Sorry, guys. No fancy intro for now. My brain's dried up in this chapter.
Hahaha, kidders—enjoy! XD
CHAPTER 12
"This can't be happening," Reina muttered over her notebook. She massaged her temples, trying to ease her throbbing headache.
She stared at her monitoring notes on the plant at the spring. Lately, it started to deteriorate, much to Reina's worry. Thinking it was because of the Summer heat, she made extra effort in watering and weeding it. But these only slowed down the process.
That night, she had been scanning her reference materials for an hour, trying to find out what had caused it. But her search was not fruitful; there was even no mention of the plant or any of its similar species.
"I checked the soil as well," she said out loud while glancing at the Petri dish on her desk, "and it's conducive enough for normal plant living. So, what was wrong?"
Outside, the wind howled in reply. She sighed exasperatedly as she listened to the pouring rain. If only the storm will be over tomorrow…
That moment, the lightbulb turned off without warning. Immediately, she felt for the gas lamp and cautiously turned the knob. She watched as the fire from the lamp danced in the darkness.
After adjusting to the minimal lighting, she returned to her notebook and flipped the page. On the other side was the drawing of the plant.
Reina paused. Until now, she had not been really stuck in a setback on her research. She never had one, and when she would have, she could always find a solution. But it's mostly because I see the answers in books, she admitted. And in my own knowledge, of course.
However, in this case, she seemed to be working on a newly dug-out slate. Have I missed something?
The fire flickered, dimming the room for a few seconds. I should rest. I couldn't risk myself on poor eyesight.
When Reina went out of the house the next day, she saw her uncle raking wet leaves. At his back were his banana plants badly uprooted from last night's storm. Mako stopped to exhale in obvious weariness, then went on to continue his task.
Her grip on her workbag tightened. It dawned on her that somehow, both of them were accustomed to working on their own. Even during the time Reina stayed at the city, her uncle had tended on the orchard by himself. And his efforts paid off well. No one in Konohana harvests greater fruits than his.
Seeing him now, however, proved to her that he couldn't do everything on his own.
"Mako," she found herself calling to her uncle. When he turned, she continued, "I…can help, if you want me to."
He raised his brow. "Didn't you have monitoring to do today?"
"Yes, but…" She took the rake from Mako. "My burnout uncle might wilt faster than my plants."
He stared at her as if measuring her sincerity, then scowled. "Do not ever construct an analogy between me and plants, Reina."
Reina merely smiled when he left for the forgotten trees, allowing her to finish his raking. Maybe it will help me think.
Forming piles of leaves brought back memories from her childhood. Whenever Autumn came, just like today, she had the luxury of helping her uncle rake, and then proudly enumerating the kinds of leaves and the beautiful processes of their color-changing. My interest in botany had sparked by then, she reminisced. Growing up in a town like Konohana would ignite such passion.
A loud thud suddenly disturbed her thoughts. She saw Mako shake his head disapprovingly at the banana plants, which were now bound together with ropes. "The wind and rain were unforgiving this season. From the foliage up to the roots, my bananas were thrown off as if they were sticks."
"That is because the soil is already wet. The roots…" She pondered on the word for a while before finishing her sentence. "…couldn't hold on much to that."
She felt an idea tickle in her head. But she couldn't grasp what it is.
"Something's wrong with the plant?"
Reina nodded. She ended up disclosing her present problem to Phillip, who she passed by his farm on the way to the mountain. He hadn't required another invitation for him to follow her.
"Hmm…" He lightly swayed his sickle at his side. "Maybe it's because they're overcrowding. You know, with it blooming late."
That could be it, she was supposed to say, but the sharp tool was pretty disturbing. "What's with the sickle?"
"Oh, sorry." Phillip stopped to sheathe the blade and place it inside his rucksack. "I was just cleaning up the farm when I see you pass by."
She thought of Mako who still worked on patching up the orchard damages. "I believe I called you on a wrong time."
"No, really, it's fine. I managed to bag every single weed. I can finish it later."
She started to feel guilty for bothering him. Why does he go through that just to…accompany me? But in the first place…why had she called for his help?
Any sensible reason could come to her mind, all with the similar bottomline: He's dependable, that is why.
"Oh, no."
Phillip's voice made Reina scan the spring, to where they now arrived. She gasped: branches were everywhere, and fallen leaves were covering the spring's surface. The scene wasn't as worse as what they have seen downhill, but it felt wrong in such a place.
"The plants near the spring, though," he stated, "they made it."
"Thank Goddess." Reina immediately approached her plant. Please be alright. She felt Phillip tailing behind her. Please, be alright.
As what she feared, the plant had barely survived the storm. Its flower drooped some more, with the blue-tinged petals shriveled from so much rainwater. Its leaves curled as if to embrace itself in protection to the wind.
She tenderly caressed the plant's stem. "You're getting unhealthier."
He squatted across her. "Reina, why not take it home?"
"What?"
"You know, put it in a pot and bring it home? It saves you time in coming up here."
I…haven't thought of it. She considered the suggestion. I can observe the entire plant at my laboratory, and also fully control the stimuli there.
"Well…" She opened her workbag and took her shovel. "I hope I could discover something."
"'We'," Phillip corrected. "I'm not leaving you until we figure it out. We're in this together."
W-were we?
Reina couldn't believe what her gloved hands had felt.
"Look at this!" she exclaimed. "The roots are diseased!"
Phillip closed her Plant Pathology book and approached her. He stared at the exposed roots. "Oh, it's root rot, right? I can see the mulchiness, even though I didn't touch it."
I should've known! The source of the problem was on the roots. "Yes. This is manageable." She turned to the sink to wash off the soil.
"Do you want me to help?"
Reina couldn't stop herself. "Prepare an antifungal solution, please." As she carefully run the plant over the flowing water, she felt him pace around the room to get the reagent.
They spent the next few minutes snipping off some chosen parts of the plant and waiting for the reagent to take its effect. Phillip decided to place draining holes on the new pot while Reina jotted on her notebook. When he was done, he returned to the soaked plant. "I'm sure this guy's gonna make it. Don't you think so?"
She set her pen aside. "I believe so. With proper control of its environment and—" She suddenly remembered she wouldn't solve the problem without her colleague. "I forgot to thank you, Phillip."
"What for?"
"I believe this plant is a new species. Ever since I discovered it blooming, you were there. You've drawn it so well, and now this. My journal would be award-winning thanks to you." I believe it's not so bad to work with someone…once more.
Phillip's gray eyes twinkled. "I would love to see you climb up the stage to receive your award, Reina." She unintentionally reddened, unable to answer. He continued, "Also, don't hesitate to ask help. Like you said before…we're colleagues."
Reina swore she heard a slight bitter tone on the last word. She glanced at the plant. Colleagues. Phillip is different. If not for that incident…I wouldn't be so adamant on working alone.
This was supposed to be the Blue Flower Event, but I have to totally bend the scene since Phillip himself has background in the field. And let's allow his botany knowledge to shine!
This begins the turning point of the story. Goodluck to me and you, readers. Mostly to me.
Rate and review, please!
