The Gardener used to have many interesting names, but he chose to become anonymous for an unknown reason. No one knows anything about his past. He lives in a house decorated by the earth's photosynthetic wonders on a piece of land higher than the nearby village. He gets few visitors, and he never leaves the place. When he does receive company, the villagers hush and wait for the person to reappear. It is not because they fear the man, but you know how people are about socializing with folks they don't know.
The children, however, did fear him. They made him into a ghost in the scary stories they told each other. They had great fun, but as you know stories plant seeds of curiosity in children, which is how young Joel came to the Gardener's doorstep.
The Gardener was a calm man. He did not jump when he heard the knock on his front door. He simply put down the watering can and told the flower he would be back soon. Then he walked down the stairs and opened the front door to find a small boy of about seven years shivering in the night air.
