LOCATION: The Greenhouse, Northern Belarus WHEN: A few months prior (@doctorbyrd)
The True Pathers were not known for their mettle—if anything, they were known for their lack of it, relying on their numbers for their strength, and their ability to keep to themselves their greatest defense against skirmishes with other groups. It was important, then, for them to know who was friendly, who could be trusted. Maybe one day they could be self-sustaining, when they achieved that hope that Beverly held in her heart—(something more permanent, a home, a life)—but they weren’t yet, and so they relied on those they could rely upon.
And so maybe that was why the True Pathers found Donna and her greenhouse useful, but it was more than that to Beverly. And so, if there was ever a reason for any of their number to come this way, anything that they needed that they thought maybe Donna could provide, Beverly was almost always the one to volunteer to come.
Maybe it was presumptuous, maybe she was projecting, but she couldn’t help but wonder if she ever got lonely in that greenhouse, all by herself. Beverly would. And there was a part of her, too, that wondered about every stranger she encountered: Who were you, before all of this happened? Who were you going to become? Most of the time, had to resign herself to never knowing. The average skittish figure met on the road, maybe never to be seen again, wasn’t about to tell Beverly their life story, all of their lost hopes and dreams and the ones, if any, that had taken their place.
But there was something about the greenhouse, or about Donna herself, that made Beverly think that she could know. Maybe with enough time, maybe with enough patience. From the inside of the greenhouse, the world looked a little bit less cruel. Made some of the weight feel like it was lifted off her shoulders, even if it was only for the length of one visit. From the inside of her bag, Beverly pulled out a box, found dusty in someone’s pantry however many miles away, a handful of teabags kept safe inside their battered cardboard packaging.“I found this and thought you might like it. I didn’t see any mold or anything, so that means it’s still good, right?”
Even though, at this point, a little bit of mold wouldn’t even seem like much of a deterrent.