MYSTober 2024

31 vignettes based on single-word prompts. One story.

24. Garden

Julius dug in the dirt with the tip of a knife. Everyone had been given silverware when it had become apparent that the boat needed to be dismantled – Julius chose to use his for gardening.

"What are you growing there?" Ashley asked cheerfully from over his shoulder.

He glanced up at her. "So far? Rocks."

She giggled. "Is that so? Lucky you!"

He stood up and waved his arm over the barren patch of soil and stones. "Some day, these rocks could all be yours."

She swooned. "Oh, has a girl ever been so lucky?"

Julius took a confident step towards her and looped his arm around her thin waist, bringing her body in against his. "They can only dream."

Ashley gazed up into his eyes, then closed hers as she leaned up and kissed him sweetly on the mouth. Julius kissed her back tenderly. Then she dropped back down to flat feet and asked, "For real though, what's this all about?"

"Well, since it appears that we're all here to stay, I figured we may as well commit to it. Nothing says 'This is my home and I'm happy to be here' like a garden."

"'Happy' may be overstating it. 'Content' might be more apt."

Julius frowned. "You're not happy with me?"

"Oh, no, it's not that. I'd just rather be happy with you back in my old life. You know, I used to be a big deal back there."

"You're still a big deal here. Just, for fewer people, I guess."

"How come you've never asked me what I did before?"

Julius shrugged. "It never seemed relevant. Before was before."

She chuckled. "How philosophical of you. Do you want to know?"

"If you want to tell me, then I want to know. What did you do before becoming Gilligan?"

Ashley thrust her hip out to the side and tilted her head back, in a pose she may have practised a thousand times before. "I was a movie star."

"You don't say?"

"Oh yes! I turned down potential suitors left and right. You're lucky to have me."

"So it would seem!" Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a bit of green in his soil. He leaned down and scraped the dirt away from it, revealing the beginnings of a sprout. With a smile, he pointed it out to her and added, "I like to think I make my own luck, though."

MYSTober 2024

Table of Contents

24. Garden