yellow paint wrote:well, here goes nothing.
finished edit: THIS WAS SO LONG I'M SO SORRY I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A CUTE LIL STORY ;~;
read the entire thing, then!the gravel under your feet crunches as you head down the sidewalk. the town around you is filled with small stores advertising things like vegan ice cream and recycled furniture and locally produced plays, but your sights are set on something else. towards the end of the street, wedged between a bakery and a homemade crafts store, is a shop different from all the other ones in the town. protruding from the brick is a slanted glass roof that immediately catches the attention of anyone who walks past. interested, you raise your head to read the sign saying the roof of the store:
'the arboretum.'
the front of the shop is taken up mainly by larger glass windows. a long tray of succulents grow in the sun and air plants rest inside of hanging glass jars. vines crawl up the awning and clover pokes out of the cracks in the brick. intrigued, you step inside the shop. a small bell rings as you push open the door, and the cashier looks up as you enter.
you're instantly greeted with the smell of fresh plants and flowers, and you think you hear the trickling of water. towards one end of the room, jars and mugs are lined up on shelves. racks rim the room with terrarium decor. lining the back of the room are a few cages covered up by sheets and you think you can hear the squeaking of bats and the buzzing of small animals but you're not sure. the majority of the room is taken up by long aisleways with plants, from what looks like little mossy stuff to tall flowers. from the ceiling hang long vines though each newly trimmed. bags of sand and pebbles sit in one corner, though sand seems to be coating the entire space in a fine layer. pots of succulents are nestled in random places. although the ceiling is glass, wood supports and fairy lights make the room have a more dim, warm lighting. the whole shop seems to have a homely feel, the way a proper plant shop should.
"can I help you?" asks the girl at the register.
"what is this place?" you respond. "I've never been here before."
the cashier seems to perk up, looking at you excitedly. "oh, this is the arboretum! a small plant shop stocked with conveniently sized terrariums. since you're new, let me give you the grand tour. my name is Tubla by the way, the founder and owner of the arboretum."
tubla leads you around the shop, informing you about the things you can get and terrariums you can make. "right now, we have a big event going on!" she says. "since we've gotten so popular, we expanded, and we have water terrariums for the first time ever."
you follow tubla into a small room behind the row of cages. empty tanks are stacked in a corner. two taps, one labeled freshwater and one labeled saltwater, are dripping and you realize that was the water noise you heard earlier. huge aquariums of fish and aquatic life guards one wall and an equally large tank of plants stands next to the other. forms for different parts of the event are layed out on a long table in the middle of the room. "everyone gets one hydroponic tank free." tubla mentions. "you can win decorum and water life for your aquatic terrarium by entering games, which are very low prices. the entire event was a big hit, I had to expand it." she says happily.
"now, let me show you the archives." confused and a little excited, you're led into an area behind the front desk. tubla swings open a big door as your eyes widen.
rows and rows of shelves completely cover the walls, each taken over by hundreds of terrariums of all shapes and sizes. the shelves go floor to ceiling with barely any space in between each jar. small vases are wedged next to huge birdhouses and mugs, tiny pots beside window boxes and flasks. inside or next to each terrarium was a small scroll of paper, assumably listing the owner.
"how many are there?" you ask in awe.
"er- lots." tubla responds. "a record of each jar made is made so nothing gets mixed up or lost. these aren't exact replicas, most just have some vines and moss to represent plants, but each jar is a jar bought here. currently, the arboretum has had over two hundred and fifty clients, meaning more than two hundred and fifty jars displayed here."
you gasp slightly, amazed at the sheer number of jars made. "aren't they really expensive, though? I would've thought not as many people would pay so much."
she shakes her head definitively. "no, they aren't expensive at all. in fact, your first starter jar is free. would you like one? you can have a hydroponic tank too."
you agree gladly, happy that your pockets wouldn't be empty.
tubla sits across from you at the counter as you flip through a large book of tanks, plants, animals, and decorations. she explains how the jars are almost completely self-sufficient as long as they have a good home.
you decide to get just a starter jar and hydroponic tank, but promise to come back later for another one.
"one question though," you say to tubla on your way out as you balance your tank under one arm and jar in the other,
"how am I going to carry these big terrariums home?"
my entry oops
the entries were all lovely, congrats to .box!
