.paris.
her ghost had always been shier than her, and that's saying something. the other boo's regarded her with disdain, some mild apprehension, when they saw her ghosts fizzle back into her ears whenever she turned around. they couldn't understand her, understand what was a part of her, and for a time that made some part of her shrivel up and die.
holly withdrew into herself. it was easier that way, she could focus on tending her inner spirit rather than dealing with those around her. it hurt, of course, but she wrapped her heart in thorns and kept everyone else at bay. she was never mean, of course, just cautious, and it was easier to prevent the hurt than it was to heal it.
plants became her solitude. she frequented the garden by her home and it seemed like each week she brought home different plants until her room was full to the brim of succulents and peace lillies and cacti and all other kinds of miraculuous greens that she had a meticulous eye for. her ghosts came out then, calm and secure, and sometimes they hummed to her as she worked with her plants.
it was the only time they were ever kind.
of course, her frequenting to the garden did not go unnoticed. there was one particular boo there who kept catching her eye. she knew her from school, she had been in holly's biology class years ago. she had been much too brazen for holly, too booksmart, too outspoken. they rarely crossed paths those days other than when being cordial, when nothing more than a simple nod of the head was necessary. her presecne in the garden bothered her. it was her safe spot, her quiet place, and this other boo was tainting it.
her ghosts, though, thought different. though they had never come out before, they came out for this brazen booksmart girl, this out of place girl, the girl who aced biology but couldn't keep a plant alive for longer than a week. finally, fed up with her prescence, holly walked up to her and said, "look, you can't even keep a succulent alive and i have a whole garden back at my house. do you want help?"
the girl seemed startled. "um," a slight blush creeping up on her cheeks. "i'd like that, actually, yeah."
holly was taken aback; she didn't expect her to want help. she faltered. "are you sure? i'm pretty bad at explaining things, and i'm not so good with, well, others."
"yeah," the girl said, more sure of herself. "i think you'll be fine. besides, your ghosts seem to like me."
and so they did. they were humming that same song again, her peaceful song, and holly realized she wasn't anxious anymore. she smiled, slightly, and said: "c'mon, let me show you how to grow."