mimi on a mission

Mimi awoke to the warm glow of sunlight filtering through their thin curtains. They shifted in their hammock, prying their eyes open groggily. They had been up late the previous night, busy sorting through their herb stash to prepare some new medicinal mixtures that they had been eager to stock in their shop. As usual, they lost track of time and barely managed to drag their exhausted body back upstairs and crawl into their cozy hammock. Now, they were suffering the consequences of their exhaustion, wanting to be lulled back into sleep by the sound of people chatting outside, vendor carts being pushed along the sidewalks. Mimi distantly wondered why it seemed so busy out today before thoughts finally began forming in their hazy morning mind. 

Festivities for the Flower Festival were finally beginning to take place! Mimi quickly pulled herself closer to the ledge of her window, nearly falling out of her hammock in the process, as she peered past her curtains to see townspeople preparing for the festivities, hanging up strings of flowers, setting out their carts to sell the wonderful products of springtime, and, of course, hanging their wreaths. Mimi had completely forgotten about making her wreath, she’d been so busy lately with the shop, but making her wreath and proudly displaying it in front of her shop was a tradition she honored every year. 

Mimi scrambled out of their hammock and went to change their clothes, hastily preparing themselves to go out and collect some flowers. Their mind was already running wild with the kinds of flowers she wanted to collect this year. “Maybe marigolds. Or lilies. Or some lavender,” they murmured aloud to themselves fervently, getting distracted and beginning to pace back and forth as they yammered to the air in excitement. It was only when they heard a knock on their door down below that they snapped out of their endless loop of ideas and hurried downstairs to answer the door. 

She peered out of the tiny, green glass window of her front door, seeing no one, but opening it anyways and finding a wicker gift basket filled with all kinds of springtime goodies sitting on the stoop. Mimi was giddy to receive such a gift, already picking through the lovely smelling herbs and flowers. She peered out the door both ways, not spotting anyone who could've left her the basket, but feeling grateful anyways. Mimi smiled to herself, closing the front door behind her, taking the basket to rest it on the back counter of her store display. As she sifted through it, she caught sight of the bright purple violets that peeked from the rim of the basket, and immediately decided that she wanted them on her wreath. She picked all the violets out of the basket and set them aside, glowing in the daylight that beamed against the counters. While she picked out the violets, she noticed a white card with familiar frilly handwriting flutter onto the ground. She leaned down to pick it up and squinted hard in an attempt to read the words, but the script was so eloquently written that she couldn't decipher any of it. Regardless, Mimi still knew who the basket was from and she smiled to herself, feeling warmth and gratitude radiate through her. She was overcome with happiness for a moment before she remembered herself and got back to laying out the violets, though not until after she had deftly tucked the small card away in a cabinet where she kept a lot of her prized possessions. It was mostly filled with random junk that she found special for whatever reason. 

“Ok, violets… And what else…” they trailed off, delving back into their thoughts. They realized it would probably be best to start heading out so they could pick flowers in the nearby fields. Everyone else was setting up in town, and likely went out early this morning, so Mimi would have the fields to themselves. They went to the back of their shop and grabbed one of their larger baskets, tucking a pair of gloves into the waistband of their trousers. Mimi tossed a small pair of shears into their basket as well, before deciding they were properly prepared. They started off on their trek, leaving through the back door of their building, forcing it open as sprawling ivy had begun rapidly taking over the walls and doors of Mimi’s shop. As usual, Mimi forgot to ensure it was locked, but it didn't matter anyways. Everyone was friendly in this town, and of course, Mimi knew almost everyone. They had to prepare the outside of their shop for the festival and start putting up special deal signs. They made a mental note to themselves, but it left their mind almost instantly, because they were too preoccupied with what other flowers they were going to put on their wreath. 

Mimi was like a bright ray of sunshine walking through town, waving hello to everyone she crossed paths with, giving quick hugs to young ones who often came into her shop to pick up things for their parents. She was occasionally sidetracked to either have conversations with people or help someone with setting things up, but she never forgot her main goal. When she reached the edge of town, she looked out over the rolling fields of flowers and sparsely planted fruit trees. Above, the sky was clear. The air was fresh with sweet smelling aromas. Mimi took a deep breath, a genuine and wide smile forming on her face as she surveyed the lovely world around her. 

They stepped out in the fields, following the paths made by others, being careful not to squash any of the gorgeous flowers and new sproutlings. Some of the first flowers that Mimi spotted were white daisies, and they felt compelled to gather them. They wanted a nice wildflower, notably something to pop against the luxurious purple of the violets they were planning on using. The white and yellow of the daisies would do the job perfectly. Mimi picked them carefully, gentle with their stems, tucking them into their basket with care.They were haphazard and clumsy with almost everything in their life - unintentionally, of course - but they did their best to take extra care with plant life. Once they felt like they’d gathered a suitable amount, they wandered through the fields to find more. 

Mimi was an avid enjoyer of brightly colored flowers, and many of her past wreaths had shone bright with warm colors, reds, oranges, yellows. This year, however, Mimi found herself being more drawn to cooler tones. As she moved through the fields, from the wildflowers towards the herbs, she spotted flashes of a brilliant blue peeking out of the sea of different colored asters. Mimi leaned down to examine them, instantly recognizing them as chicory. She caught a whiff of the woody scent, smiling to herself. To her, it was a homely, pleasant scent. Much like the inside of her shop and dwelling. She harvested some of it, and as she was doing so, she was struck with an idea. To compliment the woody scent, she would collect some rosemary to add to the wreath. 

And so, they hunted for some rosemary, which they found not too far off. “This is going to turn out so good,” Mimi murmured to themselves, a tremor of excitement causing their voice to be high-pitched, wavering ever so slightly. They hummed absently as they gathered rosemary, placing it into their basket with tenderness. Mimi felt that this would complete their wreath, and so they began the short journey back to their shop, but they still felt as if they were missing something. The feeling didn’t leave, even as they made their way through town, greeting people as if they had been away for centuries. It was pervasive, pestering them endlessly, bordering on torment, until their shop came into view down the street and they were suddenly struck with what they were missing. 

She picked up her pace, almost running to the entrance of their shop. Digging through the basket, she whipped out the shears that had been buried by mounds of flowers. Ivy had overtaken the face of her beautiful shop, and it wasn’t something Mimi detested, in fact, she had been missing something to weave her wreath together, and this would work perfectly. She could clean up a little bit while also incorporating a lovely part of her shop into something as meaningful as her welcoming wreath. Mimi got to work, trimming away at the ivy, slowly stuffing strings of it into her basket, too focused to even notice people greeting her as they walked past. 

When they gathered a sufficient amount, they rushed up the steps to their shop, light on their feet, shuffling items between their arms and hands in order to open the door, pushing it open with their hip and letting it swing shut as they hurried over to the front counter, smiling brightly in anticipation for what they had already mapped out in their mind. Mimi laid out everything they were going to weave into the wreath, starting out with the ivy and simply weaving everything they’ve gathered into a particularly thick garland of ivy that Mimi had snipped. First, the violets, then the daisies, followed by the chicory and rosemary. Their brow was furrowed in concentration as they deftly, carefully weaved everything together.

When Mimi’s labor was finally completed, she placed her sweaty hands on her hips, taking a step back to admire her craft. She smiled, proud of what she’d accomplished, and so glad that it managed to live up to her vision. It was just as warm and inviting as she had hoped for, despite being almost entirely composed of cool colors. It still radiated a friendly and joyful aura, which is exactly what she wanted for her shop. As she went outside to hang her wreath, she felt accomplished, only to suddenly be reminded of every other duty and preparation that she had neglected in her excitement and determination to make her wreath. “Time to get to work!” Mimi affirmed to herself merrily, going inside to prepare the rest of her shop for the festivities.