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Cleaning up was her least favorite thing to do, but it needed done. All the leftover plants from Christmas and New Year's Day had to be taken care of. She needed to sort them, dispose of the ones that were dead or damaged, and to mark down the remaining sellable plants.

Jasa glanced around her at the greenhouse itself. She needed to get it swept also. The holidays had been rough on the shop. Alice was still on vacation and so was everyone else until tomorrow. She had volunteered to get some things done. Alice trusted her to get it finished. And she would.

It took her nearly two hours to sort through the plants, setting aside those still alive. The rest she tossed into a trashbin, taking count as she went. Twenty five were tossed away while another 200 were salvageable. Going row by row, Jasa plucked dead leaves, blossoms and branches from them, pruning what made them look bad. Then after placing them on the tables, she turned on the mister so that they would get a good dose of moisture.

Ruku drifted around the various places. He remained close to her but explored as he wanted to. It was apparent that he loved the plants and coming to the shop with her. His touch was as gentle as hers was as he floated amongst the leaves.

"Well, those are all done, Ruku. Let's see about the others." Moving towards the other section of the nursery, Jasa grabbed the notebook she had been writing on. She would turn the mister off before she went to get some lunch. At that point she would mark the new prices on when she returned from her meal. For now though she needed to see what was left of the pine trees and gift baskets.

She stared sadly at the pine trees. Hopefully someone would buy them to plant at a discounted price. They never sold cut trees- only the potted ones. Alice liked to promote planting rather than cutting and then tossing away the remains a few days later. It did not take her long to clean them, water and then retag the trees. Changing the price sign was the last thing she did.

Rukurai drifted up and down the limbs of the tree. He tugged himself along like a spider clamboring up the wall. Then when he reached the top, he switched trees moving downwards searching as he went. A sense of curiosity was constant from him as he explored what was there.

Jasa watched him wondering if he could smell the piney scent or the sharpness of the needles. It did not seem to even phaze him as he moved from place to place. A bit of amusement at his actions crossed her face, curving her lips upwards.

"Well, I'm not going to get anything done if I stand here and watch you all day." She turned noting the amount of discount on the tablet. A great deal was not cut off the price, but it was enough to interest people in the trees. That was what she and Alice wanted.

"Lunch, Ruku." she finally said, picking up the wisp and tucking him into her pocket. "It won't take long." Grabbing her hat and coat, Jasa moved towards the door. Locking it firmly behind her, she moved down the street to the restaurant nearby. It was a good lunch counter with various hot and cold sandwiches as well as soups and side dishes like french fries and onion rings.

She was quickly seated by the hostess as the waitresses delivered or took orders from those inside. In th summer they had outdoor tables which were closed now. Shivering slightly as she removed her coat, she glanced around at the other eating lunch. None she knew she decided after her cursory lookover. Placing Ruku on the table, she glanced over the menu.

"Grilled cheese and some chili. Hot tea. That sounds good today. It's cold out." she said as the waitress took her order.

It was barely ten minutes later when the waitress returned with her meal. As she ate, Jasa glanced out the window next to her. It was easy to see the wind was blustery. People pulled their hats, scarves, and coats tighter around them. A few kids had reddish faces that peeked out from under the hood of their parkas. The crunch of snowboots could be heard as easily as the crunch of the ice and snow under car tires. The sky was a dreary grayish white from the clouds overhead and light flakes of snow were beginning to fall.

She sighed spoon poised over her chili as she wondered if for once the weatherman was actually going to be accurate. He had said there would be some snow today but most of it would evening or later. Jasa really did not like driving in it though she would when she needed to do so. Maybe she should stop at the store when she finished. And if the roads did get worse, she could always leave early. Alice would understand.

Half an hour later, Jasa unlocked the door on the shop, then locked it behind her. The closed sign continued to move for a few moments longer. Putting Ruku on the table, she removed her coat, hat, and scarf. "Just a bit more, Ruku." she said glancing out the window. It was not snowing any harder. At least not yet. So she moved into the backroom. There were several things that needed sorted. Flowerpots with christmas designs and various pot decorations that were seasonal also. Those would be placed in the back and kept for the next year. They had some storage for small things like that. The rest of the seasonal trinkets she marked down taking a decent discount before moving on to the next item.

By late afternoon, it had begun snowing quite hard. She stared outside, trying to decide if she should leave a bit early. When a car went sliding by even though it was going slower than normal, she decided. It was time to leave. Gathering up Rukurai, she shoved him into her pocket reminding him to stay put.

Having worn himself out almost entirely with his exploration, the wisp settled down into her pocket. It was warm and soon he had curled up, his tendrils tucked around him as if he were sleeping.

Nearly an hour later Jasa made it home. The snow had started coming down so heavily it was almost impossible to see her way. Five cars were in the ditches on the way and several times she had nearly slid off the road herself. When she did finally pull into the driveway, she sighed in relief. The new year was starting off rough. Hopefully the rest of the year would be unlike its beginning. Either way she was home now and ready to just relax.

Jasa had been unloading plants from boxes for weeks now. Masses of customers arrived each day and then she would remain after closing to straighten things up. The plants and items on the tables and racks were scatted and mixed up- few in the right place.

At the moment, she sat on the floor taking a quick break. Sippong from teh soad, Jasa scanned the area around her. So much was empty. So much was in disarray. She sighed thinking that it was just a typical day at the shop. The tables needed straightened and everything needed watered. And more needed ordered. Always so much to do and she was tired.

Alice and Jerald, one of the part-time clerks, walked into the room. She laughed as she watched Jasa a moment. "I have no clue why you are so tired, Jasa. Really what are you thinking?"

Jerald blinked glancing from one to another. Jasa shrugged then laughed, "I must be totally out of my mind. To think I am actually taking a break." The girl smirked tiredly at Alice. "Alice, why don't you cook me some supper?"

"Not likely, but we will join you for a break," the woman replied.

Jerald watched them both. "Are you supposed to talk to the boss like that, Jasa?" he teased as he plopped down on a crate nearby.

Alice and Jasa glanced at each other and then at him. They knew something he did not. Both started laughing but Alice raised an eyebrow, saying, " Well, actually... Jasa is a boss. A part owner. I needed someone to help- someone I could trust. We've just not told anyone yet."

The fellow blinked in surprise and confusion for a moment. "Are you serious? Jasa owns part of this place?"

"Half" Alice admitted again. "I can count on her."

"Wow! Congratulations, Jasa."

"I think she just wanted someone to blame." Jasa muttered softly, but her lips curved upwards," She just likes to be bossy!"

"And don't forget it," Alice grinned as she watched her partner.

"So does that mean I get your old spot, Jasa?" Jerald asked teasing again.

"You wish."

"She's right. None can replace her, but I might give you a chance to make a decent second best." Alice smiled as she teased him back, but still remained somewhat serious.

Jerald blinked. "You mean it? Alright!"

Jasa broke into laughter. "You did not think we were simply running you ragged for no reason, did you?"

"So that's why.... You two are cruel." he growled.

Both women laughed and Jasa got to her feet. AFter offering Alice a hand up, she offered one to Jerald.

"Up we go. Spring has sprung and we have plants to sell. And just think, you now get to work as hard as Alice and I."

"Ugh... low blow. Really low blow."

It was raining outside, making it cold and wet. Her least favorite weather. Jasa sat at the window staring out for a long moment. Rukurai seemed rather listless and she was certain it was the weather outside.

Gathering her box of paints, brushes, and paper, she arranged the supplies on the table. It looked chaotic but there was an order to her placement. Opening the folder nearby, Jasa pulled out the sketches she had been working on previously.

Remembering the note cards she had bought earlier in the week, the girl frowned. Where had she put them? Glancing around the room, she did not see them. That meant she would have to hunt for them, and she sighed as she moved towards the craft drawers where she kept most things. She had been digging through drawers and shelves for nearly twenty minutes before she finally found the bag. It had been on the top shelf sitting in plain sight.

Referring to the sketches now that she had the notecards, Jasa set up exactly what she would need. The first one was a postcard style note that slid into an envelope rather than folded. A tangled twisted vine was the imaged she picked up from the sketches, tilting it upright so she could easily see it. There was almost something cute about it. With a smile she began to resketch it on the notecard.

As she focused, the girl changed a few leaves here or there making the design better. And once satisfied with the sketch, she began to paint.

The wisp had glided over to where she was. He stayed constantly by her side as she moved. Curiosity finally slid over him as he moved around touching things with his smoky tendrils. He wrapped around the tubes of paint, then held on tightly to a brush before letting go. Ruku began poking around in everything, even sliding across the papers to get an idea what everything was.

Jasa stopped watching him for a moment. Then she began to laugh as he got a trace of green paint on him.

"You know you really should be more careful." she said, amused. Picking him up, she began to wipe him off with an old paintrag that she used from time to time to clean up messes. It was even washed but the paint never seemed to come out entirely leaving it stained. She still liked it better than others she had.

Three times she stopped and cleaned him off. And three times she scolded him. Of course, it was only done half seriously. She thought it was cute that he was taking such an interest in what she was doing.

It took her a couple hours to finish all six cards. There were two that were vines of some sort, two that were potted, and the last two plants she painted looked as if they were in the ground. Stepping back to let them dry, she noticed that the sun was shining now.

"Just in time," she laughed. "Let's go for a walk, Ruku. I'm tired of being cooped up in here. Maybe we will do some more later." Grabbing her hat and coat, she carefully placed the wisp into her pocket before moving towards the door. Maybe she would see some other plants to sketch also.