This Is Definitely Not An Apple
Spring had finally settled in it's nest upon the region of Amies, and as a result, Brambleclove Farms was bursting with resounding life. No longer cloaked with snow and the bitter cold, grasses and plants could once again thrive and line the paths around the orchards, where fruits of all sorts dangled at ready for picking. It was a beautiful thing, Spring, a rebirth of all things that winter had claimed in it's petrifying path. Sunlight reigned once more over the heads and tops of all things below, shining down with warmth and comfort as the morning turned into afternoon.
Birds and bugs alike popped up from out and under their hiding spaces, to take delight in the day laid out before them, as well as the residents of the household at the end of the orchard. Garrick, in his usual fashion, had risen at precisely nine o'clock, to the sound of the Woodpecker outside. The sudden arrival of this familiar creature gave him a rise, but once greeted by the glory of the weather outside, soon leveled out into a pleasant relief.
"Dear God, I forgot what Spring looked like." He chuckled, removing his sleeping cap from his head. "Aaaah, I suppose I should get started on the harvests, then. They don't pick themselves."
He moved towards his drawers and assembled his picking clothes along his bedside, and only paused a moment to gander upon his wife's engagement ring. Daisy had always loved the Spring and it's charms... He sighed and dressed himself, before heading out into the hall. The house was silent, espescially Johnathan's bedroom, where the young man appeared to be comatose among his bedding and pillows. Garrick shook his head at the sight and proceeded to check on his other children. Maisie wasn't due home for another month from her grandmother's, so her room was well and tidy. Natalie was still asleep, tucked in with her favorite teddy bear. He smiled, adjusted her blankets, and went across the hall to check on Piper.
"Alright, Piper, you said you wanted to help with the harvest!" He called, tapping on her door. "Are you up, or do I need to knock louder?"
Birds and bugs alike popped up from out and under their hiding spaces, to take delight in the day laid out before them, as well as the residents of the household at the end of the orchard. Garrick, in his usual fashion, had risen at precisely nine o'clock, to the sound of the Woodpecker outside. The sudden arrival of this familiar creature gave him a rise, but once greeted by the glory of the weather outside, soon leveled out into a pleasant relief.
"Dear God, I forgot what Spring looked like." He chuckled, removing his sleeping cap from his head. "Aaaah, I suppose I should get started on the harvests, then. They don't pick themselves."
He moved towards his drawers and assembled his picking clothes along his bedside, and only paused a moment to gander upon his wife's engagement ring. Daisy had always loved the Spring and it's charms... He sighed and dressed himself, before heading out into the hall. The house was silent, espescially Johnathan's bedroom, where the young man appeared to be comatose among his bedding and pillows. Garrick shook his head at the sight and proceeded to check on his other children. Maisie wasn't due home for another month from her grandmother's, so her room was well and tidy. Natalie was still asleep, tucked in with her favorite teddy bear. He smiled, adjusted her blankets, and went across the hall to check on Piper.
"Alright, Piper, you said you wanted to help with the harvest!" He called, tapping on her door. "Are you up, or do I need to knock louder?"
The door swung open in response to Garrick's call and out jumped Piper, all dressed and brimming with glee.
"I've been waiting a whole hour for you, papa!" She cried, making her way to the front door. "Come on, come on!"
"Alright, alright!" Garrick exclaimed, hurrying after his daughter. "Wait for me, wait for me! We need to gather some things first!"
The pair wandered out into the front yard and over towards the sheds in the back corner of the property. Garrick went through each shed and pulled out various items, such as buckets, rakes, and shovels, before handing a small bucket to Piper.
"Your first job today is to gather enough apples to fill that bucket!" He said, grinning. "Once you've done that, bring the bucket to me so I can inspect what you've picked. If you've brought me enough good apples, I'll teach you how to bake a pie with 'em. Sound fair?"
"You can count on me, papa!" Piper cheered, gripping the bucket close to her chest. "I'll get the best apples that you've ever seen, and we'll make the best pie in the whole wide world!"
"I know you will, but be careful!" He cried, waving to her as she raced off towards the yellow apple trees. Piper was such a sweet, adoring child, one that just didn't seem to want to slow down. A smile curved onto his face as he thought, before he set off into the orchard himself.
The red apple trees were filled to the brim with ripe, glistening splendor, and each apple picked was just as well formed as the last. One tree yielded enough for a quarter of a bucket, while another filled one and a half, much to Garrick's delight. This harvest was looking to be a plentiful one, with all of these apples being so bright and full of life, which meant that there would be plenty to share, sell, and make things with. The idea of being able to make all sorts of apple foods to eat and sell made him feel light as a feather, and also quite a bit hungry. He moved down a few rows away from where he had started gathering to allow some of the fruit on the other trees to ripen to full potential, and leaned upwards into a larger tree in the center of the field.
Clink!
"What in the..." He stated, peering up through the branches of the tree. His hand had hit something glass-like, what could it be? At first he pondered the possibility of Johnathan hiding alcohol bottles in the orchard, which made him grit his teeth. If his son were drinking profusely and leaving used bottles in the trees like some sort of Neanderthal, he would be in for hell. Garrick pulled himself up into the branches and rested against the trunk to get a better look. Plenty of ripe apples, some were a little malformed, but just a little past the closest pair of apples, was a small bottle dangling from it's cork by an apple stem. Garrick leaned forward and plucked it down just as he would an apple, and made his way down from the tree.
The bottle itself was peculiar, nevermind where it had been sitting, and it had an almost... Mystical feel to it. However, as he tilted it to and fro, the object inside of it quickly grabbed his attention. A heart-shaped gemstone sat against the glass, a stone that Garrick recognized as none other than garnet. His wife's engagement ring had a stone made of garnet encrusted within it's silver band, this stone couldn't be any other stone but that, judging by it's color and make up. He stared at the bottle for quite a while, his thoughts drifting to an emotional place, before he gasped.
"Did... Did it just... Flash?" He said, turning the bottle over again and again in his hand. The bottle continued to flash as it was turned, as if protesting the constant motion, to which Garrick responded to by continuing to twist and turn the bottle. This went on for quite some time until Garrick placed the bottle in his overall pocket, thoroughly convinced that he needed to bring it inside and inspect it there.
Piper had brought him more than enough apples to make the best pie in the whole world, to which the young girl gave an endless amount of squealing. Johnathan eventually rose to sleep underneath the trees, as per his ritual, and Natalie joined her father in the kitchen while Piper took a quick bath to clean up. The bottle rested next to Garrick as he cleaned the apples that Piper had picked and, for the moment, appeared as normal as any other bottle. That was, until, Natalie began to laugh.
"Daddy, that bottle is flashing!" She giggled.
Sure enough, while Garrick's back was turned, the bottle had begun to flash. However, this time, Garrick swore he saw a distinct shape flashing against the glass.
A heart.
