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Chapter 27: Tim
Over the millennia Maharet had always been more of a house burner than a homemaker, but she didn’t think it was too late to turn over a new leaf. After all, she was bright, resourceful, and had her new friend Julia to point her in the right direction. She also had a book. It was practically new in demon terms but perilously out of date by human standards.
There had been passages about obeying her husband and catering to his every whim and desire, which of course she had chosen to ignore. The section on gardening had caught her eye. Plants didn’t tend to survive long in hell and she had secretly always wanted to see if she could turn her red thumbs green.
The first thing she needed was some privacy and she had just the plant for that. She reached into an old leather pouch Titan had been nice enough to fetch her from hell and started sprinkling seeds along the perimeter of the property. She muttered an incantation to herself as she walked. By the time she made a full loop the seeds were already starting to sprout.
The fire demon watched as inch by inch the vines crept over the cast iron fence until it was completely covered in thick green leaves. An inquisitive robin went to inspect the new growth with predictable results. There was a muffled chirp of surprise as the vines wrapped their way around the bird.
“And what do you think you’re doing? I can’t have you eating all the local wildlife.” Maharet scolded the plant. There was an edge to her voice and the plant understood that there would be consequences if it disobeyed. “Now, let the bird go!”
Reluctantly the creeping vine released its prey and sent out a cautious tendril towards Maharet. She stroked the creeper and crooned. “Good plant. Now, if you’re hungry I’ve got some hamburger meat. Just leave the birds and the bees alone.”
Stolen novel; please report.
The plant wasn’t sure what hamburger was, or even why it was having thoughts of its own in the first place. But a free meal was a free meal. Besides, the sun was shining and it was shaping up to be a beautiful morning. The creeping vine fluttered its leaves in appreciation as Maharet hand fed it pieces of ground beef.
There was a polite cough from the other side of the fence and Maharet poked her head over to see who it was.
“Howdy.” Said a man in a floppy brimmed fishing hat. “I couldn’t help but hear you talking to your plants.”
“Ah yes… I was just… training my vines.” Maharet said with a laugh. “We just moved in and I wanted to get started planting my garden. I’m Margaret.”
“They call me… Tim.” The man said with a tad more gravity than was warranted for such a simple name. “I do have to say that it is nice to see someone living in this old house again. Especially someone that shares a passion for the horticultural arts.”
“I’ll do my best but I’m honestly pretty new to all this.” Maharet replied. “I’m kind of playing the whole gardening thing by ear.”
“Well best of luck to you.” Tim said. “If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask. The old neighbors used to ask me all kinds of things.”
Maharet shook her head and went back to her gardening. What a strange man, she thought to herself as she started planting her singing nettles underneath the windows. The seeds hummed musically when she watered them and pinged like bells as the first shoots broke the surface.
She looked back at the fence. Yes, quite a strange man