He handed her a wicker basket. "Pick them yourself. Middle of the day is best—that’s when the resin is strongest. Don't just take the heads; thank the soil while you’re at it."
Back in her kitchen, she spread the petals out to dry. They looked like fallen stars on her countertop. To anyone else, it was just a simple errand to buy flowers, but to Elara, she had just purchased a hundred tiny suns to keep the darkness of winter at bay. buy calendula
"Looking for the pot marigolds, are you?" he asked, not looking up. He handed her a wicker basket
Elara spent the afternoon under the humming sun. As she filled her basket with the sticky, bright blossoms, she felt the familiar calm of the garden. By the time she paid Miller—a fair price for a harvest that smelled like autumn and honey—her fingers were coated in the flower's healing oils. Don't just take the heads; thank the soil
When she arrived, the fields were a sea of fiery copper and sunny yellow. Miller was hunched over a row, his hands stained with the sticky resin of the plants.