Steer didn’t consider himself a very expressive individual during his work hours. His choice of maintaining a respectful and professional stance at all times was what had kept him employed for a long time. However, hearing the two women he was transporting chat and joke around happily like the first time they met after the previous sour ride put a smile under his grey bushy mustache.
His GPS informed him that they had arrived at the destination, and he stopped the SUV before announcing their arrival. This time, instead of a ‘good luck’, he simply told them to have fun.
Sunshine smiled at the change of humor in the old man and looked at the house they had arrived to. A bit rustic, covered with vines, but they had been trimmed enough to function as a decoration of the house rather than a sign of abandonment.

Sunshine walked up to the door, but Sunset started walking around the house, so she followed her until they saw a quite large greenhouse, with something, or rather someone, walking around inside.
“You did tell her that we were coming right?”

“I believe it’s less stressful for her if you surprise her rather than give her time to get anxious about your arrival. We still need to knock,” Sunset explained as she hit the glass door a few times.

“Come in!” a voice called out, and they entered what was supposed to be a greenhouse, but looked more like a miniature jungle with a variety of plants that one would need a guide to identify. Sunshine took a few steps forward, amazed by the sight of so much green and other beautiful colors, even the smell inside the enclosed space made her feel refreshed compared to her office.
She then almost shit herself was surprised when Wallflower moved, revealing that she had been standing next to her, camouflaged between her plants.

“You… would be a great forest sniper,” the woman exclaimed as her blood pressure returned to normal levels.

Wallflower chuckled; a bit embarrassed by the woman’s reaction. “Sorry, Sunset says I should wear something a bit more striking, so I don’t blend in so easily.”

“I could get something made for you,” Sunshine offered as she studied the girl’s form, making an estimate of her measurements and thinking about what colors could complement her green tones. “She seems to have a nice figure under that sweater.” She then noticed something that called her attention; the sleeves of the sweater she was wearing were covered in dirt. She didn’t roll them up before working.

“Uhm, I’m Wallflower,” the green girl said, a bit nervous because of the woman studying her body.

“Oh, my apologies, I’m Sunshine, although I’m pretty sure all of you know me already.”

“I think it’s just a formality.”

“Then let’s put formalities aside and hear about this Noah’s Ark of nature you have going on here,” Sunshine proposed, still looking around in awe.

Wallflower let out a little laugh. “Well, I can show you how I started it. Follow me.”

Sunshine did as she was told for the fifteen seconds it took for the green girl to blend back into the scenery, forcing her to use Sunset as guide while the, from Sunshine’s perspective, disembodied voice explained the history of her little sanctuary.

They spent almost an entire hour roaming the miniature jungle, and at the end, Wallflower presented Sunshine with a large daisy-looking flower with a golden center surrounded by vibrant orange petals. “This is a Gerbera daisy; I think it fits you. The color means sunshine of life.”

“It’s beautiful!” Sunshine exclaimed, admiring the potted flower with bright eyes. “You’re a precious little thing.”

“Are you saying that to Wally or the flower?” Sunset asked jokingly.

“Yes,” Sunshine answered without hesitation, making everyone chuckle. She then looked at the happy expression in Wallflowers face, and her eyes wandered back to her dirty sleeves.

“I think we should visit Applejack next before going with Rainbow,” Sunset said checking the hour. They weren’t too far from night hours.

“It was a pleasure to meet you. I will come back soon,” Sunshine said goodbye, and she and Sunset went back to the car. The teenager sat down on the seat and was suddenly given the gifted flower. “Wait here for a moment, okay?”

Sunset nodded a bit confused and watched as Sunshine walked back to the greenhouse.

“You’ve done her a lot of good,” Steer said, getting Sunset’s attention. “The way she talks, how she smiles when she’s with you and some of your friends. The only times I’ve seen her like that is when she and her friend get together at the karaoke club.”

Sunset smiled, happy to know she was giving back some of the things Sunshine had gifted her. “Who’s her friend?” she couldn’t help asking.

Steer let out a hearty laugh. “I’m not going to risk my job. You have to ask her yourself.”

“Oh, come on! At least a little clue?” Sunset asked playfully.

Steer gave it a little thought. “The only thing I will tell you is; her friend bet on that Twilight girl.”

Sunshine entered the greenhouse after knocking on the door, waiting patiently until Wallflower appeared from between her plants.

“Did you forget something?” Wallflower asked a bit confused.

“Actually, I wanted to tell you a story.”

“Oh… okay.” Wallflower put her tools aside, curious about the woman’s behavior.

“A few long years ago, when I was a little older than you, me and my friend lived together in a small ramshackle apartment. It was dirty, sometimes cold, but we didn’t care. We could do anything we wanted in there, we were free, in a sense.” Sunshine let out a chuckle at the memories. “Parties, band sessions, alcohol, and eventually, drugs. Minor at first, but one day we found a way to get this medicine, I can’t remember the name right now, but we got a big bunch of it, and planned to spend the entire week high off our asses. However, my parents called me with an invitation to a cruise they were planning for a long time.” Sunshine’s mood soured a little. “I decided to go with them, and made my friend promise she would save my share of the drugs for when I came back.” The woman let out a long sigh, and Wallflower could see the regret in her eyes. “When I came back, my friend had spent both her and my share of the drugs and sold a lot of our things to get more. She had become addicted.” Sunshine looked up at the glass roof of the greenhouse. “If I was a better friend, I would’ve brought her with me to the cruise. I know that my parents wouldn’t have objected to it. But I wasn’t thinking about that at that moment.”

“What were you thinking about?” Wallflower asked, feeling a bit tense about where the story was going.

“That my friend needed me.” Sunshine answered with an eco of the determination she felt at that time. “So, I threw away the drugs and sat down with her. She complained, of course, saying that she didn’t have a problem, that what she was doing was her own choice and that I didn’t have any right to get in her business. I countered every argument that she threw my way, causing her to get angry and try to kick me out.”

“She attacked you?!”

“More like ‘try to push me away’, but it didn’t work. She was very weak due to the drug abuse, and… Well, you could only tell if you knew her, but despite her anger, she didn’t want to hurt me for real. So, after she tired herself out, I told her that I wasn’t going anywhere, that she would get through this and we would go back to having fun and enjoying our time together.”

“Did it work?” Wallflower asked, looking at the ground with sad eyes.

“Not at first,” Sunshine admitted. “But it changed things. She started to tell me to leave, but for my own good. That I shouldn’t sink with her. That she wasn’t worth it. That she was a mess that I shouldn’t clean. That she shouldn’t exist.” Wallflower crossed her arms, hugging herself. “But I told her that I wouldn’t abandon her. That our friendship was worth the effort of helping her. That she was invaluable to me. That no matter what it took, I would do everything to make her feel better.” A tiny smile formed on Sunshine’s lips. “After that, she started crying. She cried for a long time. I can’t even remember how many days we spent in that apartment, repeating the cycle until she finally stopped.” Sunshine let out a chuckle. “We later joked that she probably cried the drugs out of her system.” She turned her head towards Wallflower. “She finally accepted my aid, and we went to some professionals that could help her recover. My parents payed for the very best, they didn’t even question anything when I told them what had happened with my friend. After some hard months of rehab, she got better, stronger than before, her words, not mine, and we went back to sharing our lives together. And at the end, she became a very successful woman just like me.”

Wallflower wiped some tears she didn’t know she had shed. “Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because Sunset’s just like me. She will do all that and maybe more, and her friends will support her just like my parents did.” Wallflower was about to ask something, but she froze when a warm hand gently took hold of her wrist. “You can always reach to us, and I will gladly help you with anything you need, no matter what.” She gave the gardener a warm, motherly smile before letting go. “Thank you for the flower,” she said before leaving the greenhouse.

Wallflower looked at her wrist, pulling down the sleeve of her sweater, as her mind was bombarded with different emotions, until one of them brought her calm.
She grabbed her tools and went back to work with a smile on her lips.

“How did it go?” Sunset asked when Sunshine finally entered the vehicle.

“She’s a really sweet girl,” the woman responded, and as Steer started the SUV, a thought popped into her head. “Maybe I can have another daughter.”