Re: Eddie's House: May / Eddie
Eddie turned to look at her, honestly holding his breath while she stared at him with that flat expression. He didn't know what she was or how she got the reputation she had around town. That, of course, interested him to no end. More than that, he could appreciate depth in a person's character. He was used to a lot of things happening on the surface, most people from his hometown had a lot of moving parts to mask the truth. May instead seemed to root herself down like a tree with a look that seemed to say there was so much she knew and very little he'd understand.
He tilted his head with a gentle noise from the back of his throat. "For the record, I think anyone with half a brain would know it's the fancy florist. She's old fashioned, like you, but mean-spirited. Not like you at all." Eddie visibly shivered just thinking about his conversation with the young lady. He had walked by the store before and it smelled sweet like a corpse. "If you ever feel curious enough to look at the churches, invite me along. I like trouble." He smirked like a city slicker. He couldn't help it.
Eddie couldn't think of a time he saw her smile like that and he certainly had never seen anyone smile so widely at some fresh dirt. She pushed her hands into the soft, warm earth and looked connected to it. Like her and mother nature had a secret handshake underground. He blustered a chuckle when she looked up at him with that beautiful, youthful happiness. "Well! I guess you could make the same about the city for humans- but you know the-" He lost his train of thought, watching her touch the soil and breathe like it had given her new life. It was wonderful, and she was so strange in a way that made him malleable like clay in her hands. Dropping to his knees next to her (carefully making sure the basket was set down first), he hesitated for a moment before digging his hands down as she instructed.
He closed his eyes. He breathed.
The first few breaths were uneven, unsure. He wiggled his fingers in the soil, centered himself and then took an honest to god deep breath along with her. His lungs filled with clean air and he imagined it being carried away piece by piece in his blood cells all over his body. Then, he imagined all the bad, the city, the regret, the sadness, getting carried to his lungs. He exhaled, believing in that moment he was literally getting rid of toxins. It was then that he thought he could feel something he couldn't put his finger on. It was like getting a puzzle right or solving for x correctly. Either way, it made him give a happy little sigh and he took a few more breaths.
"Oh, it's like-" He opened his eyes and looked at her, smiling broadly like he figured out the mystery. "It's-" His smile wobbled like he was trying to muster up some courage. He was going to equate her forest to the city and he wanted her to take it the right way. "In New Jersey, there was this one spot where everything felt harmonious. The broken traffic light, the bus that always honked his horn at the intersection. The smell of rainwater and asphalt. This family nearby that was always laughing and talking the same time every night. I used to go there to feel like I was being stitched into the fabric." Eddie said, his ears turning pink as he gently pulled his hands out of the dirt before pressing his palms lightly against the surface. "I haven't felt connected to anything in a long time." He said to himself.