Periodically she would find herself thinking of the pumpkin that she had carved with Momma. And it seemed that whenever the smiling face of the jack-o-lantern came to mind, it was never enough to reminisce. It always seemed to end in her going to admire him in person. Maybe it was just the science that went into watching the carving slowly wilt over time, but there was also quite a bit of sentimental value intertwined in its fibers as well. She also enjoyed being outside in the garden and around the greenhouse. But when it came to the jack-o-lantern's natural deterioration ... well, it was a shame, because she knew that they couldn't keep it forever. She wanted to. The process of dying was something she was beginning to understand all too well, and it made her sad.
Even still, her paws guided her to the garden surrounding the greenhouse where her mother first showed her how. Pale blue eyes settling on their final result. Even as he was beginning to shrink and fold in on himself- the faint smell of rot setting in, the jack-o-lantern's warped toothy grin brought a very similar expression to her own features. Since she couldn't keep this one, the girl wanted so badly to make another one. However, both Momma and Daddy had made it blatantly clear that blades were something that shouldn't be touched. She couldn't do it on her own. And with an exasperated sigh, she had to accept that. No matter how badly she wanted to do something, she wanted to avoid disappointing her parents even more.
However, she was struck with an idea. Maybe she couldn't do the cutting part on her own ... but if she got everything prepared and ready to go, perhaps then she could find an adult that was willing to pitch in. A hard-set determination illuminated her dainty features as she set to work. First, she would once again, choose her favorite vessel. Talyssa circled around to the side of the greenhouse. In her absence, some of the other pumpkins had already been harvested for various other purposes unknown to her. Yet, there was still a pretty good selection from the ones left remaining. With tail wags of building excitement, she started weaving in and out those left to choose from. Last time she picked an average-sized specimen, nothing extraordinary about it. She set out to make it special. This time, however, her ambitions drove her to find a larger one. Her pale gaze settled on a fairly large pumpkin towards the end of the vine. It was perfect! Now, just to get it to the front of the greenhouse. Which she had a feeling was going to be a lot easier said than done. With a shrug, she set to work.
The part that made it difficult was her pumpkin of choice stood quite a bit taller than it was wide. It was larger at the base, and slightly narrower at the top. Simply put, it was egg-shaped and wasn't exactly cooperative in the direction she wanted to go with it. She laid her shoulder into the brunt of it- toppling it over to its side and ripping it from the vine in one fell swoop. Once free of its bindings, she gave it her best attempt to force it forward. Though it seemed every couple of steps forward they made, it kept trying to circle around back to the direction in which they had come. It took her a few tries to develop a system, and even still, it wasn't easy by any means.
When she was finally able to center the pumpkin in front of the greenhouse where she wanted it, she was nearly too exhausted and frustrated to carry out her original plan. However, she thought allowing herself the opportunity to rest might improve her mood. So, that's what she decided to do. Leaning against her victim, she plopped down to her haunches. Tongue lolling out in a pant as she made an attempt to collect her breath.
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Professor
Fleet-footed
