Scripts and Serenity

Jacob was visiting the local IKEA store when he first saw Shari.

She was meaty, the skin was smooth, was blooming like vivid laughter, and her complexion radiated in the store's yellow light. She was the most beautiful plant Jacob had ever seen.

Jacob was carrying a lot of stuff he had picked earlier and was planning to buy a sofa that day. But once he looked upon her, it was inevitable that Shari was the only thing he bought that day.

Jacob kept her in the middle of the balcony, wherever passers-by could see and admire her beauty—and obviously named her.

He started reading journals on plant care. He watered it every morning like an army regimen. He started injecting the soil with the nutrients as a plant version of everyday touchups.

But soon, he noticed the leaves were not growing as smooth as they used to be. When he bought Shari, they were straight and glowy as a contrail. Now they had a wavy pattern to them. Not just one or two, but all leaves were beginning to have their shape distorted.

Jacob was concerned. Maybe he was watering too much. Perhaps he needed to be more gentle in spraying nutrients. Possibly it was getting exposed to too much sunlight.

He tried changing his procedures individually to see if the leaves could return to their original state. But it didn't help. The waviness kept increasing.

He called up an expert. They came and took a few readings. But ultimately, they were surprised because they couldn't find anything wrong in the plant's vitals or soil. Everything seems 'healthy.'

Jacob was distraught and just curbed his activity around the plant so that Shari doesn't get worse.

In the meantime, Shari was having the time of her life.

With all the care and love she was getting, she realized that she didn't have to stick to the script of a regular plant. She can do whatever she wants.

Usually, all plants of her breed have to be disciplined to grow their leaves very straight. That maximizes the amount of water and other nutrients that they can intake.

But Shari was the lucky one. She realized she was in abundance.

She felt that every part of her anatomy is alive. She can roll with the wind instead of resisting it. She can play with the raindrops instead of trying to capture it nervously. She can admire the thoughts about the beauty of creation instead of waiting for the sun, hoping to get a glance at its eyes.

She stopped worrying about survival and started maximizing serenity.

The only sadness left in her life was looking at the profoundly concerned face of the person who made it all happen.