Arle’s Story-Ijule in the Glen

Down in the gardens Ijule put her apprehension behind her and quickly fell into her customary morning routine. Although there were positions holding more renown and recognition than that of Horticulturant, and she had indeed been offered these positions, the simple truth was that there were no positions even half so appealing to her. She loved the enormous variety of the charges she worked with every day. There were vegetables, herbs, flowers, grasses, greenery, perennials, annuals, shrubs, and trees. Each of these types of plant had infinite varieties that were enthralling and ever changing. There was beauty everywhere she looked. Even the weeds held allure for Ijule. The gardens held life lessons for here every day. Every plant had its own purpose, its unique place on The Path. Sometimes, when she was feeling depressed or frustrated, Ijule wished she were a plant, for then her own purpose and place would be clear.

By working in the gardens, Ijule spent much of her time alone, and that suited her just fine. When the garden became overrun with others around a Feast Day or a Harvest, Ijule had a secret place in the gardens that she could escape to. It was a little glen on the farthest border of the Stead that everyone must have forgotten about. She had found the little spot quite by accident herself, stumbling into it while engaged in a game of Chase with Firzt. It was always cool and soothing there, no matter the temperature in the rest of the Stead. And there was a clear spring that made the most wonderfully musical sounds – almost as if providing background harmony for the birds nested in the trees. There were statues in the glen as well. Old statues made of an unusual porous substance that Ijule had not seen elsewhere in the stead. Now the statues wore cloaks of moss and had had most of their rougher edges well polished by time and the weather. She didn’t recognize any of the figures represented by the statues from either recent memory or ancient legend. She’d thought of asking around the Stead but had quickly discarded the thought. If she started asking questions, then people would start questioning her back and want to see these unusual statues. The secret place would have to be shared and her curiosity about the statues was not big enough to overcome the love of having the glen all to herself. Besides, the statues had become like friends to her. She greeted them each time she came into the glen and decorated them with bouquets and garlands of whatever was blooming that season. Sometimes she felt as if they were speaking in her mind.

It was for the glen and her stolid statuary companions that she headed this morning.

“A blessed morning to you all.” Ijule greeted the statues, the birds and the spring, her voice infused with rather more cheer than she actually felt.

She headed for her favorite sitting spot by the spring, craving some soothing water music to ease her shaking nerves. Upon reaching her oasis, Ijule slipped off her sandals and sat down. She dipped her toes in the water causing a shiver to run up her spine. The water was wintry cold. Briefly, she considered shedding her clothes and plunging into the spring. The cold would numb her body, she was sure. What she was hoping was that it could also numb her mind. But she hadn’t brought a towel with her and it was too far to walk back to the Stead Proper dripping wet. Instead she lay down on a sunny patch of grass beside the spring and drifted off into dreams.