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Post by elijahnott on Feb 1, 2009 14:49:43 GMT -5
Elijah stood in the park, a smile on his face as he snapped pictures of the trees. A crisp chill hung in the air and made every breath he took hang in the air like a cloud. The dark coat he wore kept him warm and hid him from the people in the park so that they wouldn't get offended by his picture snapping. As he clicked off another picture, a man standing in front of a tree, he lowered his camera and smiled. If he could make a sound he would have been humming pleasently.
It didn't bother him usually that he couldn't talk, but now it nagged at him like a flashing light in his brain. Sighing and moving to sit on a bench he wondered what had triggered this feeling.
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Post by Dr. Pamela Isley on Feb 1, 2009 15:10:44 GMT -5
Dr. Isley lowered a pair of sunglasses as she looked over the park, glaring at the children who were suspiciously close to the bed of flowers carefully manicured and cared for by gardeners. She had long ago decided never to have children because of their clumsy nature, knowing they would only trample or over-water a precious and fragile plant. Shaking her head, she stuck her hands into the black trench coat she wore today. Glancing about the rest of the park, she noticed a young boy taking pictures of the trees. Pam’s eyes looked to him skeptically at first, unsure if he was truly admiring nature or that which was behind it (the grotesque city). When she was sure that’s what he was doing, she boldly approached the lad with a hand coming out of her pocket to point to one of the trees.
“Quercus dentata,” she correctly identified as an eyebrow lifted, her own knowledge coming quite easy to her. “Native to Korea and well taken care of. It must’ve cost the city because it’s rather rare to see in North America.”
Her green eyes scanned the beautiful tree, her lips resembling a smile for a brief moment before turning to the boy next to her. She, per usual, suspected others of not truly enjoying what plants had to give. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking for in this moment; perhaps evidence that her assumptions of mankind weren’t entirely right. Or her next victim. Yeah, that was more like it. “You enjoy nature?”
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Post by elijahnott on Feb 1, 2009 15:22:41 GMT -5
Elijah had just been about to leave the park for a greenhouse when a woman showed up out of nowhere. As she indentified the trees in front of him he dug through his pockets for the notepad he usually carried for conversation. Not many people knew sign language and limiting yourself to only talking to them greatly diminished the chances at friendship.
Cursing and setting down his camera he wondered if he had left his pad at home. A nervous icy feeling filled his stomach as he kept coming up empty. Would he have to talk to this woman with sign? He hoped to god she knew some sort of sign. Please have taken it in high school.. he thought holding up his hands and signing slowly.
"I'm mute. Do you have a notepad and a pen?"
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Post by Dr. Pamela Isley on Feb 1, 2009 15:35:10 GMT -5
When the boy didn’t answer her immediately and turned away, Pamela glared at him. He was searching for something and if that something was a weapon of sorts, she wasn’t about to let him attack her openly in the park. Her left hand was already in her pocket and in it was Datura bomb with enough dosage to make this kid think the trees were jumping at him. Her green eyes flashed of heated anger that she was once again wrong about humans (conveniently leaving out she is one herself) and the bomb nearly came out of her pocket when he turned to her. Empty handed, Pam was forced to soften her eyes and her hand lowered back into her pocket. Instead, her face suddenly filled with confusion has his hands came up and started moving.
“Deaf, huh?” she immediately replied, unable to read his hands but knew what they meant. She didn’t quite know how to tell the difference between a mute and a deaf and thus assumed. Something inherently rang in her mind as perfect – this was perfect. Her lips part into a full on smile now, pointing a finger with a long red nail to her lips. “Can you read my lips?”
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Post by elijahnott on Feb 1, 2009 15:40:10 GMT -5
Elijah frowned and shook his head back and forth. Why was it that people always thought he was deaf? Didn't people know the difference between the deaf and the mute? Sighing he dug through his pockets again and found a scrap of paper. Wondering how he could of missed that he turned to the woman.
Seeing that she hadn't understood him when he had signed he mimed writing something. When she gave him a pen he furiously began to write in tiny print onto the paper. Finished he held up the tiny paper for her to read.
I'm not deaf! I'm mute and can hear what your saying. How do you know so much about plants? Do you work in a greenhouse or something?
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Post by Dr. Pamela Isley on Feb 1, 2009 17:00:22 GMT -5
The boy seemed suddenly agitated at her response and an eyebrow, again, jolted up her forehead. She glanced about the area while he seemed to rummage for something and as he found it, she looked down to see a piece of paper. “Oh,” she muttered aloud, grabbing a pen easily from her pocket and handing it over to him. She was quite intrigued by the situation until he handed her the paper. She blinked a few times at him before taking it, lifting the small paper and squinting to read. She made an audible noise when she finished and nodded, shoving the small paper into her pocket.
“Come with me,” she grinned, walking passed the boy towards the street. He seemed to have a vetted interest in botany, which was good news to Pamela and any that crossed her path. It was a saving grace of few, though their allegiance to the environment was still questionable. This character, however, could prove to be useful if she managed to pull this off correctly. Turning over her shoulder, she announced to him to ease any anxiety, “I’m a professional botanist. I’ll show you my greenhouse.”
Pointing down the street, she walked to the crosswalk, briefly glancing both ways before crossing just as the light indicated she could. She recalled using a small girl in Chicago to deliver chocolates, which no one suspected and a pool boy who was willing to drop in a few pebbles for her. Grinning to herself, she believed to have found her next innocent.
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Post by elijahnott on Feb 1, 2009 17:06:48 GMT -5
Elijah raised an eyebrow at this woman's odd behaviour. What was with her anyway? She was grinning like she was about to eat him or something, and it was creeping him out. Despite this however, she was a professional botanist and that saved her in Elijah's eyes.
Shrugging and following the woman he wished she hadn't taken the piece of paper from him. He wanted to ask her so many more questions. He had always been intrested in plants but had never been able to get any to work on as his mother was allergic.
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Post by Dr. Pamela Isley on Feb 2, 2009 17:31:12 GMT -5
As the two meandered into a less than friendly looking part of the town, Dr. Pamela pulled out a long skeleton key. The greenhouse they were approaching had gone into a state of disrepair for a number of years by the faithful owner, Mrs. Keeper Many had known her on the block to be a quiet little old lady who continued her service to her plants regardless of the neighborhood and refused to move. A few years ago, the woman simply could not keep her health well enough to tend to her garden and secluded herself inside the home. It was by Pamela’s good graces that the greenhouse was “saved a month ago. Neighbors had come to visit the newest keeper who was “looking after Mrs. Keeper’s garden while she is sick and unable to do so herself” … or so she told them all.
The key slid effortlessly into the hole and turned, a loud click echoing in the greenhouse as the door creaked open. Turning to the boy, Pamela smiled and pointed to the tattered house next to it.
“Never go in there,” she warned in a serious voice, though her face was friendly. “Mrs. Keepers is seriously ill and not to be bothered. It’s my job to take of her garden and that is it. Now – you are welcome here any time. Simply knock on my door. Come draw, ask about my research, whatever you’d like. I only ask one thing from you –“ she emphasized with a finger up, showing the importance of that single rule. “Your complete and utter silence on my work. No writing, no singing – nothing. I can’t have anyone releasing my work as their own.”
That hand that held up the finger came out towards the boy and that smile reappeared once more. She offered it to shake and her green eyes hovered over his face.
“Deal?”
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Post by elijahnott on Feb 3, 2009 15:13:16 GMT -5
Elijah felt a familiar feeling of unease creep into his stomach as they wandered into a less friendly section of Gotham. He kept close to the woman and tried not to seem too frightened. He had been this way before, as a young boy, and remembered the old green house. A stubborn old woman had ran it back then and Elijah remembered being able to run through the greenery if he was good and helped the woman out around her house. For the life of him he couldn't remember her name now, but all that stuck in his memory was her hands, hardened by years of work in soil.
Now as he stood in front of the green house he wondered how long it had been falling apart before this woman had gotten here. From his veiw, it was mighty nice of her to come and fix the old place up. As the woman lay down the ground rules Elijah couldn't help but smile. She was worried about him spilling the beans? Shaking her hand firmly but eagerly he let go quickly and scurried into the greenery.
It was beautiful and full of life. Plants clung to every surface and Elijah was nearly blinded by the sea of green. Smiling like a man who had just found a pile of gold in his living room, Elijah quickly mimed for the paper back. When the woman gave it to him he scribbled down "This is wonderful! How do you keep all of it going? What's your favourite plant? Can I really some here whenever?"
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Post by Dr. Pamela Isley on Feb 4, 2009 14:55:24 GMT -5
The boy seemed to pass her and run in the greenhouse before her hand was cold, causing a surprised blink and stare out into the ugliness of the modern world. Her mouth twitched at the green-less world and turned around into the opposite, the miniature Eden she had grown. Shutting the door behind her, the high eyebrow indicated she watched him closely for a minute or so before turning her attention to the climbing vines around the doorway. A few days ago she had injected a specialized steroid into the core of the vine and, smiling in approval, she noted the extreme growth it had endured. Her hand reached up to feel the leaves for their health, checking mostly the ends to verify they were getting enough water as the rest of the body.
She turned around to face an extra large venus fly trip, her current ‘baby’ when the boy’s hands furiously asked for something. Figuring the paper was needed, she tore off a larger piece from a nearby pad and handed it to him. She had to admit, if she were to make any sort of friends with humans, the mute would be the best. It was quite peaceful without a constant jabbering, even though he obviously had things to say. The returned paper had scribbled several questions in a row and Ivy blinked at them, unsure of exactly which she should answer. He may be mute, but he wasn’t stupid (well – she assumed) and giving away too much too soon was simply a bad idea.
“I wouldn’t be a good botanist if I couldn’t keep these plants alive, would I?” she replied with a question purposefully, also finding it difficult to label one specific thing she did to keep her plants this vibrant. They simply weren’t that easy! Lowering the paper onto the table next to the fly trap, she walked back him to check on the others. Kneeling next to a Delphinium glaucoma which was currently 5 feet tall, her eyes widened as she saw a dead cat behind it. Damn animals were eating her plants! Her hands moved over the green and purple plant to check for its wounds and frowned when three stems were obviously chewed on.
“You can come in as long as the door is unlocked,” she absent-mindedly said while her fingers moved over the missing leaves, as if she were trying to heal a wound on a child’s knee. Glancing to her side to look at him, she gave a slight smile. “And I don’t have a favorite. That would be like asking a mother who is her favorite child.”
And sadly, that was no metaphor. That was exactly how she felt for these plants.
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Post by elijahnott on Feb 4, 2009 15:10:05 GMT -5
If Elijah could of laughed he would of. Instead his face contorted itself into a happy grin that if photographed would have looked very much like a laugh. His eyes darted around the green house wondering what to check out first. He had never been inside a place as green as this one and felt an odd new feeling of joy inside of him. His heart hammered at the thought of what he could find here and eager to see what this place held in store for him he set off into the many plants.
He found that most of the plants were huge and it was hard to find where one ended and another began. Trying not to touch them, he didn't know how the woman would react, he got as close as he could. His nose nearly touching a leafy vine he smiled as he watched a venus flytrap snap up a tiny fly. Walking back to his paper he wondered why this woman was being so nice to him. It had just dawned on him that in his excitement he hadn't even asked her name. Writing some more on his scrap of paper he wandered over to the woman and held the paper next to her so that she could see it and still tend to her plant.
"I'm sorry but I didn't catch your name. I'm Elijah Nott. I like your Venus Flytrap."
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Post by Dr. Pamela Isley on Feb 4, 2009 15:34:48 GMT -5
Searching around for a brief moment, Pamela discovered the glasses behind her and slipped them onto her face, giving her a stronger perception of the damage. A hand grabbed the trimming scissors to which she trimmed the rough edges of the broken stem. When finished, she glared at the dead body while standing up and grabbed the watering can, savoring the roots of the plants due to the trauma. Setting the can down, she kneeled down once more to another plant of red and green, putting her hands on a petal just as the boy showed her another note. Mildly shocked by the note, she had to remember someone was in the greenhouse with her, as it was all too easy to slip into her quiet routine. Nodding her head to indicate she read it, she stood up and walked down the aisle to another group of potted plants on the table.
“Dr. Pamela Isley,” she simply stated without any real introduction. Ignoring the comment about the Flytrap purposefully, her eyes suddenly opened in a shock-like manner. Giving a small but audible gasp, she grabbed a box from the counter and looked at it in deep thought. Glancing over to Elijah, she smiled and walked to him, presenting the box.
“Can you do me a huge favor?” she asked while opening the lid of the box to let him see the chocolates. “A co-worker of mine was very kind this past week, and I meant to give this to him. On your way back, can you deliver this to 78 Ashland Rd, to a Mister Woolsher? He’s an architect, works with buildings and parks. Do you mind?”
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Post by elijahnott on Feb 4, 2009 16:05:42 GMT -5
Elijah smiled to show the woman that he was pleased to meet her. He had just been about to glance over the plant she had been working on when he heard a gasp. Jumping back thinking the woman was gasping at his close proximity to the plant he looked up to see her holding a box. Confused he walked over to her and watched as she opened a box of chocolates.
Nodding that he would take it on his way back he smiled eagerly. "I don't mind at all Dr. Isley" he wrote quickly on his scrap of paper. Looking outside he noticed how dark it had gotten. Oh jeeze! His mom was going to kill him if he was late!
Taking the box of chocolates from Dr.Isley, Elijah scribbled a quick note and gave it to her. "I'm late for dinner but I'll deliever your gift on my way back. See you tomorrow Dr.Isley!"
With that he ran out of the green house the box of chocolates under his arm.After much running he found the man's house and rang the bell. A man answered the door and after Elijah wrote a quick note the man smiled and took the box from him. Elijah quickly made his way home, his heart pounding.
He couldn't wait to tell his parents what had happened to him today.
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Post by Dr. Pamela Isley on Feb 4, 2009 16:12:39 GMT -5
Keeping her smile, she nodded to his note and waved as he ran out of the greenhouse. It wasn’t too long before the boy was out of sight that her smile turned into a grin and she walked to the door, chuckling under her breath. He was perfect. No one would question the ulterior motives of a mute boy, nor care about any notes he wrote. It would be thrown away, the chocolates eaten and the man dead by morning. Shutting the glass door, Dr. Pamela Isley’s laugh echoed through the greenhouse as she disappeared from the outside into a mass of green.
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