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In all your years you had never seen so many books. In Noman’s Land there was a lack of them. Perhaps a few families, ones that had the money for it, would have a shelf or two of books—ones that had survived through the years due to careful tending and the lack of moisture in the air. You, like most fortunate children of the desert lands, had been taught how to read. But even with that fortune, the school you had attended had only had three old, cardboard paged books that had been chewed on or ripped up over the years and were barely legible.
But this? This was new.
An entire book shop. Shelves nearly touching the ceiling and each one of them crammed with books, some so much that the shelf itself bowed heavily in the middle.
“Well, how do ya’ like it?” Vash asks, smiling at you. Neither of you had taken a step beyond the entrance.
You snap your mouth closed, at some point it had dropped open in shock. “It’s ... amazing.”
He grins at that, the corners of his mouth widening even more.
As Vash told it, the owner was a friend of his. You were sure this meant he had managed to rescue the man from some perilous encounter by sheer happenstance, as Vash was want to do, but the old man greeted the both of you with a warm smile and firm handshake. He even went on to explain that this was probably the only true book shop in all of the wastelands and that you and Vash were more than welcome to stay for as long as the two of you liked.
It made your head spin, all the books you could possibly read.
But where to begin?
You find yourself, moments later, in the middle of two shelves that are so squeezed together tight that you can barely stand between them comfortably. It seems that all the books are sorted by a system that you can’t quite understand. Not only that, but some of them didn’t even have titles and some of them looked so old and worn that you were afraid to pick them up.
Vash finds you there, his steps so quiet in the little shop that he nearly makes you shout out in surprise when he speaks.
“Ah!-uh... sorry,” He says, scratching at the back of his neck, “I was just wondering if you found anything you like...”
You look down at the book in your hand, it had a red cover with black binding and old, yellowing pages, but no title. “I don’t really know what I’m looking for.” You admit.
Vash gazes at you with those blue eyes, a gentle smile on his face. You had spent enough time with him by now to know that he was reminiscing; something about what you had said or what you had done had reminded him of his past.
“Can I make a suggestion?”
And that’s how the both of you end up parked at a little table, a book with an aqua-green cover and bright white pages planted firmly between you two.
“What’s it called?” You ask as Vash picks it up, flicking through the pages. “Takamura’s Guide to Gardening.”
You tilt your head. You had never heard of such a book.
Vash notices the look on your face and smiles, turning it around to show you. On the page are pictures, so vibrant that it makes you gasp. It shows of green, blue, and red things you had never seen before.
“What are they?”
“Flowers.”
Flowers? You had never heard of those either. “What’s a ... flower?”
Vash’s mouth tilts into a small frown as he thinks, brow pinching in concentration. “They’re like ... well, like organism that aren’t human or animal. They produce their own oxygen and require soil and sunlight to grow...”
You shake your head. That didn’t make sense, something couldn’t come from nothing. “Just soil and sunlight?”
Vash nods, “I mean, that’s the simplest explanation, there’s more to it than that. You have to have nutrients and seeds and...”
You stare at the pictures. One was labeled “Rose” and another “Morning Glory” you had never heard such strange names.
“Have you ever seen one?” You ask, gently taking the books from his hands. Vash looks away. You also knew what that meant. He was about to lie—a real lie—not a fib he often told people to calm their nerves.
“No.”
Your eyes widen for just a second but you hide it with the book. Vash had seen a flower before. But where? You push that thought down, maybe the answer was between these pages.
“I think I’ll read this.” You say, flipping to the front of the book before looking up at him again. There was something soft in his eyes now, but you can’t possible think of what could have caused it. “I want to learn about flowers.”
Vash smiles again, that soft look being replaced by something else that you can’t quite put your finger on.
“Great!”
It takes about an hour for you to finish the book. It’s not very long and is mostly full of pictures but you enjoy it. There are more than just flowers, there are things like corn, and wheat, and carrots. The author makes it seem so simple to grow them, but you know it would be nearly impossible to do out in the desert.
Still, you trace the edges of a picture of a beautiful garden bursting with colors of all sorts.
“I want to grow something...” You say out loud.
Vash, who had been browsing his own book looks up at you. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“That’ll be pretty hard.”
“I know ... I still want to. I want to grow a rose or ... maybe an orchid.”
He pauses a moment, as if he doesn’t want to shatter this dream of yours. “Well ... we could find a way.”
You peek at him. “Will you help me?”
Again he pauses, wavering, he looks into your eyes and then nods, “Yeah. I’ll help you.”
You smile and he matches it. It’s impossible, you both know it, but it’s something you so desperately want and how could Vash ever say no to you?
He buys the book for you, lets you keep it, and as you leave the bookshop he takes your hand and squeezes it.
Maybe someday you’d have your garden, if Vash was by your side.