Undead Garden Club

The full moon glistened in the night sky, smears of deep purple and twinkling stars its accessories. The brightest moonbeam lit a seemingly endless garden of various flowers and plants that radiated a magic of their own. An enormous stone crypt was at its center, and as the moon reached its highest point the large stone door opened with a loud creak. Out shuffled various undead creatures, some just bones, some with clinging decaying flesh, and some translucent spirits hovering through the rows of plants. At the top of the crypt etched in the stone was “Undead Garden Club”.

“It is that time again,” one particularly feeble skeleton croaked. “We may have visitors this night!” A few groans and some eerie cheers filled the air. 

The various undead gardeners tended to their plants in the chill night air, watering them and blowing shimmering smoke at the base of each plant. The skeleton prepped the needed ingredients and seeds, like he always did, in case a visitor came. He was the first member of the club and always oversaw the planting of new friends.

After some time, a young woman approached, her hands small and shaking, and her hair hiding a large portion of her face. The undead garden can only be seen by mortals during full moons, and even then, not many mortals are brave enough to approach. 

“Hello,” the woman squeaked questioningly.

“Hello, young lady,” the feeble skeleton responded. He shifted his skull to the side, and his one remaining eye rolled to the other socket, focusing on her. The woman, clearly frightened, stepped back but lifted her chin to continue. “I would like to cultivate a plant for my mother, ” she said more calmly this time.

“Why of course!” the skeleton clapped his bony hands together with renewed energy, “Have you brought a token of your mother?” he outstretched a hand and unfurled his bare fingers. 

The woman slowly reached out her hand, which contained a lock of golden hair, and the skeleton quickly plucked it from her grasp. He stepped over to an empty plot of fresh soil, motioning for the woman to follow, and grabbed a few various glass bottles and a packet of glowing seeds from the wooden cart nearby.

“Moonflower, yes, that shall be good!” the skeleton nodded to himself, then sharply turned to the woman and opened his jaw in an uncomfortable attempt at a smile, “Your mother agrees!”

The woman went pale at that, but the skeleton turned to the soil and continued his work. He dropped the glowing seeds and lock of hair into the soil and hummed a few words as he spritzed various droplets of contents from the bottles. 

“There you have it!” he cried happily, “Now come here and knead the soil with your hands, be sure to think of your mother while doing so, we don’t want anyone else coming through the flower now do we?” he chuckled and motioned the woman to the soil. 

She kneeled and kneaded the soil with her bare hands, eyes closed tightly in thought. After a few moments, she looked up at the skeleton and smiled.

“You felt it, didn’t you?” he asked, “Yes! It’s warm, and familiar, like I can feel her.” the woman responded.

“Well done, very well done indeed!” the skeleton clapped his hands together again, “well young lady, simply return at the next full moon and you shall see the fruits of your labor!” he chuckled again and the woman skipped away full of hope. 

…

The next full moon was here, the skeleton man and a majority of the club waited eagerly for the young woman to arrive, as the spirit would not reveal itself until the one who kneaded the soil was present. Finally, the young woman came into view, and the gardeners erupted in haunted cheers, it was always a happy day when a new spirit emerged, even if it meant seeing mortals. 

The moonflower was a vine now, woven throughout a small trellis the skeleton man had provided for it, and there were a few buds that looked ready to burst. The woman approached and knelt in front of the moonflower, and suddenly one bud opened to reveal a glistening icy eye that fixed on her. She sucked in a breath as another bud spread its petals to reveal a mouth, smooth pale pink lips that curled into a smile, a smile the woman recognized. 

“Mom?” she choked out through bubbling tears. 

“Hello, sweetie.” the mouth said softly, “I’ve missed you dearly,”.

The woman was a mix of horror and joy as she continued conversing with her mother. The gardeners gave her space to do so, they would have plenty to discuss with the new arrival as they would tend to her from now on.

When the woman was done she approached the skeleton man, eyes spilling over with wet tears.

“You can come to speak with your mother every full moon now!” said the skeleton cheerfully and gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulders.

“Thank you, truly” the woman choked between grateful sobs.

The skeleton man smiled awkwardly at her “That’s what we do here at the Undead Garden Club!”

…

What did you think of the story? Do you think it fits well with the title? Let us know in the comments below! If you haven’t already, check out Clever’s story, Lost Witch Department!

Thank you so much for reading!

–Clever&WTF