Odd Prompts: The Garden

Same characters and timeline as last week, just a bit further along. I don't know yet what, if anything, I'm doing with this story. 

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“John?” Bonnie paused at the foot of the stairs, looking up into the darkness. Their joy in arriving at their new home, and being on their honeymoon, had been tempered by the discovery that the electricity had not yet arrived in the small valley. She raised her voice slightly and called again, “John?” 

“Out here.” His voice carried from behind her, and she spun around to see that he’d come to stand just outside the big window in the parlor. “You might want to see this.” 

Bonnie opened the door and stepped out into the cool, rain-scented air. The wind from the dying storm still whipped through the trees and over the roof with an eerie howl, but here in the courtyard garden it was calm. The house wrapped around them on three sides, the oldest part in the center, and each wing showing different eras of construction. Most houses would have built the additions in a solid block, but in this one... 

“I think she loved this garden.” Bonnie bent and touched a dewy rose blossom, the petals velvety under her fingertips. 

The wind didn’t reach down here, within the house’s embrace. It was still and quiet. John came to join her on the slated path. “It’s lovely. I can’t quite believe it’s ours.”

“Neither can I.” She wiped her hand off on the leg of her jeans and then tucked it into John’s elbow. “Is this what you wanted to show me?” 

The light was dying, dark far earlier than sunset due to the storm that had blown in while they made the final few miles of drive up the hills, through the forest on winding roads. “I need to find some lamps, I’m hoping there are lamps.” 

“Doubter.” He chuckled, and pulled her closer to the warmth of his side. “Uncle Ted would have had lamps. Remember how he used to say he could count on a quiet spell every winter when the ice took the powerlines down?” 

“Yes, but that was...” She couldn’t remember just how long ago. “I was a baby!” 

“Not quite, you were a cute little thing.” 

She put her tongue out at her husband. “Like you’re so much older than I.” 

“Shh.” He put a hand on her mouth. 

She licked him. 

He vibrated with silent laughter, and pointed the now-damp finger out of the garden. They had come down almost to the bottom of the garden, and the wind could reach them, plucking at her hair and shirt with invisible fingers. She followed his direction, and saw a doe with twin fawns, grazing in the field. The fawns were nearly as big as their mother, the white spots of their childhood faded into the tawny coat of adulthood.

***

This was a text and art response. Art was generated from the prompt by MidJourney, and although that AI can be flaky in generating artwork, this one is lovely. 

I was prompted by Becky Jones with "The wind howled around the house, but within the garden, all was still and quiet." 

I prompted Leigh Kimmel with "When the boy fell into the cave he looked up and saw" 

You can read all of the prompt responses, and even take part in the creative challenge yourself, over at More Odds Than Ends. See you there!