This is a story about a gardener. He wasn't always that, mind you. Once upon a time he was a warrior. He was a thing of blood and ruin and pain. And he would go to fight as he was ordered. And he would return for a while, and the cycle would repeat. He was good at it, leaving with medals and the bodies of others in his wake. Until one night, he met an old woman in the road. She asked if he was happy. He told her that he didn't need to be, because he was a soldier, and he could not ask for more. She asked him again. He told her no, and began to move on. Suddenly, she reaches out for his arm! He's pulled back towards him, despite his attempts to break free, and she looks him in the eye and asks. "Are you happy?" For a third and final time. Now, the soldier's lusus has taught him to be careful of threes, and to answer when something asks a third time. So the soldier nodded, and the stranger smiled. She reached out and pressed a seed into his palm. When the soldier returned home again, he planted it. There was no information online or in books, so he simply had to dedicate himself to the seed. Planting it, feeding it, and watering it. When the seed sprouted, he got other plants to keep it company. He found he enjoyed it. It was easy to grow things like this and he felt so proud when they bloomed. When the seed bloomed, the gardener put away his uniform. The greenery overtook his hive, but he didn't mind. He was happy. That's all that mattered. @todaysDreamer @gardenGuided #violence #death ✎﹏﹏﹏﹏ 𓆩Saga Archived𓆪