Agathe simply repeated Sasha's words and the bird flapped his wings
and cawed. "I would still like to learn how to fish and garden...
That way if Shaye doesn't get one, or doesn't want to, we'll still
be able to get food."
"Sounds like a plan. I don't have any pressing responseabilities so
we are free to do whatever we'd like," Sasha said, studying Shayne.
She wanted to let him but as he was a majestic hawk, she refrained.
"Shaye, would you be willing to go out now and start your hunt?"
The bird cocked its head and cawed once more before leaping off of
Agathe's arm and flying back up the staircase and then out. "That
was a yes," She giggled.
Agathe nodded and descended the rest of the stairs and held out one
of her hands so she could be led. She didn't really like being led
around, but it had to be done until she could find her way around
without knocking into things.
Sasha took her hand, doing her best to be a guide and companion.
She felt the woman could and wanted to take care of herself. She
had been all of her life. Sasha was simply a helping hand until
Agathe had gotten the lay of the land and could do it on her own.
"Thank you," Agathe said quietly as they walked. She could hear her
voice echo off of the statues and everything else. That was
something else she did. She could keep herself from running into
things by hearing the sound come back, but she usually didn't do
that since that'd mean she'd be talking all the time.
"Your welcome," Sasha said. A few moments later, she let go of
Agathe's hand. "Here we are. I've got some shovels or if you'd
rather pull out the carrots by the leafy part, that works too."
"I need to pull them out by hand, otherwise I might cut into them
with the shovel..." Agathe said with a smile as she felt the warmth
of the sun on her skin.
"No worries. You'll do marvelous at planting then," Sasha said.
"About three steps forward and you'll feel a little ledge. Just the
wooden border to mark off what is what. You can sit there and pull
the carrots up. I was goijg to grab some potatoes."
"Okay," Agathe smiled as she moved forwards three steps and moved
her foot out a little to bump into the wood. She sat down and
spread her hands along the dirt feeling for the plants. "If you
could show me where the carrots are then I can get a feel for what
they're like. That way I won't pull anything wrong.
"Certainly," Sasha said, sliding forward and guiding Agathe's hand
to the leafy top. "They have this kind of leaf on the top. I have
to keep it all organized so there should be just carrots in there.
Maybe some weeds but those can be pulled too."
"So if I feel anything other than this kind of leaf I should pull
it? I can most definitely do that." Agathe smiled as she worked for
a few seconds to pull the carrot without breaking it or the leaves.
"I'm going to set them here, okay?" She had set the carrot to the
side. "And if it's too small I'll put it back in, oh! How many did
you want?"
"Sounds like a plan to me. And yes, right there is fine. I think
four big carrots should do. Maybe three potatoes...here, I am going
to put this basket next to you. That way you can put the carrots
there. I can bring the potatoes over. And any seasoning. Are you
okay with onions? And celery? I was planning to pick some
strawberries too," Sasha said.
Agathe nodded and put the carrot she had pulled into the basket.
"I'm okay with whatever you eat," She smiled and went about getting
the other three carrots, having to put one back and pick another
because it wasn't quite big enough. She didn't want to say that she
didn't know what a strawberry was, or how an onion and celery
tasted. She never really ate good food. She ate what she was given,
and usually she wasn't told what it was.
"Alright. This is my mama's recipe. She changed it slightly from
Grans. I like it as is. So I haven't changed it. What is it like?
On the mainland?" Sasha asked.
Agathe set the last carrot in the basket and shook her head. "I
can't tell you how it looked, but I can tell you that it smelled
awful, was often too noisy, and people were mostly cruel. Once in a
while I'd meet a nice person, but that was rare..." She sighed
slightly and stared at the spot she pulled the last carrot from and
absentmindedly rubbed her fingers together feeling the grit of the
dirt.
Sasha sighed. "That's what I thought," she said, setting the
potatoes in to the basket. "Would you like to help me get the
onions and I will grab the celery then we both can pick
strawberries?" She offered, picking up the basket. "If you stand up
and walk maybe five feet or so to the left, you should be able to
feel the ledge for the onions. Once you are settled, I can show you
the leaf you want. I like the stalk kind of onion for this fish so
probably three stalks."
"I can do that," Agathe smiled as she stood up and moved five feet
to the left and set herself down on the wood carefully. She held
out her hand waiting to be shown the leaf so she could pull it
properly. "I'll need you to do the same for the strawberries..."
Was that a faint tinge of red on her cheeks? Probably just the sun.
"I thought that may be the case. Don't worry. I had a lot of
trouble learning myself. But that's okay. We aren't perfect. We are
allowed to make mistakes," Sasha said, coming over to show her the
long stalk of the onions she was talking about. She was not about
to baby Agathe. She didn't think the woman would appriciate that.
Be kind? Of course! But there was a difference. "After these, feel
free to grab the basket. Then walk two steps to the right. Turn
left and walk five or six steps before turning to the right. Once
you're settled, go ahead and holler at me. Strawberries are
different from these so they will need a bit more direction and
both hands to pick."