Everything Stays

This was her element. And this was her sanctuary.

Some habits died hard and some never bothered to rid of themselves at all, such as in the case with Rayen. Since she was little, gardening had been a hobby of hers, later a profession in her --while very brief--young adulthood, and now even after death. Whomever coined the term "'Til the Very End" possibly never considered the ironic circumstances that there was an "after the end". Still, it deterred her none, rather it calmed her very much. Even as a job for Death knows how long she'd be here doing reaping orders, as far as Rayen was concerned, keeping watch over the chrysanthemums and letting them flourish to their great potential was her real job.

They reminded her of home. They reminded her back to a simpler time where she could spend all day outside in a garden--be it her own or her commissioner's--and have the self satisfaction of a job well done when everything was neatly maintained. There were a few gardeners she had noticed that seemed to share the same values, others, she couldn't tell exactly. While therapeutic, it could become mundane for the average person to the point where their mind would wander and be far from reality. Imaginations or dedications considered, Rayen still kept to herself most of the time. Only exchanging words in brief passing to the other gardeners such as figuring out who tended to which acre, or was responsible for maintaining the tools and such. At least, on a normal day.

However, today was not a normal day since technically speaking, Rayen had the day off.

But even if habits died with the person or continued on (she was really confused on how that worked), Rayen would easily wander to a patch of the gardens and begin tending. It was a vast field as far as the eye could see and while no one had bothered to mention that working during her off time was allowed, Rayen found no harm done. Every little bit of help counts.

And speaking of help, she noticed a figure walking aimlessly through the parted paths, as though they were searching. Even with the floppy straw sunhat upon her head, Rayen still had to squint through the sun's light, it's brightness only rivaled through her memories of a very hot midday July in Florida. Their form shimmered within the rays' heat, so Rayen stood, wiping the dirt from her hands and fingernails onto her paisely printed overalls and waved. First formally as a greeting, then as a gesture to come over. The more the merrier.

While normally shy, the gardens gave her a small sense of confidence. As well as giving her a first sense of clarity since being dead. This was her territory and if she were honest, her home.

He was definitely a new face to her, that was for certain, but as Rayen assessed his work clothes, the man looked as though he had worked in the gardens nearly as long as she had. Or possibly less, who was to know? Still, his demeanor left her at ease, the chuckle was infectious as she found herself smiling in turn. Though a little more uneasy.

"New flowers, no entiendo," she piped. Whatever joke he made was completely lost on her. "Any flowers that would be out here would most likely be weeds posing as such," she tilted her head, "unless they've created a new flower plot just now."

"But," Rayen continued," if you're not too busy, would you mind helping me with this patch here? If you were heading inside, I promise it won't take long, it's just.. Some of the land here is rather coarse and needs to be cultivated carefully. There's too much growth and not enough breathing space..."