Scrapped Together

Chapter Five: Sticks and Stones

Psithurism [ sith-yuh-riz-uhm ] noun: a rustling or whispering sound, such as leaves in the wind; susurration:

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John Dory had never felt so empty, or so alone as he did the day Gigi Tiger-Lily died.

It was late afternoon when the family had stopped over to surprise Grandma Rosiepuff with muffins when they found her crying and alarmingly dull. The sight of her color so muted and distressed ripped the very foundation of the children's world from beneath their feet. Grandma Rosiepuff was the one they could always depend on, the one who was the same no matter what happened, or what they did. She was the one who fixed things.

But now she was broken, she was gray.

Watching her with anxiety as he prepared for, least of all, the worst, John Dory was already to asking himself who they could turn to now that Grandma had the gray too. Fearfully, he worried that it would be up to him, and him alone. For his bothers, he thought, pulling Clay and Spruce in beneath each arm as they stared with a growing fear of their own, he could do it.

"Rosie," Dad said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "What's wrong?"

Mom didn't even wait for a reply, she stepped over the threshold and wrapped Grandma into a warm embrace. The two stood together for a long while as Grandma cried, only pulling apart when Baby Floyd began to fuss in his whisper of a voice, from the safety of mom's hair.

Drying her eyes as best she could Grandma looked to the muffins dad held and smiled.

"Thank you all so much." she said. "I bet you boys worked extra hard on these!"

She took the plate and stared at the baked goods sorrowfully for a long moment. "Would you come inside?" she asked before turning towards dad and adding. "I was just going to come see if you were home. I could use your help."

"What is it?" Dad asked as the family filed in, then dad stopped and stared at the step ladder that was positioned where the coffee table normally stood.

Dad looked up, saw the cluster of fuzzy green seeds growing along the base petals of her ceiling, and immediately became awash with empathetic grief.

"I'm so sorry." he whispered. "May I ask who it was?"

Grandma nodded as she moved to sink into the sofa as though her bones had been turned to stone, plate absent-mindedly in her lap. "Ti-, Gigi Tiger-Lily. In her sleep." she said, smiling a bitter smile at the boys. "I'm sorry." she apologized to the children. "Grandma's just a little sad right now."

Gathering on the couch around her the three eldest cuddled down into the old woman's sides and hoped that they could do something to make her feel better. Mom sat too as she bounced Baby Floyd, but her attention was on Grandma Rosiepuff.

"Is this one alright?" Dad asked from the top of the ladder pointing to a large, robust looking seed.

"Yes, oh, thank you!" Grandma said, hugging the boys, as her voice shook.

"Her Psithurism is this afternoon, and I just couldn't reach them, and I didn't know what I was going to do, or if you were home, so I was about to go see when you stopped by, I just- I- thank you Briar, thank you!" Grandma rambled sadly.

"Its what family is for." Mom intoned, reaching to put a hand on Grandma's shoulder.

After working at it for a few minutes dad finally came back down with the seed. It was as big as his hand, but he cradled it with reverence. The boys, who had never seen a Pod Seed up close before leaned forward to see.

"They can hold it." Grandma approved as dad pulled the seed just out of Clay's reach as he tried to grab it.

"What's a 'Psithurism?'" John Dory asked after a minute, his burning curiosity just as hard to contain as his desire to stroke the velvety soft looking seed.