Iris didn’t know what to do.
He swore he followed all of the directions in the manual.
Put dirt in the pot.
Put seeds in the pot.
Water.
Grow.
Not much harder than that.
But his pot was blessed or… Not so blessed with a miserable brown twig.
Did it freeze? Was there a cold snap?
No… The weather had been ideal.
Did he not water it? How often was he supposed to water? Did he water too little?
Iris considered the pot with a confused frown. He’d never had a brown thumb! Ever! All of the Blooms would laugh at him!
A Bloom! Unable to grow a flower! Gaia forefend!
“Iris?” a familiar voice drifted into the woodshed.
Iris sat on the floor thumbing his chin at his book.
“Water…I watered it…” he muttered. He flipped a thick cardboard page and hummed, “There’s enough dirt…”
“Iris!” the voice insisted. This time the voice had an owner. His best friend Kudzu.
“Iris!” Kudzu barked peeking in.
“Gyack!” Iris yipped. He sprang to his feet and tossed his book into a fern. The fern fronds rustled with its new cargo.
Kudzu narrowed his eyes.
“Was that a book?” he asked low.
Iris squirmed. “N-no-y-you were just hearing things…”
Kudzu frowned. He paced a slow circle around the trembling Bloom.
“So I’m not going to find a book under the fern in the corner?” Kudzu asked.
Iris’ violet eyes darted to said fern. He had to think fast!
“Hey… Zu… My flower won’t grow!” He kneeled over his pot and stick. “See? It’s just a twig!”
“Don’t change the subject!” Kudzu insisted.
Finally, he crept carefully to the fern. With the back of his hand Kudzu brushed through the fern. In a clatter and clamor, the thick cardboard book tumbled to his feet!
Kudzu gasped!
“By Gaia! A book! A real book!” he shouted.
“Shh! Shh! Shh!” Iris hissed waving his hands. “Do you want the whole glen to hear!?”
Kudzu hastily poked the book with his toe. He was afraid it would poison him.
“I’ve never seen a Barren Times artifact so close before…” Kudzu whispered. “Is it dangerous?”
Iris smiled and stooped to pick up the book. Kudzu sprang back in horror!
“Don’t touch it!” Kudzu cried.
Iris wrinkled his nose. “It’s not dangerous! Look!” He flipped a thick page and held it out. Kudzu flung his arms over his face in fright!
Iris remained with the book out to his friend waiting for him to look.
Slowly, Kudzu peeked over the heel of his palm. He studied the picture on the page.
“Flowers,” he said not quite believing it.
Iris nodded. “Flowers,” he said considering the book. “The humans of the Barren Times grew flowers too!”
Kudzu scoffed! “What do humans know of flowers! If they knew they wouldn’t be extinct!”
Iris frowned. He glanced to the pot.
That poor sad twig.
“I was trying to grow a flower the human way,” he explained. “To see if I could do it.”
Kudzu shook his head.
“Don’t you know anything?” he muttered. “I swear, Iris sometimes you don’t have a thought in your head! Humans did everything artificially with chemicals!”
“Chem…Me…Calls…” Iris sounded out. He glanced at the book and brightened. “That’s it!” he crowed.
“What’s it?”
“Fertilizer!” Iris explained pointing to the picture. “I need fertilizer!”
“What’s… fertulyzur?” Kudzu asked.
Iris scanned the book. “It says it’s a plant food… A chemical nutrient that makes plants grow!”
“And where do you presume we get some?” Kudzu asked crossing his arms.
Iris thought about it. He lifted the pot and carried his sad little twig from the shed. Kudzu followed closely behind. Iris followed the leafy path to the riverside; he crouched and emptied the pot onto the shore, replanting his sad twig.
Kudzu didn’t get it.
“What’s that supposed to do?” he asked.
“Riverbeds are fertile, right?” Iris explained. “It’ll act as a fertilizer!”
“What the hell are you growing anyway?” Kudzu asked.
Iris smiled.
“Cattails.”