vegetable plot and wondered where to start.
The ancient old hoe that seemed to come with the house was her trusty tool for the job, but Saiyin's parents had not been green-fingered and she had no basis on how to operate the hefty piece of equipment. Nevertheless, the earth needed to be broken up so as to allow the seeds to be planted, so she began to dig the hoe into the ground. It took effort. The ground was compacted and clumped together in huge lumps, and so Saiyin had dispensed of her grey cloak by the time she was finished. She wiped her brow and leant the hoe carefully on the ground. Now it was time to plant.
With care, she knelt on the mud. She would have to wash her trousers later and that was a task she didn't appreciate, but without anything else to lean on the task of planting would be difficult. Instead, she leant over the freshly worked vegetable plot and emptied a few of the carrot seeds onto her palm. She was excited to see them, what she hoped would grow into fine rows of leafy plants, especially as they looked so strange in their current form. It seemed almost impossible that the little lumps of brown plant matter would grow up into something she could eat.
Saiyin picked a seed, and rummaged about in the earth to make a little hole. She carefully popped the seed within and scraped the cold, damp earth over the top with her hands. Already her nails were becoming black with dirt, but she found she didn't mind. She continued for each of the twenty-five seeds, and once she was done she stepped back and wiped her filthy hands on her trousers, aware they were already soaked through with mud so it didn't matter. She was a mess, but a happy mess. With a little sigh of content, she went to walk back into the house and get clean, but as she did so she heard and saw something she wasn't expecting.
The Okomo Estates were sprawling, if one could explain the pretty cottages and gardens as such. The houses were not clumped together but rather were spread out across any available flat space. The mountain slopes were not particularly forgiving, and so there were many paths up and down steep hills to reach the different parts of the Estate, but Saiyin's nearest neighbour was within visibility. It had been empty for a time since the last owner had moved out, but now to her surprise she saw movement. An okomo, carrying belongings, and a guide and... a new owner!
Saiyin rushed indoors and quickly splashed water over her hands and her face to wash herself of any particles of soil. She would have to greet the new owner, of course. It didn't matter if she was covered in the garden, what did it matter? She found herself grinning at the prospect of a new neighbour, and hoped they would be amiable. Hessel was a good friend but she lived further away, and it would be good to have someone to talk to once in a while, especially if she could just pop over. It didn't occur to her that the new resident might not become a friend, but Saiyin's mind didn't think that way.
Instead, she tied her shoelaces and donned her grey cloak once more, and began the walk to the house. She had no gift to give as a welcome, but she hoped the thought of a friendly smile would be enough. As she arrived, she cleared her throat and knocked three times on the front door, then waited patiently for someone to answer, a relaxed and friendly smile on her plain-Jane face and an introduction waiting on her lips.
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