Winter here is not long. After just a few heavy snows, the weather slowly begins to warm. The accumulated snow melts day by day, the little stream rings endlessly day and night, ding-ding-dong-dong, and beside the fields the rushing water flows everywhere.
As the winter snow melts, the wild grass hidden beneath eagerly breaks through the remaining snow, revealing patches of tender green sprouting tips.
Almost in the blink of an eye, the mountains and fields are once again a thriving green.
This green is especially gentle, carrying a budding, vibrant yellow.
The broom shrubs in the Meili Garden have also grown new buds and leaves, the rhododendrons too. The garden that had been silent for a whole winter was gathering all its strength, preparing to once again bloom into a sea of brilliant flowers this year.
Looking at these plants, Meili’s mood was always very good.
However, compared with these plants that grow toward the sun more each day, the ghost of Madam Pegg at home seemed to be withering.
Meili still remembered when she had just come to this world and saw Madam Pegg. Although pale and thin, looking every bit the image of a sick person, her bright red hair and emerald lake-like eyes would make anyone’s heart flutter with one glance.
But now, her emerald green eyes had become cloudy, and her bright red hair had unknowingly faded.
As usual, after sending food to Madam Pegg, when Meili left her room, she saw that her once beautiful red hair had already become like straw.
On this lovely spring day when all things revive, Madam Pegg seemed as if she could no longer hold on.
Was it because a ghost could not remain here for long? Why was Madam Pegg’s ghost staying here, unwilling to depart?
Meili stepped downstairs with slightly heavy steps, a kind of indescribable worry in her heart.
“Bang — bang —” A rhythmic knocking interrupted her thoughts.
The knocking did not come from the front door, but from the kitchen side door. Just by hearing this knocking, Meili knew who had come.
Her previous worries immediately scattered.
She pulled open the door, and sure enough, blocking the entrance was that swamp monster whose height made it impossible to see his head in one glance.
He had now learned to knock. His knocking was different from others’, slow and sluggish, very distinctive.
“You’re here, wait for me a moment.” Meili spoke to the swamp monster outside the door, changed into shoes more suitable for going out, picked up her basket and umbrella, and casually grabbed a shawl from a rack to drape over herself, only then stepping out the door.
It was raining again today. The pattering light rain was the gentle and warm hallmark of spring, even hazy like mist.
Holding the umbrella, Meili walked by the swamp monster’s side. After winter passed, the shawl on him had been taken back by her and washed clean, and now it was draped on herself.
She didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but after being worn by the swamp monster for so long, she always felt there was a faint scent of grass on it that couldn’t be washed away.
The swamp monster in spring was completely different from the home-staying version in winter. As long as it rained, he would roam the wilderness, letting the spring rain soak his whole body thoroughly.
If she didn’t see him for a day or two, she would find that grass had grown all over him, even faster than the grass in the fields.
Once, she went into the wilderness to look for the swamp monster and couldn’t find him for half a day. In the end, he moved on his own, and only then did she discover that he was crouching by the roadside she had just passed, hugging his knees. Because too much wild grass had grown on him, she mistook him for a large stone covered by weeds.
“These grasses on you, can they be pulled?” Meili, who had been growing vegetables for some time, was used to weeding. Seeing grass growing on the swamp monster always made her hands itch.
She had secretly plucked them once, and since he showed no discomfort, afterward, whenever she saw grass growing on him, she would lend a hand to weed.
It’s just… spring grass really grows too fast!
Walking in the hazy drizzle, the nearby fields and the distant woods showed no trace of people — only the two of them. Meili would often go out holding an umbrella to stroll in the rain with the swamp monster, and meanwhile pick some wild vegetables to take home.
Maybe it was because she picked that kind of wild vegetable too often, later she discovered that the same wild vegetables had started growing on the swamp monster.
Seeing the swamp monster coming to her already growing wild vegetables, Meili fell silent.
She strongly suspected that the wild vegetables on the swamp monster were planted by him himself!
Clearly she had been restraining herself from wanting to grow vegetables on him, yet he had taken matters into his own hands!
He had no idea how hard it was to restrain the farming power in her blood. For the sake of love, she had painfully given up fertile soil and fertilizer, and yet he kept taking the initiative again and again.
…If vegetables must be grown, it would be nice to plant something else. These wild vegetables were only good when fresh; actually they didn’t taste that good.
Under her refusal, the swamp monster finally stopped growing wild vegetables on his body.
Previously, he was a natural-type swamp monster who wasn’t picky at all about what grew on him. But after spending so much time with Meili, he actually learned to be picky about what grew on his body.
When the wild grass grew vigorously, Meili would mercilessly pull it all off, obviously not fond of it.
But there was one time when wildflowers grew on him, Meili looked twice and didn’t pull them off. The swamp monster noticed this, and he slowly recalled the past — every time Meili saw him before, she would deliberately throw a wildflower at him.
From then on, things got out of hand.
The plants growing on the swamp monster transitioned from weeds into all kinds of wildflowers. In this season when wildflowers exploded in spring, within just a few days, a whole garden bloomed on the swamp monster.
All sorts of wildflowers made their home on him — red, yellow, white, purple — colorful and dazzling.
Meili was busy tending to her own vegetable garden. After three days without seeing the swamp monster, she was stunned when she saw him again, looking like he was literally “flowers blooming with joy.”
—A moving garden belonging to Meili, very acceptable.
Covered in flowers, he came running to give them to her.
The swamp monster couldn’t speak. Many times his expressions were slow and clumsy, but Meili could always clearly feel the affection he returned to her.
A “monster’s” affection seemed even more pure and straightforward than a human’s.
Meili could hardly withstand this humanoid garden. She carefully trimmed the flowers on him a little, making them look nicer, and used the cut flowers to make a flower crown for him to wear on his head.
Probably that flower crown caused trouble. A few days later, Meili suddenly discovered that in the middle of the swamp monster’s flower crown, a bird’s nest had been newly built.
Meili: “.…” Which unlucky bird with poor eyesight was building its nest on someone’s head?
She could only remove the bird’s nest and place it on a tree by the roadside. As for whether that near-sighted bird could find its new home, she had no idea.
Hesha came running to her house again to play. In winter, no one dared to go near the forest, and Meili hadn’t gone to the marketplace either. After a whole winter apart, the two little friends cheerfully chatted, and then agreed to go to the marketplace to buy things.
Hesha walked in front with light, skipping steps, calling to Meili, “Hurry up!”
Meili walked slowly behind, and from time to time, when Hesha wasn’t paying attention, she would sneak a look behind her.
The swamp monster trailed closely behind her. He usually moved very slowly and couldn’t keep up with the little girls’ pace. Always following behind them, falling farther and farther back, his struggling to catch up seemed a bit pitifully strange.
Passing by a mud pit, Meili pushed the swamp monster and told him to stay inside. Lowering her voice, she said, “You wait here. I’ll come back after I finish buying things.”
The swamp monster obediently stood in the mud pit, watching her go further and further away.
Meili looked back and suddenly felt a pang of conscience.
But she still had to buy things. Many daily necessities had been used up over the winter and needed replenishing.
The marketplace was even livelier than before. Many people stood at their doorsteps chatting. Meili saw several young men rush past her, looking strange as they talked about something.
“What’s going on? What are they running for? What happened?” Hesha asked curiously.
She grabbed a young man who was going to watch the commotion. He glanced at the two of them and casually explained, “Aunt Maggie, who lives near the south woods, seems to be missing.”
“What? How could that be!” Hesha exclaimed, dragging Meili along as she followed the group of onlookers to Aunt Maggie’s house.
Aunt Maggie’s family of three lived near the south woods, a bit away from the marketplace. Meili remembered encountering her once when she and Hesha went to pick white mushrooms. She couldn’t recall her appearance clearly — just that she was a very ordinary middle-aged woman with a loud voice.
Aunt Maggie’s husband had been out working for two days. When he returned and didn’t see his wife, he asked their youngest son, who had been playing outside all day. The child didn’t know where she had gone either. Father and son searched everywhere but couldn’t find her. After another night passed and still no sign, they finally confirmed she was missing. Now their friends and neighbors were helping search for any trace of Aunt Maggie.
Since it wasn’t something that happened to them personally, except for friends and relatives, many people were simply watching the excitement.
The crowd quickly dispersed. After talking about this fresh piece of news for a bit, they quickly moved on to other topics.
Meili carried many items home. Passing by the mud pit, the swamp monster — like a spring road sign blooming with flowers — pulled himself out of the mire and followed her back.
White and yellow butterflies fluttered around him.
Meili’s mood, affected by the marketplace, slowly improved again at the sight of this scene. Smiling, she reached out her hand and brushed over the wildflowers growing on him.
In the quiet night, she was suddenly awakened by a nightmare about the basement. Meili sat up, touching the cold sweat on her forehead.
Vaguely, it seemed she heard some faint movement from downstairs. Listening carefully, it seemed like an illusion.
There was only the patter of rain by her ears.
She felt her quick heartbeat, lay back down slowly, and soon fell asleep again.
───♡───
“Aunt Maggie still hasn’t been found. No one knows where she went. Everyone looked everywhere she usually goes, but they found nothing,” Hesha said dejectedly.
Because she hadn’t been found for so long, that afternoon Hesha’s parents also went searching, but still came back empty-handed.
Meili could only comfort her: “Maybe she’s temporarily trapped somewhere. Perhaps they’ll find her tomorrow.”
Hesha: “I really hope they can find Aunt Maggie soon.”
In the blink of an eye, three more days passed. Meili went to the marketplace again and discovered many people gathered in front of the little chapel, praying.
Aunt Maggie’s husband and son were kneeling in the center of the crowd, crying bitterly.
Seeing Hesha wiping her eyes on the outer edge of the crowd, Meili quietly went up and tugged at her.
“Hesha, is there news about Aunt Maggie? Did they find her?”
With red-rimmed eyes, Hesha said, “They can’t find her anymore. Aunt Maggie was dragged into the swamp by the swamp monster, they can’t even recover the body.”
