The carols could no longer be heard on the radio. The strings of twinkle lights were stuffed back inside a box and placed in the depths of the office cupboard. Except for one. Since the sun was still rising late and setting early, the redheaded human found the days to still be too dark for her liking and had wrapped one of the light strings around her computerscreen. She had also built a little zen corner with a tiny rock garden on her desk.
Standing atop his new, cherry wooden plateau surrounded by moss, Benjamin looked most radiant. His desk was the shiniest and cosiest of them all. Friday evenings felt quite special. In the last working hour of the day the redheaded human was left alone in the office and, it seemed, in the buidling. A quiet would descend upon the second floor. Computers and lights were all turned off. The printers stayed silent and the radios no longer belted out various tunes. Except for the one in desk dweller's room. A soft jazzy melody filled the still air and the twinkle lights shone brighter in the dark.
The redheaded human was Benjamin's favourite human. She was the quietest and the funniest of them all. She cared a lot about the well being of the desk dwellers, consistently taking great care in giving the desk dwellers just the right amount of water. Not too much and certainly not too little. Benjamin missed her a lot when she wasn't around. Which was one whole day less since the annual fireworks show outside had come to pass.
He and all the rest of the plant family were at this point, blissfully unaware of the great consequences the redheaded human's absence would have on them.
In their new space there stood five desks total. Two facing each other near the window sill and a little group of three desks near the cupboards. Currently only three humans occupied them. Of course Benjamin's desk buddy, the redheaded woman and her friend the curly blonde and also the grumpy older gentleman. Soon they would be joined by a fourth human. His arrival would forever change the lives of all the desk dwellers.
This bespectacled, young gentleman was awfully cheery. A bright smile, enthusiastic voice and hands on mentality. A bit too hands on for Benjamin's liking.
At the beginning of every week he would go around the room with that green, plastic watering can pretending to be a friend to the desk dwellers. Filling their pots with gallons and gallons of water. Lance shivered and glanced over at Benjamin who shrugged his leaves, trying to ignore how cold his feet felt in the increasingly soggy soil.
Darkness enveloped the office and Lance immediately yelped. "My goodness! Who is that boy?!"
"I don't know where he came from," Simon grumbled.
"But I sure wish he would leave again," Sunny added with a huff.
"Where does he think we are? The dessert?" Lance piped up again.
Burley shook his leaves furiously, agreeing wholeheartedly with his friend. "Rainforests are less damp than this!"
"Guys, guys, I know this isn't ideal, but we can communicate with the humans, remember?" Benjamin tried to reason.
In an attempt to soothe his friends' tempers he suggested various ways in which they could make the humans see sense.
"I'll drop some leaves and you change the colour of yours, Simon. Sunny, you can do the same."
"I don't know Benjamin, these humans tend to think that brown and yellow leaves are a sign of too little water. It might backfire. We could end up drowning," Leah said, looking a little hesitant.
"The redheaded lady will know. She always checks my soil. I promise this will work you guys," Benjamin insisted before turning to Arica. "How about you Arica? How are you feeling?"
"Oh I'm quite all right. I have my own irrigation system. Only special qualified humans in green t-shirts are allowed to water me."
"Gosh you're lucky," Sunny said wistfully.
"I feel for you guys. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No Arica, unfortnuately this is up to the humans, but thank you. We appreciate it," Benjamin said.
That nigth they slept uneasy, with wet feet and leaves gradually changing colors.
The twinkle lights gently brought Benjamin out of his not so peaceful slumber. He was happy to see his desk buddy again. She would save them. Her daily morning routine included checking on Benjamin and thankfully today was no exception. She glanced at his soil and he quickly dropped a leaf while he still had her attention. She brushed some of the healthier leaves and then picked up the dead leaf. Her brows furrowed, a pause, then threw the leaf in the bin and placed her indexfinger on top of the soil.
Benjamin almost rustled his leaves in triumph. She'd noticed!
"Hey J.C., did you water the plants yesterday?"
"Yes," he said in such a tone that indicted he knew he was in trouble.
The redheaded human gave him an stern yet playful look. "Where do you think we are, in the dessert?"
Lance and Benjamin exchanged a quick knowing glance and held in their chuckles.
"You're drowning them," the redheaded human continued. "Please stop watering them for a while."
"Yeah, but they need water."
"Not that much you goof! If their roots get too soggy they could start to rot and become moldy."
She didn't say it, but the plant family knew she was referring to Cliff and Claude. An image of the twins lying dead on the ground flashed through Benjamin's mind.
She wagged her finger at her new co-worker in a lighthearted manner. "Don't let me catch you giving them any more."
Benjamin let out a soft sigh of relief. Everything was going to be okay now.
Right?
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