A/N: Woo hoo. I was worried I wouldn't have time to get this up today. Thanks so much for the comments on the last chapter. So glad you all enjoyed Jasper again. We're back to Bella with this one.
Unbeta'd so please forgive my errors.
Disclaimer: Not mine, I just like to make them play in the dirt.
BELLA
I often help Esme with the flower beds. She has all the tools; little hoes, and shovels, and all sorts of gadgets to assist with the digging and planting of her precious babies.
I like to do it with my bare hands. The thick dirt feels wonderful under my nails and between my fingers. Sometimes I even dig with my feet. Maybe it's weird. Probably it's weird. I love it anyway.
Esme never says, "Use the shovel, dear." She may not understand my fascination with being dirty, but she doesn't begrudge me it either.
I grab a handful of the dark soil and bring it to my nose. We're planting violets and mums today, so I smell them first off. Underneath I can scent marigolds, sunflowers, pansies, plants that lived here long ago. Someone buried a pet here years and years before. I smell the life of the dirt, and it's beautiful to me.
I plant the pretty new flower in the ground and replace the soil. I look at my hands and smile. They're brown and speckled with the living soil. So are my feet.
I really enjoy being dirty. It makes me feel alive.