Chapter 1 - The Magical Mystery of the Wanderprickle (Part 1)

Basked in sunlight as he pulled open the curtains, Jade took a moment to appreciate the bright, warm light of the rising sun and the quietude of a morning in the countryside.
With a yawn, he lazily stretched his arms before grabbing around his suitcase for a shirt that he quickly buttoned up. As he was about to leave the room, his gaze fell on the small cactus in a big red pot that sat on his desk. For a brief moment, he thought it wasn't where he had put it yesterday.

It was already a bit later this morning, but when he entered the dining room, breakfast had been left for him, so he took a seat and ate in silence. He noticed some noise outside; his aunt must be out gardening already. From what he'd heard, her wife was out on a business trip, which was why she wasn't here to welcome him when he arrived the previous day. It was Saturday, so his cousins should have been home.

He didn't think it could be the case, but maybe one of them moved the cactus. That was the second most likely explanation, the first being that he simply remembered it wrong and maybe that was where he put it. After all, he hadn't even been here for a full day yet; it would get him a bit longer to get used to his new room.

The little cactus was a welcome gift from his aunt, to help him feel like he belonged here with them and not like he was imposing on them. The decision for him to move here was sudden, and it was an indefinite stay; naturally, Jade couldn't help but feel out of place.
Even though his aunt had wholeheartedly agreed to let him live here as long as he needed to and her family didn't seem to mind, it was still uncomfortable for him to start acting like he belonged here when this wasn't his home.

He thought about this, quickly finished his breakfast, and decided he would ask his aunt what he could do to help around the house.

As he was a guest, Aunt Laurel didn't want to make him do anything, and he had to insist quite a bit to get her to agree. The woman continued to carefully check the leaves of her vegetables as they talked, making sure they were healthy.

"You really don't need to do anything, Jade. You're here to relax, aren't you? If I give you work to do, doesn't it defeat the purpose of you staying here?"

She had a good argument. He did come here for a much needed break. A break far from the city, from his former friends, and from all the things he didn't want to think about.
Nevertheless, he still couldn't accept staying here and not doing anything in return, especially since he had nothing else to keep himself busy. He couldn't possibly just sit in silence in his room, watching the forest from his window and waiting for the sun to set beyond the trees. That sounded more like some form of torture.

It wasn't like Jade had nothing he was interested in or no hobbies – they were just all part of the things he didn't want to think about for now.

"At least let me do some chores, even if it's not much. I don't have anything else to do anyway."

"You're family. I can't ask family to pay back my kindness. Family should help each other in tough times, that's normal."

He appreciated her kindness. He really did.

"Auntie, I don't know how long I'm gonna stay, but if I'm gonna be a part of this family... Then all the more reason I should participate like everyone, don't you think?"

His aunt chuckled. She grabbed the nearby watering can and expertly added just the right amount of water to her plants.

"You're a clever kid, aren't you?"

"I'm 24."

The woman shrugged. "To me, you'll always be my adorable nephew." Aunt Laurel put away her watering can, standing up straight. "Why don't you start by doing the dishes, then? But don't you dare do too much! Chores are split fairly. Don't let Ivy think she can get away with not doing hers just because you're willing to work."

Jade chuckled, and nodded. He went back inside to start doing the dishes. Life felt easier when he had something to do.

Just when he was done putting all the dishes away, his eyes met his cousin's. He blinked, wondering why the girl was standing just outside the kitchen, almost hiding as she watched him. Caught red-handed, she flinched, before hesitantly stepping in and handing him a notebook.

"You're good with science, right?! Can you help me with my math homework? Please, I don't understand anything!"

Now, he wasn't the kind of person who didn't help others, and he enjoyed math anyway – but he could tell Ivy had other intentions. He gave her a suspicious look, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't mind explaining the things you don't get, but... I'm not doing it for you."

Ivy averted her eyes, laughing nervously. "I-I never said anything about that... But it's not like I'll need math, anyway! I just need to pass my exams!"

"Have you decided what you want to do already?"

The girl nodded, and signaled for him to follow her to the dining room. She took a seat there, sliding her notebook in his direction.

"I'm gonna work at mom's shop!"

Aunt Laurel and her wife Myrtle were florists. The shop originally belonged to Aunt Laurel, but now it was mostly handled by Myrtle, who took care of their website, business trips, etc. while Aunt Laurel spent the majority of her time tending to the plants, delivering them to people in town, and giving advice to their customers.

"I don't know how to say this, but... you want to work in a shop, and you don't want to learn math?"

His cousin deflated, realizing the problem.

"Well, I'll be working with my mom, so... she can just let me do the things that don't need math?"

"And you expect her to do that forever? To never rely on you?"

Her smile finally faltered. She was well aware that it was unrealistic – and it wasn't what she wanted.

"I just suck at math. I don't think I can do this. But I still want to work at the shop!"

Jade shook his head. "You're seventeen; you don't know anything yet. You still have a year before you graduate. That's plenty of time to learn. Why don't I tutor you, for starters?"

The girl suddenly regained energy. "You'd do that?!"

"It's not like I have better things to do."

Ivy looked at him like he was her savior, thanking him profusely, even jokingly promising to help him hide a body if he ever needed it .

He couldn't help but notice her smile.

When he first met her a year ago, at his aunt's wedding with her new wife – Ivy's mother –, the girl was all alone, with a gloomy air around her. She didn't really make an effort to talk to anyone, so he decided to strike up a conversation with her, hoping to help her feel welcome in their family.
It was awkward at first, and she clearly avoided looking at him, but she progressively opened up as he told her all about the flowers that decorated the tables, and some other plant facts he knew.
She happened to really like flowers but didn't know much about them yet, and he happened to have an interest in all kinds of science-y things. Everything he had learned about plants out of curiosity had never been useful to him before, but for once he was really glad to have read all those books.

It was only later that Jade learned she was uncomfortable around men. Naturally, Aunt Laurel consulted her daughters before offering for Jade to move in, and he heard from her that Ivy was looking forward to his visit. Apparently, he left a good impression on her, and it was their conversation at the wedding that led her to the decision of becoming a florist too.

It wasn't until dinner that Myrtle came home, and was finally able to welcome Jade. This was only the second time the young man met her, but she treated him like her own son already. In that way, she was very similar to her wife, who still saw Jade as the little boy running around her garden and asking about everything that piqued his interest.

The entire family sat together around the dinner table, even the younger Olive, who still didn't speak to him. From what he'd heard, she was unable to speak in unfamiliar situations, and it took a while for her to warm up to new people. At least she didn't seem to mind his presence too much.

When he went back to his room in the evening, his heart was a little bit lighter.

His eyes fell on his desk, and he froze. Again, the cactus wasn't in the same place he remembered. This time, he was sure of it. He chalked it up to his aunt passing by to clean a bit, but made a mental note to ask her about it later; he didn't remember her entering his room at all.

Jade stood in front of his desk, examining the cactus from every angle possible. Once again, it was in a different spot. It didn't make sense for anyone to come into his room while he was sleeping, but it was the only rational explanation he could think of.

"Maybe the house is haunted?" Ivy said with a shrug when he asked her about it.

"Yeah, right. Or maybe I'm sleepwalking and the only thing I do is move the cactus 30cm to the left."

She shrugged again. "You never know."

But Jade was a scientist, and he couldn't stop there.

So far, he was the only one who thought the cactus had moved. Maybe he just hadn't paid enough attention and it was just his imagination. Alright, then he'd prove that it was really moving – by putting a piece of paper under it.

And sure enough, the cactus did move.

He didn't think there was anyone in the house who did it; after all, they had no reason to, and there was no way he wouldn't wake up if they came into his room in the middle of night. He didn't believe they were that kind of people anyway. The most likely explanation was that he was sleep-walking, even if it sounded a little far-fetched.

Now, he had proof that the cactus was moving. He just needed to catch the culprit.

The house was quiet and his eyelids felt incredibly heavy. He didn't know when he had fallen asleep and only hazily remembered that he was trying to think of a plan to figure out who was moving the cactus; and before he knew it, he was sleeping on his desk.
With a groan, he raised his head, pushing his hair out of his eyes, still half-asleep – and froze. He caught something from the corner of his eye. Something unbelievable. Something that meant he must have been either dreaming, or much more tired than he thought.

The cactus, with a swift motion, flipped itself over, standing on its branches and staggering, struggling to steady the heavy pot that was now above it. It took a few steps before flipping again and settling in this new spot, completely immobile again.

Jade stared at the plant with his eyes wide before getting up, heading straight to bed. I think I need to sleep.