The Greenhouse Garden

A Name

"This is it!" the boy exclaimed, pointing to the little tree, his face wide with a grin of pride. "I grew it myself from a peach seed!"

At this, the girl's eyes grew round, and she looked at the boy with a new admiration.

"You grew it yourself!?" she gasped, stepping closer to the tree and inspecting its healthy leaves.

"Well yes, of course," Reuben replied. "Mother and Father don't ever come in here, and my little sisters barely know that plants come from seeds. Of course, I grew it myself. Why? Do you not know how to grow a plant? It's really easy really, it just needs good dirt, sunshine-"

"Water and love," the girl added. "And it will grow big and strong."

The boy turned to her with a grin.

"Have you grown a plant before!?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes!" the girl said, nodding vigorously. "I know the names of every plant in the greenhouse, and I know how to take care of each one."

"Well then," Reuben said, taken aback. "Can you tell me what this plant is? I can't figure it out, even from the books. I think it's a cactus."

He pointed to a tall, triangular plant with leaves like jagged loaves of green flatbread. At once the girl knew the name of the plant.

"That is one of the most common succulents," she informed him. "It is Aloe Barbadensis Miller. It is also known as Aloe Vera."

Reuben's eyes widened in surprise, and he turned to her with a look of respect.

"You really do know a lot!" he exclaimed.

At this, he raced across the greenhouse, motioning for her to follow. He stopped suddenly and pointed to another plant.

"What about this one?!" he asked excitedly.

In a tiny pot was a little, vibrantly colored plant that nodded with little heads, all full of teeth.

"That is a Dionaea muscipula, a Venus Fly Trap," she told him. "You should have known about them already because they're so popular and unique."

Reuben frowned and tilted his head.

"Most of the books I've read don't mention strange plants like that. Only native ones. And Mother doesn't think I ought to be reading so many books on plants anyway, so I haven't been able to find out much," he protested.

The girl shrugged, and gently tapped the fly trap so that the mouth would close before she spoke again.

"Well, then I'll just have to teach you some before I leave."

At this, Reuben's eyes lit up with a hundred more questions.

"Say," he began. "How did you get here in the first place? And who brought you here? And what happened to your shoulder? You still haven't told me your name too, what is it?"

Subconsciously, the girl's hand rose to her shoulder, and she took a step back. She was silent, and the only movement she made was the blinking of her eyelids and the rising of her chest as she breathed. At this, Reuben was also silent and began to rethink what he had said.

"Nevermind!" he announced quickly. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

The girl simply nodded, and immediately Reuben began scurrying to another corner of the greenhouse. He grabbed something and then hurried back towards the girl, hand outstretched.

"Here-" he began. "A flower."

Hesitantly the girl reached out and took the blossom, confused as to why Reuben had given it to her.

"It's a pansy, right?" Reuben asked, semi-confident.

"Yes," the girl replied.

"What is the science name of a pansy?" he asked.

"Scientific name," she corrected. "They are called Viola tricolor var. Hortensis."

At this, Reuben's eyes lit up happily and his face widened with a grin.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed. "I'll call you Viola."