I grinned. “Yup. Except he can’t sing, and that’s a real shame.”
“I’m sure you could figure that one out if you really tried.” Moira’s voice was droll.
“Every plant is musical. You just have to possess the right frequency to feel it.”
Tess blinked at me. “Really?”
“Of course. Don’t you feel better when you’re in the shop versus when you’re in a place that has no green space?”
Tess thought about it. “Huh. I guess I do.”
“Your subconscious hears the music,” I explained.
She stared at the flytrap. “That’s so cool.”
“Want to hear it?” I asked.
Her attention snapped to me. “How?”
“Through me.” I held out my hand.
“Ooh! Me too!” Moira said.
“Alright. Put your hand on my arm,” I instructed.
Ash heard the music every day. He was already part plant and more connected to the earth than I ever would be because it had literally birthed him. Once a quarter, Ash returned to his main tree to refresh his magic, and when he came back, the music in the shop was boosted for weeks.
“Ready?”
Both women nodded. “Alright. Close your eyes.”
I had to be careful not to use too much magic. Once Moira had her hand on me, and I was clutching Tess’s hand, I slowly opened my senses and sent a trickle of magic into each woman. Moira laughed and Tess gasped.
“Listen,” I commanded and slowly turned the volume of music I always heard a little louder until the store was suffused with sound.
“Oh,” Tess breathed, silvery tears shining in her eyes as the music swept around us.
“My god,” Moira murmured. “Is this what you hear all the time?”
“It is.” The inherent music of the earth used to be overwhelming until I learned how to control the volume. Now it acted as a barely noticeable background soundtrack to my life unless I was tangled in the earth communing. Then I opened my senses wide and let the sound cleanse and purify my body.
“Plants don’t technically make music. It’s sound and vibration translated into musical notes, so we can better understand.” Tess and Moira gripped me tightly, their eyes squeezed shut as they continued listening.
“It’s like new age music combined with techno,” Tess said in a hushed voice.
“I could listen to this for the rest of my life,” Moira breathed.
“Maybe we can get a few of those devices that translate the sound. I think you can buy them online.” I’d seen a few that seemed legitimate.
“Yes!” Tess said. “I want to hear what those carnivorous beasts you keep in the back sound like.”
Speaking of the deadly plants, I was worried Caelan had absconded with them, but I later found them tucked in the back by the cooler. Why they didn’t attack him was curious, but maybe he wasn’t the one who moved them. Maybe Caelan had let a sacrificial lamb do his dirty work.
I’d been meaning to call another repairman for the cooler door as our regular one was booked solid, but someone had fixed the door sometime after our confrontation, probably at the same time he’d had the window fixed.
When the music crescendoed and faded into a slight hum, I let my magic go, and the plant sounds faded away.
Moira let go and wiped her face. Tess gripped my hand for a moment longer before she let go and sighed.
