This season had the most suitable temperature of the entire year.
The crops in the fields grew rapidly at this time, the wild fruits in the mountains ripened one after another, and even the fresh flowers blossomed in competition.
Bright, warm, fragrant, and delicious — these were the strongest impressions the Gorse Moon gave to people.
Entering the Gorse Moon, Meili’s garden almost turned into an ocean of flowers, especially gorse and azaleas, spreading into a continuous expanse in the garden. Clouds of pink and white clustered within the golden gorse bushes.
Meili finally picked ripe raspberries and wild blueberries at the edge of the forest. Perhaps the fairies had already held their gathering a few days ago, so she hadn’t seen those little things picking berries these days.
She went alone to the forest’s edge, picked a small basket of berries to bring back, planning whether to make jam or dried fruit. Passing by a stretch of marsh, she suddenly saw a frozen, slender figure in the water.
It was the swamp monster.
There had been almost no rain recently, so she hadn’t seen the swamp monster again. Suddenly seeing him, she even had a kind of surprise and unexpected joy, like encountering a friend.
“Hi, long time no see.” She stood at the edge of the grass and greeted him.
The swamp monster was truly like a statue in the water, unmoving.
Meili didn’t know what she was thinking. Seeing wildflowers by the roadside, she casually picked one and tossed it toward the swamp monster.
Being close, the flower directly landed on the swamp monster’s head.
Then he slowly moved, his head, which had almost drooped into the water, lifted, and the hand inserted in the water also rose.
He touched the flower on his head, his withered large hand pinching the tiny yellow-white flower, walked out of the marsh and came to Meili, extending his arm to return the small flower to her.
Meili couldn’t help laughing.
What was this, this guy was way too cute.
“Thank you for the flower.”
She accepted the flower, pretending it was something he gave her, then took a handful of red and purple berries from her basket and placed them into the swamp monster’s palm.
“These raspberries and blueberries are for you to eat.”
Did the swamp monster eat things? Meili wasn’t sure, and she was quite curious.
The swamp monster’s water-dripping head hung down, looking at the berries in his palm. A round berry rolled down his hand and with a plop fell into the marsh.
He then reached into the marsh to feel for that little raspberry, but with that movement, the berries in his other palm fell into the marsh one after another. Soon that palm was empty.
The swamp monster, having fished out only one raspberry, could only stare blankly as the other berries plopped away one by one.
Meili was already holding her waist, about to laugh herself to death.
How could he be so dumb.
The swamp monster slightly opened his gray lips, as if wanting to stick his head into the marsh. Meili squatted down, took a purplish-red raspberry from the basket, and swiftly stuffed it into the swamp monster’s mouth.
The long-limbed gray-white monster froze in place, maintaining a strange posture.
Meili moved fast, rolled up her sleeves and reached into the marsh, searching through the mud, retrieving all the berries that had fallen, washing them clean and putting them back into his hand.
“Alright, alright, they’re for you, don’t give them back to me again.”
She walked farther along the little path full of wildflowers, laughing as she went, her steps light and her mood drifting like a breeze.
Meili realized that recently, her encounters with the swamp monster had become more frequent.
He seemed to dislike the sun. Every time he appeared, it was beneath the shade of trees, with green moss, duckweed, and cattails growing around him. Sometimes even wildflowers would grow on his body.
People couldn’t see him; the plants and animals treated him like a stone.
Meili had seen moss and wild grass growing on him, and she had also seen small birds treating him as a temporary perch when he stood in the marsh.
In such a state… could he be seen?
Meili tugged on little Hesha beside her, pointing toward the swamp monster under the shade in the middle of the marsh. “Hesha, look there, a little bird.”
The one perched on the swamp monster’s head at that moment was a bird with blue-green feathers, very beautiful. It stood on his head, tilting its head upward and chirping.
Hesha looked in the direction she pointed. “Where?”
She couldn’t see the swamp monster and she couldn’t even see the bird standing on him.
That was amazing.
The bird flapped its wings and flew up, landing on an old tree by the water. Only then did Hesha go, “Ah, I see it, that blue little bird. But where did it fly from just now?”
She looked around, full of question marks, and Meili casually brushed her off.
More than ten days later, Meili went alone to the forest edge and once again encountered the swamp monster in the marsh. She originally just wanted to say hello and leave, but the branch growing from his back was truly impossible to ignore.
Meili looked once, then looked again.
It was one thing for grass to grow but how could a tree grow on him too? Had he gotten too much sun recently? Plants in the Gorse Moon really did grow fast…
Wanting to see what was going on, she plucked another flower and tossed it over, successfully luring him closer once again.
As he leaned in, Meili saw clearly: that little tree was growing from the back of his spine, and several branches already had blossoms.
Looking more closely, Meili’s pupils quivered… That… that looked like raspberry.
Could it be, because she had given him a raspberry last time, so it grew out of his body?
Telling children that swallowing pits or seeds would make plants sprout inside them was a lie but he actually grew one? Meili stared at those branches and flowers, utterly dumbfounded.
After a long moment, she coughed awkwardly and said, “I… really didn’t expect this result. Sorry. Should I help you pull it out?”
The swamp monster was too tall; she couldn’t reach. She pressed one hand on his shoulder, trying to make him crouch a bit. He did slowly lower his head, but when Meili reached to pluck the raspberry plant, he straightened back up. Meili: “Wait, I haven’t pulled it yet!”
But he had already stood up and was covering the back of his neck with one hand, walking back to the middle of the marsh.
What the heck, he didn’t want it pulled?
Meili squatted by the marsh for quite a while and didn’t see any sign of him coming over. After hesitating, she simply took off her shoes and stepped into the marsh.
The marsh looked like it only had a thin layer of water, but once she stepped in, the sludge below was quite deep, almost reaching her thighs. She couldn’t get close to where the swamp monster was. Looking at her lower half covered in muddy water, she could only stomp back with frustration.
There was a small lake nearby, so she washed off the mud there before returning home dripping wet.
On her way back she kept thinking about it, and after changing clothes to water the vegetable patch, she thought of it again.
Speaking of it, that raspberry growing on the swamp monster’s body sure grew fast. It had only been a little over ten days, yet it was already blooming. If it were vegetables… Meili’s eyes unconsciously drifted toward the vegetables she was growing. Because she lacked experience, her little vegetables were growing mediocrely and very slowly.
If she gave the swamp monster some vegetable seeds to eat, maybe after a few days, he could be covered in vegetables, growing well and fast.
No no no, that would be way too deranged. She already had such a big vegetable patch, how could she still crave using his body?
…But that raspberry he nurtured was really thriving. It was enviable.
Ever since discovering the raspberry growing on the swamp monster, Meili often went to find him, wanting to see with her own eyes how the raspberry was changing.
On sunny days, the swamp monster would often stand in the marsh and move according to the range of sunlight.
Meili squatted there for two days, and the more she squatted the sleepier she became. On the third day, she learned to bring her homemade hammock.
The hammock was tied to a big tree near the marsh, used for afternoon naps. Sometimes she would also bring homemade food, spread a cloth on the grass, and make herself a little outdoor afternoon tea.
Back when she chose engineering in university and wore a construction helmet following teachers and seniors to the construction site for surveying, she never imagined that one day she would live such a natural and simple countryside life.
Life’s encounters were truly wonderful and incomprehensible.
The raspberry flowers withered, and fruit grew one by one. The fruits turned red, and occasionally, birds would perch on the swamp monster’s shoulder, trying to peck at the ripe berries.
The swamp monster would then raise his arm and lazily wave twice to chase the little birds away.
From the shore, Meili watched and thought, just like a diligent scarecrow.
Once the fruits were ripe, the swamp monster actively approached her. He bent over, and the raspberry full of fruit swayed right before her.
She knew this posture — it meant he wanted her to take them.
Meili fell silent. She truly never expected that he was trying to give her the raspberries his body had grown.
Cradling a handful of raspberries home, Meili realized she was in such a daze that she had forgotten to bring back her hammock and basket.
She covered her face and let out a groan.
What was going on? Was he really a swamp monster? He was simply an angel! What species of angel was he!
Those raspberries took her three rounds to finish eating. One day when Meili went to look again, the raspberry on the swamp monster had already disappeared. There were no traces on his back, not even the hole she imagined would remain after pulling out a plant. Thankfully — she thought he might be planning to live the rest of his life with that raspberry plant.
The weather was hot. Meili went to the forest every afternoon, bathing in the small lake near the marsh the swamp monster frequented. Going back and forth every day, she always ran into him.
“Hey~” Sometimes she greeted him and left right away.
Sometimes she wanted to chat, so she would casually use something to lure him over. The most common thing was flowers — pick a flower or bundle a few together and toss them, and he would soon come over holding the flowers to return them to her.
“My yard has a lot of gorse blooming. I did some pruning, so I brought a few branches to give you.”
Golden gorse branches were placed onto the swamp monster’s hand.
Seeing him staring blankly, Meili picked another flower and playfully waved it in front of his nose. “I’m giving this to you. Do you know what that means? It means you don’t need to give it back. It’s for you.”
She didn’t know whether he understood or not. In any case, he left holding the two branches of flowers.
On her way home, Meili thought, he wouldn’t try to grow gorse on himself again, right?
No way, no way. It was only two branches, and they had neither roots nor seeds. How could he grow them?
She went home cheerfully, not realizing she had underestimated the swamp monster’s mysterious nature. After some time passed and she saw him again, he already had a whole cluster of gorse growing on him.
The flowers bloomed beautifully, from afar looking like he was wearing a yellow floral coat.
At first Meili hadn’t noticed it was the swamp monster. She just thought a clump of gorse had grown by the marsh. Only when she looked closely did she realize something was wrong — the clump of flowers was moving!
Meili: “……”
She swore, she truly never intended to treat the swamp monster as farmland, nor did she want him to be a potted plant. Truly.
In conclusion, she gave away two branches of gorse and received back a huge bouquet of gorse.
