Daphne awoke gently to the sound of windchimes. With a generous stretch, she leaned over to silence her alarm. Despite the uneasiness of the night before, she felt well-rested and chipper. She drew the curtains of the bedroom window and was greeted with the soft light of the rising sun.
Today will be a good day.
This morning at the garden, they would be creating their newest exhibit. Daphne was excited to see the new plants and catalogue them all. She would make sure to get to work early to start. With one last stretch and a few cracking joints, Daphne made her way to the kitchen. The cool, hard-wood floor felt refreshing on the soles of her feet as Jack trotted after her. Padding from refrigerator to counter and back again, Daphne prepared a hearty breakfast that would fuel her for a day of planting and note-taking. While the kettle chortled for her chamomile tea, Daphne tended to her houseplants. She moved the aloe into the sunlight and gently removed the dead leaves from her African violets. The rest of her plants received a generous misting of water and a few encouraging words from Daphne.
When the kettle began to whistle, Daphne poured the boiling water into her mug and headed back into her bedroom to dress. She chose a denim overall dress and a pair of well-worn boots. Taking sips in between every layer, Daphne was finally dressed. Next came her hair. She removed the satin scarf that protected her hair at night and gave her bed-mussed cloud of curls a little love and attention. A quick spritz of perfume and a swipe of lip gloss and she was out the door. As Daphne bounded down her apartment steps, she checked her watch, a find from the thrift store around the corner. 7:30am on the dot. She smiled. She could take her time on her walk to work. Daphne hummed as she admired her summertime surroundings.
~ ~ ~
He studied her as she made her way through the city. He never tired of watching the liveliness of her features as she observed the plants and people of her surroundings. With each step, her hips swung sensually in time to the tune she hummed. He was familiar with it, as it was one she sang to herself nearly every morning.
He longed to grip her curves and caress every inch of her. He could nearly smell her fragrance as the breeze blew gently around the fabric of her dress; she wore a scent called Daisy.
Soon, he would have her. He had waited for too long. He would be patient no longer.
~ ~ ~
The walk on the way to the botanical garden revealed plenty of sights and sounds. Japanese honeysuckle creeped in between the spaces of fences and streetlights. School buses barreled along the street in a cloud of dust and exhaust. Pigeons cooed on stoops; dogs panted along with their owners during their morning jogs. The city was lively and bright. Daphne loved it. Shy by nature, she spent these morning walks people watching.
Daphne hadn't been living on her own for very long. She had received her Accelerated Master's degree at 22 and had moved to the city soon after. Raised in a small town, Daphne had a very sheltered childhood. Her parents, a veterinarian mother and meteorologist father, had home-schooled her from pre-school through high school. As a result, books had been her closest friends and confidantes. That changed, if only slightly, in college. Daphne's hometown hadn't one college or university. The nearest undergraduate programs were nearly 6 hours away. It was in the hollowed halls of Kore University that Daphne found friends, and her love of plants. When many of her friends in the Biology Department had been extended job opportunities in the same locale that Daphne had, she couldn't have been more elated. Three years later, she was still surrounded by her best friends and her favorite flora.
When Daphne arrived at the garden, her senses were confronted with the humid, herbal air of the main greenhouse. As she made her way into the lab to see the new specimens, she made sure to examine each one of the display organisms along the way. She was especially pleased to see that the jade vine was thriving. Once the plant bore seeds, the garden staff would be able to send the specimen back for conservation in its native country. After her inspection, Daphne made her way into the laboratory. She stowed away her bag and put on a sterile lab suit and hair net. Any outside spores or insects would prove disastrous for the newest exhibit. Daphne scanned the room and took in the sheer number of boxes, crates, and jars to be accounted for and propagated.
"Oh my." she said loud.
"Talking to yourself again?" came a voice from behind.
Daphne nearly jumped out of her skin. Whirling around, she was relieved to see her friend Melinda wearing the same sterile attire, with a devilish grin.
"I don't know why you take such joy in scaring me out of my wits!" Daphne said indignantly.
Melinda shrugged.
"It's the highlight of my day."
Daphne rolled her eyes.
"We haven't the time for practical jokes. We have over a hundred specimens to catalogue today. I should have gotten here earlier!" Daphne stared at the wall of seedlings and samples and heaved a heavy sigh.
Now it was Melinda's turn to roll her eyes.
"Would you relax? With both of us here, we'll be finished before noon. You'll have plenty of time to talk to your plants."
Daphne crossed her arms. "I just really like plants, ok?"
"Yeah, a little more than the rest of us" came Melinda's reply.
After a few more exchanges of good-natured insults, the two got to work labeling, tallying, and examining. Melinda opened crates and counted specimens, while Daphne tallied and recorded each plant's condition.
"We've got four syringes of
Podostroma cornu-damae
spores and one for the Amanita bisporigera
"
said Melinda through her face mask. The spores were suspended in liquid, but she didn't want to take any chances. Nearly all of the new plant specimens in the lab were for the garden's new exhibit, "Fatal Flora: Plants & Their Poisons".
"Just one?" called Daphne. "
Amanita
will make such a lovely addition to the garden. They're so dainty in appearance."
"Yes, diarrhea and convulsions are frightfully dainty." Melinda retorted.
"That's only if you eat them!"
"That's usually how you get poisoned, Daph. We've got one seedling of
Nerium oleander
and one sealed bag of tobacco seeds."
"Oh, whatever. That's Nicotiana tabacum, right?" Daphne asked as she scribbled away on the clipboard.
"Look at you," joshed Melinda. "Putting that degree to good use!"
Daphne and Melinda spent the next endless hours in the same way. "Fatal Flora" was on its way to becoming the garden's largest specialized exhibit. If each of the specimens in the lab grew successfully enough to be placed on display, it would be the largest exhibit of its kind in the world. The last of the plants were the trees. They needed to be unwrapped, inspected, and counted. As Daphne inspected and Melinda tallied, their task was nearly finished. As Daphne removed the burlap sack around the last tree, she was surprised to see—
"Pomegranate?" Daphne noted the red husk of the fruits in front of her. "What's this doing here?"
"It's part of the exhibit, obviously. How does it look?" The tree was the last specimen to be catalogued and Melinda was eager to be finished.
"It's ripe! What organism ever comes to the garden in the final stages of maturation?"
Melinda set aside the clipboard and took a look at the fruit-bearing tree.
"Oh! It is ripe, isn't it? Let's have one." And with that, Melinda snapped off the largest and darkest fruit.
"Melinda Eris Thompson, what on Earth are you doing?" gasped Daphne.
"You're using my government name! You must be mad, huh?" Melinda said as she pocketed the fruit.
"You know we aren't allowed to eat the specimens! And from this exhibit too! What are you thinking?" Daphne stood protectively between her friend and the fruit tree.
"What difference does it make? We're the only ones that know it's gone. It would have begun to rot while on display, anyway." Melinda picked up the clipboard and noted the number of fruits still on the tree.
"You are so stubborn, I swear!" said Daphne throwing up her hands. "But what I can't understand is why it was sent to us in the first place. None of the plants in this family are poisonous."
"If that's what the curators chose, then that's what belongs in the exhibit." Melinda bustled around the lab cleaning surfaces and ensuring the organization of all the specimens.
"But, pomegranate symbolizes fertility in most cultures. The Moors used is as a symbol of the city of Granada. That's because of the plant's origins, not because of any known toxicity." Daphne mused.
"Daph, I don't know why you're so invest—"
"In fact, it's rumored to have medicinal properties. That's a separate exhibit entirely."
"Are you talking to me or to yourself? Because I don't very much care about whe—" Melinda was interrupted again.
"It's even mentioned in the Bible in that book of explicit love poetry. I don't see why it's here. And in such a condition! It's amazing it's not infested." Daphne rambled on as she examined each and every part of the plant. "This really is strange."
Melinda was beginning to lose her patience.
"We've been in here all day and you don't seem to be in any hurry to leave. We've missed our lunch hour." she huffed.
"You're the one who said we'd be out by noon." Daphne said without looking up. "Is there something about this plant that I don't know?"
"Yes!" Melinda's annoyance was clear as she raised her voice. "The ancient Greeks called it the 'fruit of the dead'! Are you happy now?"
Daphne looked up and blinked.
"Well, I suppose I am." chirped Daphne with a genuine smile.
