Page 63 of Earth-Bound

“Yes. Earth spirits tend the earth. That is our duty. We do it instinctively, and enjoy it, so all I really need to do is… walk around, be myself and let the soil become fertile and the plants grow and the animals thrive.”

“How do you eat?”

He gave me a smirk. “I don’t need to eat much, and what I need, I can take from the earth. You know a thing or two about foraging, I can see.”

He eyes the basket of mushrooms I had in the dark interior of my camper van.

I smiled sheepishly. “They were right there. And they taste good.”

When Terrund walked over to me, I found myself leaning towards him before he even raised his arms to touch me. Damn, I was getting needy.

“Indeed they do,” he said, and wrapped me in his arms and kissed me soundly. I had lost the ability to think by the time he pulled away. It meant I blinked stupidly at him as he asked, “Do you mind if I come with you today as you work?”

“No, I don’t mind.”

“Very well. Will you let me prepare you breakfast?”

“You want to make me breakfast?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Ok. If you want. You don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

“Sure. I’m going to get used to the good life, if you keep this up.”

Terrund smiled and began to move around, and I settled down on the stool with my phone, scanning through the news. When I came across one article about a break-in at the Winters’ manor house, I jolted and read carefully. Terrund noticed.

“What is the matter?”

“Nothing. It’s just an article about somewhere I used to work.”

It made me go looking for a few more things and I learned that the woman I had once worked for, Mrs. Winters, had died. I didn’t like the woman much but, then, I hadn’t had to see her much, since she was all posh and I was a mere gardener. I’d only ever seen her once. And I’d left her employ because I’d found out she was a homophobe and I didn’t work for them.

What was important about her was that she was Randall’s grandmother.

I felt a rush of sympathy for him. I hadn’t spoken to him all yesterday because he hadn’t been out to the house, not while I was there.

“Did you see Randall yesterday?” I asked Terrund.

“No. He normally comes to talk to my tree.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You might have to tell me about that.”

He smiled and presented me with a plate of scrambled eggs, fried tomato and mushrooms, with sautéed potatoes on the side, and I forgot what I was asking.

“That smells delicious! You can cook like this?”

Terrund waved a hand modestly. “I can cook simple dishes. Nothing like Randall’s art. But I hope you like it, nonetheless.”

I was already eating, tasting the perfectly-cooked tomato and the fluffy eggs.

Terrund sounded amused when he said, “I see that you do like it. Are you by any chance related to Broadmire?”

I nearly choked on my mouthful as I tried to laugh and swallow at the same time. “Tell me I’m not as bad as him!”

“You’re not as bad as him.”

---