Let's Play in the Garden (21 page)

“Christmas is my favorite time of the year,” Tobey continued. Merydith watched the passing scenery silently. “It’s so cheerful and happy and pretty. I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces when they open their presents. That’s fun.”

“It sure is, Tobey, my boy,” said Simon. “It sure is. Christmas is my favorite time too. You take after me in so many ways. You’ll be a fine man when you grow up.”

That brought a half smile to Merydith’s face. She agreed with Simon for once.

###

Christmas was upon them swift and sure. The countryside was dusted with glistening white powder. It added just the right effect to the joyous day. In good time the house woke as life stirred in the dark rooms. One by one the lights in the house popped on and everyone came down to the family room.

A pot of coffee was put on the stove as they gathered in front of the tree. Underneath was an assortment of neatly wrapped gifts. Not much, really, but what they could afford. Each person received one gift from the other, and that was it. It was traditional and economic. It mattered little to them anyway; this was Christmas, goodwill and love to all people.

Simon bent in front of the tree and each person received a Christmas kiss from him—again, tradition. It began with Gladys, and then Marion, Merydith, and finally Tobey. He then passed one gift at a time to them, beginning with the children.

Tobey received a heavy wool scarf from Marion. “Thank you, Mother,” he said softly and kissed her.

“You’re very welcomed. That should keep you warm and help you fight the sickness that comes every winter,” Marion answered.

Simon handed a small box to Merydith; it was from Tobey. When she opened it, her face lit up like a Christmas light. Inside was a locket shaped like a heart, and on the inside was a picture of Tobey, one taken at school. On the back was an inscription.
To Mery, Love, your brother forever, Tobey.

“Tobey, thank you very much. I love it. It’s the best gift I’ve ever received. I’ll wear it forever and never take it off.” She kissed him on the cheek and then slipped it around her neck.

Simon continued gift giving. Merydith had given each of her grandparents a set of hat and gloves, and to her mother she gave a blouse of red that glittered with sparkles in hopes that she would get into something more than her dull, drab, uniform-like clothes.

Tobey gave the grandparents each a mug. One read
Number One Grandpa
, another
Number One Grandma
.
Ha, what a joke!

To his mother he gave a quilting set.

In return, Merydith received a scarf from her mother, of course, a puzzle from Gladys of more than a thousand pieces, much like the one that was nearly completed up in her room, and from Simon a pendant—a strange pendant. On it was a duel plant, one half of it beautiful, bright and flourishing, the other dark-colored, coarse, and riddled with thorns. It puzzled her and she glanced up at Simon, knowing there was something symbolized here. Simon stared dead in her eyes and just nodded. “Thank you, Grandfather,” she said with restrained bewilderment.

Tobey received a football from Gladys and a chemistry set from Simon. It appeared Simon wanted Tobey to follow in his footsteps. The thought was that Simon would eventually begin to groom him. Merydith knew it the moment she saw the set.

She would never allow it.

The adults gave each other the usual practical things, and that ended Christmas for another year. The gifts were put away and the cleanup commenced. Afterwards, the women reported to the kitchen to begin dinner, though not as extravagant as Thanksgiving. The holiday was quick and short this year, done that way purposely. The mood was not the same, the innocence was gone, the child-like quality was not there, and with good reason. They were missing the one who had blessed them with these things. They seemed to deny these things. They seemed to deny Aaron altogether.

She could not, and she never would.

Merydith went outside in the cold, risking her health once again. She crept around to the walls of the sleeping garden, bundling up in her heaviest coat and the scarf she had just received. She went to his stone…Aaron’s stone. She bent, a tear forming in her eye, and upon his empty grave placed some holly and mistletoe. Around the stone she wrapped cloth she had made in art class. It showed pictures of their times together, the games they played, the toys he enjoyed. On it was stitched:
I’ll never forget you,
Merydith.

“Merry Christmas, Aaron,” she whispered. The wind sighed as her hair danced.

18. A New Year of Horror

A ticklish feeling woke her as she shifted in bed. It was morning again and she tried to drag herself out of the dull, groggy sensations that swam in her head. There was movement all over her body, but she could not distinguish what it was. It felt itchy and yet smooth and tickled her slightly. She tried to stretch but could not.

Something constricted her tightly, restraining her movement. She tried to pull herself free but it was useless. Panic seized her as pressure increased around her body and something slinked around her throat.

Merydith was afraid to open her eyes, knowing full well something nightmarish was happening to her. At last they popped open and a scream choked her throat.

Her own plants had slithered out of the closet and attacked her. Giant stems and vines were swiftly curling and wrapping around her body, reaching for her throat in an attempt to murder her as she slept.

Merydith grabbed at them with quivering hands. Human and plant clashed on the bed, twisting and writhing. The cactus had also burst through the closet door, growing stronger than the others and using its brawn to attacked Merydith and pierce her tender flesh with its prickles. Traces of blood glistened on her skin. The African violet’s vines twined around and around her body, squeezing tighter with every turn, and the fern latched around her throat and began to choke the air from her.

The gaggle of giant plants finally dragged her from the bed. She locked both her hands onto the fern so it wouldn’t suffocate her as she hit the floor with a thud. Her legs swayed and flailed wildly as she tried to fight back, kicking, striking the cactus, its prickles embedded in the bottoms of her feet.

Merydith gasped out failed screams as she pounded her feet on the floor and off the walls. Again she tried to call out, but to no avail, her face beat red as she opened her mouth quickly for gulps of precious air.

Her fear became fury. She not only wanted to live and breathe, but wanted to hurt and destroy the vile, betraying plants.

She found herself in front of the open closet door. Inside she could barely make out the pots the plants were still growing from. Her vision was blurry and fading quickly. All she could see was a horrendous explosion of green. Vines, leaves and greens were crawling all over her, but she still managed to retaliate as they dragged her into the closet where they hoped to finish her off.

Using her feet, she smashed the pots to smithereens. Dirt spread all over the floor and loosened the plants, sending them off balance with no bases to work from, no soil to feed from, nothing to take root in. That seemed to weaken them. Merydith felt the grip on her neck loosen and she could feel air pouring into her.

Shifting her balance, she stumbled briefly to her feet, then fell backwards against a wall, causing one of her shelves to collapse and a pair of scissors to land in front of her.

She grabbed the scissors and slashed in a frenzy, lashing out at anything that moved, cutting and shredding wildly. She cut the plants away from her throat and all the air came rushing in at once with a coughed. What a glorious sound.

She swung the scissors without mercy. The blades cut into every inch of green she could find. Leaves soared everywhere, chlorophyll oozed out in whitish globs, and water dripped from the cactus as chunks of it dropped onto the floor.

Merydith jumped to her feet and found her voice again. “Goddamn you!” she screamed. “I gave you life! I raised you! You betraying, foul plants. Die! I hate you! Die! This is what you do to someone who loved and nourished you?” She stomped the soil and pots for good measure, leaving the inside of her closet an utter mess.

She dropped the scissors and slid to the floor just outside her closet. She stared around the room in disbelief. Her clothes were wet and strewn with flowers, leaves, and stems. Her feet were dusted with dirt.

Sobs came fast and heavy, tears soaking her face. She punched the floor with both fists. “Look at the mess,” she whimpered.

Catching her breath and wiping her eyes, she stood up, stared up at her ceiling, and shrugged. She walked over to her puzzle and moved a piece into place. “Time to clean up,” she muttered.

###

No one ever found out about her near-death experience with the plants, and she would never tell anyone, not even Tobey. If anyone ever found out, the family would know she had stolen some of Grandpa Simon’s formula. She was not willing to deal with the consequences.

The end of December neared and a new year would soon be starting, as would the garden. In no time, it would blossom back to life and the garden activities would start again. Merydith did not look forward to it. Another year of the same thing, another year of fear and mystery; it was like a cycle of misery repeating itself.

In fact, everything was a cycle, all the world, all the people, all of nature. Birth, death, rebirth. Merydith could not bear to deal with it again. Watching it was terrible and cruel, like a punishment for all of the things she had done and would ever do.

The new year was bringing something horrible. Merydith felt it coming. They all felt it coming.

###

December Thirty-first. It was eleven-thirty. The TV was turned on to a local news station, the only time it ever was. News was like a taboo. Adults were never seen watching it, and if they were, it was immediately turned off. Children were rarely allowed to watch it. TV was not an educational tool, the adults proclaimed; it was a leisure device. School was education. Family was education.

People on the TV screamed and hollered with joy. They wore funny hats, blew horns, and drank a lot. Merydith envied them. They looked as if they were truly happy and having so much fun. Merydith wanted to experience it. She wanted to be there. She wanted to be happy again. This was the first time she and Tobey were allowed to stay up and see the new year roll in. Every other time, they went to bed. Grandpa Simon thought it would be good for them to see it and to know what it all meant.

“You see, children, the new year is something to celebrate and be happy about. It brings us luck and good things to come. It should always be welcomed and celebrated. That’s why we stay up late to see it in and give our prayers that this year will be better than the last, that we’ll all be healthier, stronger and wiser. And that the garden will be reborn stronger and more magnificent than ever. We give our thanks for what we have and what will be coming to us.” Simon seemed lost in the midst of another eerie speech that seemed somehow religious.

Merydith stared at Tobey. He seemed almost mesmerized by what Simon was saying. Merydith couldn’t care less. She knew it was more mystical talk that he was sharing with everyone except the children. She wanted to cry out to Tobey,
Snap out of it! Don’t be fooled by him. He’s evil! Turn
away, Tobey, ignore him!
She dared not say a word against the garden, however. By now, she knew better then to risk Grandpa Simon’s wrath.

Simon finally went silent as the countdown to the New Year began. They sat spellbound in front of the screen as the last minutes slowly ticked away. On the screen was a giant digital clock that was lit up in scores of brilliant colors, red, blue and green. On the clock, the last twenty seconds were counting down. A whole chorus of excited people joined the count. “Twelve, eleven, ten, nine…!” Tobey joined the count. Merydith stared at him with a nervous twitch. She wished she could stop him. “…eight, seven, six, five…”

The adults took up three glasses of Grandma Gladys’s homemade wine. They prepared to toast the New Year, as was the tradition for almost the entire world. “…two, one…
Happy New Year
!”

Horns blew, people cheered and sang, and there was a lot of confusion and chaos, yelling, laughing. The children watched the adults performing their odd toast. The smile on Tobey’s face had vanished. Merydith turned, a look of suspicion on her face. The sounds of the TV were blotted out by the Santaneens.

Simon, Gladys, and Marion stood up. They raised their glasses high into the air and connected them in a pyramid position. “Praise and bless the garden! Awake! Awake! Grant us your gifts! Bless the garden!” They called out together in an eerie, vibrating sound and then drank, downing the wine in one gulp.

The TV was switched off.

“To bed with you. Morning dawns a new time,” Simon said with heartiness. The house went dark and silent.

###

In the dead of night, a roar echoed from the garden. Whether it was heard or not by the inhabitants of the house was unclear. The beast awoke suddenly and lashed out in torment. Desire for freedom and vengeance fueled it relentlessly.

Again it roared, shaking the very ground and scattering the slumbering winter creatures. It demanded to be heard. It wanted its presence known.

They will pay. Let them enjoy the beginning of this New Year, for it brings their punishment, their payment. This is the year of justice!

###

Morning eventually came and Merydith woke with trepidation. No plants this morning. Nothing slithering around her. She rose from bed, staring at the empty shelves in her room and remembering what once was.
That demonic formula. It wasn’t their fault. It was that damn formula. What is it? What’s in it? It did something cruel and horrible to my innocent plants. What has it done to the garden? What are those plants that creep and grow in there, loyal only to Grandpa?

Merydith took the empty shelves and hid them away in her now cleaned closet. It was a painful memory, one that should be hidden away and added to the many other memories that haunted her.