A GLIMMER OF HOPE
3 MARCH, WEDNESDAY, AFTER SCHOOL
As our car eventually drove up the boulevard to the Silver Mountain Pack's proud Alpha House, I couldn't help but notice how the trees that lined the roads were budding so hard, it looked like they were growing popcorn trees. And as the guards bowed us in, my eyes widened at the scenery behind the red brick walls and black pointy fences.
While in winter, the sprawling gardens had looked austere and imposing, with a touch of Spring, it had been transformed into the most beautiful sight. The grounds had suddenly turned green, and every flower bed was brimming with tulips in bursts and strips of color, and this fresh green long leaves. The moment I got out of the car, I headed straight out to the nearest flowerbed across the driveway. The smell of spring - was it just me, or did the Spring in Henry's home smell more expensive?
Hahaha, jk.
This smell, of the breeze and the life that was rioting out from the fresh dirt... I could hear birds - at least three different types, and oh! I smelled trees too - like quite specifically pine trees, although I could not see any on their manicured lawns swathed in beds of tulips. So many tulips!
It wasn't just in the flowerbeds, but in large urns along the drive way too. These were dark pink, while the ones at my feet were a orange-red hue, like the back of my eyelids when I shut them while facing the sun. Oh! And there were yellow ones and white ones and scarlet red ones, but with yellow centers. There were also tulips that were bi-colored. I had no idea there was such a thing as a tulip with petals that were half orange and half yellow. And don't get me started on the dark reddish purple tulips!
Oh the colors like I had stepped into a painting! Oh the smells of flowers and grass and dirt and everything free and happy! Oh the feeling of the wind that gently ruffled my hair and caressed the flowers so they bob at its touch! If I could shift and run I would! Roll in the expensive lawn grass, muck in the flower beds, and OOOOOOHHHHHH.... was that a maze? Like the kind made of bushes trimmed to look like walls? I bet I would be good at mazes!
"Sam! Rein in your wolf!" Henry yelled from the porch where my friends were standing around because at Henry's we didn't have to move our own instruments - we had red ants to carry our stuff.
"You better not shift on my lawn!" Henry yelled.
I was a firm believer that if Henry did not change his ways, he might grow up to be a grouchy old man that liked to yell, "Get off my lawn!"
But I've been taught to respect the lawn as a puppy so I stepped off the grass and let Harvey guild me across the driveway to rejoin my friends.
"Your garden is amazing!" I told Henry, "It feels like I'm standing in a painting."
"Well, it was taken straight out of a painting." Henry smirked. He spun around on his heels and waved us to follow, "Come on in. I don't have all day."
I took the first few steps, paused to sigh before continuing my steps with my friends. It was such a beautiful day, but I guess playtime could wait.
Beta Pete explained on the walk into the large foyer and wide hallways how this Spring, their luna (Henry's Mum), had drawn inspiration from a painting of the Royal Gardens at Black Mountains. The only thing different was that instead of roses, they had planted tulips instead of roses.
I was very impressed at how good Henry's Mum was a gardening.
My mum planted tulips one Spring a long time ago, but it wasn't these hundreds of bulbs in Henry's home, it was just a dozen bulbs.
"Whatcha doing?" I had smelled the freshly upturned dirt and paused my drill training to find Mum squatting on our lawn by the side of the old alpha house (you know, the one the rogues burnt down this year). Back then, we had just moved in from the Alpha Suite.
"I thought I'd plant something nice, now that I have my own garden." Mum explained.
I looked skeptically at the rectangular dirt patch Mum had made by the side of the porch and watched her make 12 evenly spaced holes. It was very unfair that Mum was allowed to dig and make random holes in the ground while I was not.
One day, I'd have my own garden and I'll dig holes anywhere I liked!
"Why are you planting onions?" I complained. I didn't like onions.
Mum laughed, "They're not food Sam. These are tulips."
"Onions grow up to become tulips?" I was quite surprised at this conclusion. I never would have guessed.
Mum looked rather surprised as well.
"I want to help you plant one." I decided. If magic should happen, I would like a hand in it.
That year, we had a dozen red tulips "magically" grow from the little rectangular dirt patch on the side of our porch. I don't think it could be seen from the roadside, or the pack house either. Basically, I didn't think anyone noticed their existence.
The only one who smiled at them was Mum.
We only planted them once, and we never did it again. a few years later, I did ask about it but Mum said she had given up on planting tulips.
"But didn't you like them?" I asked.
"Perhaps." Mum seemed reluctant to admit it, "But it didn't seem safe to leave things that you could dig up and eat."
I DID NOT EAT THOSE BULBS!
But they had gone missing, and for some reason, everyone believed it was something to do with me. Specifically, it was widely believed that I ate it. It was so long ago though, I had no recollection of digging up my Mum's tulips and eating them, so I couldn't say if it really happened or not. Anyway, our lawn was just grass for a long time after that... at least until that time I tried to plant those thorny bushes around my home which Mum objected to much that Dad paid someone to come replace them with rose bushes.
"My Mum has a new obsession with tulips this year." Henry huffed, "And just to please her, my stupid dad shelled out close to a million dollars on them."
"A million?" Marcus gasped, just to exaggerate his shock, "What kind of tulip bulbs did he buy?"
"It wasn't just the bulbs," Henry shrugged, "You know how it is. Landscaping, gardening, we needed a second greenhouse behind the house for the rarer bulbs."
I tried not to feel disillusioned about Henry's Mum not being the one who planted this garden after all.
"Oh. In that case, I guess a million makes sense." Marcus decided.
In what way should that make sense?
"If you guys play well and we finish rehearsal early, Pete can give you a tour of our greenhouses later." Henry offered generously, "The guy had been working very hard on a strawberry project there too."
By "working very hard" did Henry mean Pete had planted them himself? OR did he mean Pete had taken out his phone and called someone down to do it?
Once we were shown and seated properly in the living room, Pete proudly presented free strawberry parfaits, the first fruit of his labor.
"These are the best strawberry parfait in the world!" I declared.
"Well, come whenever you want more." Henry smirked, "Pete will be happy to supply fresh berries every day."
I was confused for a moment because it sounded like Henry WANTED me to come over every day, but I saw Beta Pete's face and realized me coming every day was more of a jab aimed at his beta than me. Poor Beta Pete.
Henry checked his watch, "Alright, that's enough dawdling. Our instruments should have been set up by now. Finish those parfaits and let's go."
"Where are we going?" I asked.
It was an innocent question, but Henry blew up immediately, "What the hell Sam! What do you think you're here for?"
"To try the first fruit of Beta Pete's strawberry farm?" I hazarded.
"No Sam! Get your head in the game. Rehearsals. Talentime. MY BET WITH MY DAD!" Henry was pretty much yelling now, "Anything ring a bell yet?"
Yes, in fact, it rang several bells in my head - all warning bells. I had forgotten about the bet. What should I do? Our band was really terrible. Unless we had an expert come, I fear our band (and Henry's allowance) was doomed.
My good beta took the initiative to step up behind me, "Perhaps I might be of service here."
That's right! We did have an expert right here!