The Prince and the Plant Whisperer

Rooftop ** !! **

[~Posted 7/18/21]

[A/N: Please make sure you can view pictures. A lot of the text in this chapter is embedded as images. Also, the world is so dark right now, but oh my goodness, I really hope to heavens that these upcoming few chapters put a big goofy smile on your face, that's all it feels like we can do for each other these days..]

. . * * * * . . . . . .
. . . . * * * * . . . .
. . . . . . * * * * . .

Kai stared at her greenhouse, wide-eyed.

Her plants weren't dead.

Not at all! Actually, they were flourishing—healthy, happy, lushly green. Hey Kai! they shouted. Welcome back! Check out how much we've grown since you left!

Was this Lilly's bizarre idea of a prank?

Did she actually take care of my plants the whole time? Is she trying to trick me into thinking that someone's watching over me? Because she knows how lonely it feels—to have no one?

Transfixed, Kai stooped down to get in her greenhouse. Her mind reeled as she ran her fingers across the edges of the planters.

Little by little her sense of marvel grew.

Someone had come in and made all sorts of quiet, meticulous adjustments. They re-potted a croton that was nearly root-bound. They brought pebbles and made a humidity tray for the ferns—which was secretly on Kai's to-do list.

But this wasn't Lilly's doing. No way. When it came to plants, Lilly could follow instructions but not much more.

Kai breathed deeply. She walked among the plants.

And she felt like she was walking and moving and breathing in sync with whoever had shown up to help. She was getting to know the inner thoughts of a fellow plant whisperer. For the first time, the loneliness she'd felt since college—it vanished.

Had a janitor found her project and taken pity on her? Maybe cleaning rooftops was their job, but raising plants was their secret power?

Or...

Suddenly, a wild image popped into her brain, of Huw Richards, the Welsh gardener with a big Youtube following. She'd had a semi-half-not-quite-crush on him since high school. Had Mr. Richards somehow landed on this random rooftop in America like a flying superhero? Had he cared for her plants while she'd been gone?

That is literally a crazy thought.

But any explanation feels crazy at this point!

Anyway, this person's gardening style didn't seem like Huw Richard's.

They just seemed, well, different. This felt like someone who was hands-off and let the plants grow on their own. But someone who also intervened swiftly and decisively when needed. Someone who was meticulous but bold. Who pursued unusual decisions without a second thought.

For example? This person had actually started to make an upside-down tomato planter. Which was great, and definitely offbeat—and actually something Kai was wanting to try for next spring.

Was this person also maybe a bit new at gardening? Kai suddenly had that thought, too. She couldn't put her finger on why. Maybe because they'd tried some things that no experienced gardener would do—but then made adjustments.

But they'd clearly done a lot of work.

She needed to thank them, somehow. To tell them they didn't need to worry.

Unless they wanted to meet? Unless—they wanted to keep working on these plants with her, side by side?

Kai found her heart racing at that idea.