Page 1 of Pocket Full Of Posies

Chapter 1: Daisy

Sunshine is my favorite thing. The way it warms your skin, brightens the world, and feeds every living thing on the planet nutrients they need to survive. Like right now, it’s streaming in through the kitchen window heating my cheek where I sit at the dining table eating breakfast; a bowl of home-grown oatmeal with freshly picked apple slices from the tree off the back porch, raisins I dried myself in my dehydrator, ground cinnamon from my sacred Cinnamomum verum tree, and honey from the human woman who raises bees and collects their honey to sell in town.

I like my meals organic and fresh, what can I say?

It's Tuesday morning, and Tuesdays are slow days. Not many people come to the nursery on a Tuesday morning. Not the most important day to buy flowers I suppose. Even though we open later than usual, I still get up early and go through my standard morning routine. After I finish breakfast,I’ll check on the gardens, make sure everything is doing well,[1] and get rid of any creeping weeds in the soil. Then I’ll go for a walk to check on Delphi in the forest surrounding our small plot of land. After that I have bouquets and centerpieces to work on for a wedding later this week.

It’s the perfect time of year for weddings, just prior to the cold, snowy season—even though there are still plenty of weddings then as well—and on the cusp of the turning of leaves. The trees outside are just starting to change colors and the autumn equinox isn’t far off. That one day when daytime and nighttime are perfectly equal before the nights grow long and the sun grows dim.

I love all the seasons, but winter is my least favorite. The clouds block out the warmth from the sun and the cold withers the plants into hibernation until spring. Plus, I have to wear shoes. Ihatewearing shoes, but my feet can’t handle walking through twelve-inch-deep snow. I know, I’ve tried and almost gave myself frostbite. Until that first flake of snow falls those galoshes are staying packed in the back of my closet.

My toes need to feel the ground beneath them. I need that connection to the earth, always have. It used to drive my mother crazy every time I would throw off my shoes and return home from school barefoot. Apparently, it’s not normal for humans to walk around barefoot all the time. Among nymphs it’s completely normal, although most have just acclimated to human behaviors to better blend and fit in. I, however, don’t blend in very well. Being a half-breed, my glamour is too hard to maintain for more than a handful of minutes, my magic weaker.

Sage joins me when I’m halfway through my breakfast, making one of his own. He sits down across from me and begins eating. Sage is my older brother, by many years. He’s a full-blooded earth nymph, having a nymph mother as opposed to my human one. He’s never held it against me, or my mother, who is still married to our father- which is where I got my earth nymph half.

He’s been the best big brother anyone could ask for. Sage and his mate/husband Tobias, moved into the house from the apartment they rented in town when mom and dad left to go on their world botany tour. I was eighteen and didn’tneedanyone to look after me, but it’s been nice having them here these past five years. I’m not the most social person and if it weren’t for them, I’d never know what was going on in town, or have anyone to talk to beyond Delphi and the flowers. People get sent to padded rooms if caught talking to flowers by a human, something that’s normal among non-humans. So, I’ll admit it’s been beneficial having others in the house with me.

“Where’s Tobias?” I ask Sage.

“Went to the Ugly Mug to open up,” he answers around a mouthful of food.

I nod and spoon another bite of oatmeal into my mouth. Tobias is a fairy and works at the local coffee shop. He also happens to be a genius savant when it comes to coffee artistry. Able to sense what a person needs in their coffee order and gives it to them. If you’re feeling anxious, he gives you something decaffeinated and calming. Feeling nostalgic? He’ll know exactly what your all-time favorite coffee drink is and will make it just how you like it.

Tobias and my brother mated years ago before I was born. He’s always been like a second brother to me. I love him as much as I do Sage. Normally Sage, Tobias, and I spend mornings together eating breakfast and going over what needs to be done for the day. It’s nice, simple, and familiar. Some mornings it’s just me and Sage, and I like our one on ones and quiet companionship. We don’t need to speak to convey words, especially when sound and hearing are so important to nymphs. It enables us to hear truths, lies and emotions in another…usually.

“Sunflowers again, Daisy?” Sage looks up at me from behind his half-raised spoon, eyeing the sunflowers growing in my hair.

I shrug and stir the last remaining bits of my breakfast.

“I’d really love to see a different bloom some days. Maybe daisies, geraniums or even a sweet pea or two.”

Sometimes I hate that the flowers that grow in my hair give away my emotional state. I especially hate it when Sage calls me out on it, since he knows the meaning for most of the blooms that sprout. If anyone else knew me well enough, no non-human would have to rely on their abilities to sense my emotions. They’re right there on my head for anyone to see.

Sage says there are other earth nymphs that have a similar attribute, but I’ve never seen one. At least not one who can’t control them. I think it has to do with my human side. Humans are wildly emotional, and I think my human half mixing with my nymph half causes them to grow of their own accord. I’ve tried controlling them to hide my emotions to no avail. Other nymphs don’t have that problem. Their magic is full and complete.

Shaking away the thoughts that have plagued me since I was old enough to realize I was different from the rest of the nymphs, I refocus on my brother sitting across from me, giving me his concerned face. Another downfall to my weak magic is I can’t hear emotions as clearly as a full nymph, so I’ve learned to read body language like a boring non-magical human. His current expression, mixed with the low calming tones of his voice, conveys brotherly concern.

“It’s still early. Maybe they’ll change as the day progresses. You never know what a Tuesday can bring. It’s the most important day of the week. Didn’t you know?” I try to ease his frown with my unpracticed humor. It works a little. The edges of his lips pulling up and smoothing out.

“You know what I mean Daisy. You spend too much time alone in the gardens.”

“I’m not alone. I have you, and Tobias and Delphi. What more do I need? You know I’m no good at talking to people. The plants understand me.”

My tail twitches anxiously and I pull it inside my denim overalls, wrapping it around my waist to comfort myself and sooth the uneasiness these conversations always bring. A habit I picked up because of my inability to glamour it on a regular basis to hide it from the humans and callous non-humans.

“People can understand you too. But first you have to talk to them, make friends. Maybe even partake in town events like the autumn equinox coming up.”

Sage has been trying to get me to attend equinox and solstice celebrations for years, but I’ve never gone. Being in large groups of people—especially full-blooded non-humans—makes me uncomfortable. All the eyes watching me, judging me for my humanness, and everything I am lacking compared to them.

Granted, I know there are many non-humans who have no prejudice against half-breeds like myself at all, but there are those who do. Especially some that come to Snowberry to celebrate the changing of the seasons. I’m just more comfortable staying home and celebrating on my own. Well, with Delphi, she always stays with me.

“You know how I feel about attending the celebration, Sage. I just don’t fit in. Never did.”

“You don’t have to fit in. I love that you don’t. I just want you to make more connections with non-plant life than just me and Tobias. We won’t be here forever.”

My brows pull into a frown. What the hell does that mean? As a nymph mated to a fairy, Sage will live much longer than I will. He should be around a good long while. Obviously not forever, but centuries for sure. He’s not even two centuries old yet. I expect him to be here for many more.

Sage notices my apprehension and his gold eyes soften. The rising sun, bathing his sage green skin in golden rays, the reason his mother named him Sage. I’ve never met his mother. He only knew her for a short time as a child. Apparently, she’s even more of a free spirit than we are. Sage’s mom and our dad weren’t married or mated, just a passing relationship that resulted in pregnancy. Sage traveled when he was old enough, but moved to Snowberry when I was born, wanting to be close to family.

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