[Open]

[hornedomen]

Date & Time: Throughout March, excluding the duration of the mission. Day and night.
Location: Civic Gardens
Characters: Ico & you.
Summary: Ico tries to garden. The results are mixed. Action or prose is okay!
Warnings: None. Will update if necessary.


[Day]

[Look after the flowers at the Gardens…

That was the first sentence on the letter he had written to himself. That was days before people returned to their appropriate ages. The rest contained directions on where to find the flowerbeds and how to identify it. But he neglected to write much else. That week remained as hazy as a fog.

Ico returned to the Civic Gardens, hoping that it would return his memories. He watered the flowerbeds using the rainwater trapped in broken fountains and his bottle to filter the water. The flowers thrived. Ico quickly pulled out whatever weeds settled their roots there.

Even with his memories missing, he felt a sense of accomplishment to see the bed with small flowers grow large and strong. He liked to water these flowers most of all. Yet he disliked its location the most. A statue was nearby. Whenever he looked at it, it made him frown. He did not like stone statues.]


[Night]

[Nightmares made it hard to sleep and kept him out of bed. Tending to the plants eased his mind and the night covered the stone statues in dark. If the soil was dry, he watered them again. From the time it took to travel here, he had enough time to calm down and see how foolish he was behaving. Yet he did not return just yet. He no longer felt drowsy. Ico remained in the garden, removing the weeds and bugs and waiting until he felt sleepy again.

It was harder to see at night and he knew not everyone in the Civic Gardens was friendly. If he heard someone approaching, he would call out in the darkness.]

Who's there?


[Mid to late March]

[Ico rested on his knees and he hovered over a pile of dirt.]

Come on. Grow.

[How long had it been since he tried to grow his own plant? Days? Weeks? But there was no sign of a sprout. Did it need more water? He poured enough to get the soil damp. Ico sighed and he folded his arms.]

The sun will leave you behind.

[It was a phrase similar to what his foster mother said to get him out of bed. He knew it would not have the same effect on the plant but he did not know what else to do. He gave it water and a place to grow. What else could a plant need?]

Comments

late march;

[silenceandcards]

[Keith has been watching the kid for a while. The boy came here often, sitting in the same spot each time and tending to the earth. He realized early on that he was trying to grow a plant, and so he glanced at him whenever he passed the spot, seeing if there was any progress. When there wasn't, he tried to think about it.

Today, Keith doesn't just walk past. He stopped by the library earlier in the day, found a book on growing plants he thought the child might appreciate. He doesn't do charity much, really, but really there's no crime in helping a kid that's working hard. Unfortunately, what he needed for his plant was probably sunlight. In a rainy town like this, was that even possible? (but the book mentioned something about artificial lights being able to substitute as sunlight...)

Either way, a silent man approaches Ico today, standing a little ways from him for a moment, not speaking, waiting for Ico to look up before holding out the book.]

[hornedomen]

[As Keith came and went, Ico became used to seeing him walking by. He did not look friendly, but he did not bother him and Ico knew better than to make such assumptions.

Ico looked at him when he stopped today. That was strange. Even stranger was the fact that he was giving him something. Ico did not expect that, and he looked at it in silence for a few moments. Eventually, he pointed at himself.]

Is that for me?

[silenceandcards]

[There was nobody else around, but Ico's question is an understandable one so Keith wastes no breath to ask him if the question was necessary. He simply nods, turning the book a little so the cover is more easily visible, a picture of a growing plant showing there.]

It might help.

[hornedomen]

Thank you.

[He sounded hesitant; Ico had not intended it to come out that way. The library had many books, but he did not think there would be one about plants. It seemed like a strange subject to write about.

He stood up and he took the book.]

I'm Ico. I've seen you before. What's your name?

[silenceandcards]

There were books on almost everything. Keith figures there must have been a world where people planted often that something like this showed up here. He nods as Ico takes the book, taking note of his name.]

Keith Gandor.

[hornedomen]

[He smiled at Keith before he looked through the book. It contained many words he did not understand. As he went through more pages, more strange words came up. It all seemed complicated. He sat down and he read the book long enough to find some parts that he could understand.]

Maybe it's too cold for it to grow. I thought it would be warm enough by now.

[He touched the ground to feel its temperature.]

[silenceandcards]

[Maybe the kid would have a difficult time understanding what the book wants; Keith can never be too sure what kind of technology and skills are available in these different worlds. But it seems that Ico came to a realization about the ground some, and he crouches to touch the ground too, and nods a little. It's really too cold.]

[hornedomen]

[He folded his arms. The seed was there for so long that he wondered if it was still alive. He looked upset from this setback, yet still determined.]

It's warm in the housings. I could bring it inside.

[Ico watched Keith as he touched the ground.] Do you know a lot about plants?

[silenceandcards]

... Only that they need watering, and sun.

[His wife back home probably had a few potted ones in the house. He only watered them when told to, and she definitely knew more about them. ]

[hornedomen]

[Ico wondered about how long Keith must have been watching him to know he needed help.]

Thank you, Keith. When I get a plant to grow, I'll give you the first fruit.

[silenceandcards]

[Probably not that long or someone may have raised a stink about him being a stalker! But he nods, and reaches over to pat Ico's shoulder.] Good luck.