After a long, exhausting day of lectures, practicals, and note-taking, Jay found herself being led quietly by Venelope to a part of the university she had never explored.
Behind the Botany Department, nestled between old brick walls and a cluster of shady neem trees, was the botanical garden — a green world humming softly beneath the evening sky. It was surrounded by climbing ivy and latticed glass. A narrow path led to a greenhouse tucked away like a secret.
Venelope unlocked the door with an old key, gave Jay a mischievous look, and pushed it open.
The scent hit Jay immediately. The greenery, the colors, the smell, the scene everything caught her. She stepped inside, her eyes widening like a child at a carnival. And the only word she could say out loud was, "Woah…"
Venelope these are hundreds — no, thousands — of plants, she exclaimed excitedly.
There were all sort of plants herbs, succulents, exotic flowers, medicinal shrubs, tiny saplings, creepers in hanging baskets. The air was thick with a mixture of sweet, citrus, musky, and earthen aromas. Something smelled like mint. Something smelled like rain. Something smelled like fruits and some didn't smell at all but looked so beautiful
Jay was wide-eyed. She moved slowly, reverently, as though afraid to disturb the serenity around her.
"This is your secret garden?" she whispered.
Venelope grinned proudly. "Kind of. My escape. Welcome to my not-so-secret hideout."
She filled a metal watering can at a corner tap and began watering a row of dainty purple flowers. Jay rushed to her side.
"What are you doing?!" she hissed, glancing nervously at the door. "Someone might catch us!"
Venelope blinked, then burst into laughter. "Jay. My sweet Jay," she said, shaking her head, "I told you I have connections. No one will catch us, even if they do they cannot do anything to us. I have special permission to be here. I didn't tell you how I got admitted in this university did i? well never mind it's a story for another time" she questioned and answered herself.
Jay stared at her. "You were serious?"
"I never joke! Not especially when its about plants," Venelope winked. Seeing Jay's suspicious look she laughed and said, "I swear on these flowers! Now stop whispering. We're not doing anything illegal. But if you want we can do that too."
Venelope laughed out loud. Jay was totally not convinced. She was staring at laughing venelope who was looking even more mesmerizing in this beautiful place. She handed Jay another watering can. "Here help me then I will take you to do something illegal", she laughed again as she handed Jay the can.
Jay hesitated, then smiled as she took it. "No, thank you I am good here. "Jay exclaimed with a smile. "Alright then."
Together, they watered plants in quiet companionship. The earthy scent of wet soil intensified, calming Jay's nerves more than she expected. It felt… grounding.
Jay broke the silence. "Why are you in Botany?"
Venelope looked up, her face lit by the golden glow filtering through the glass. "I love interacting with plants," she said casually.
Jay chuckled. "No, seriously."
But something in Venelope's eyes shifted. Her expression softened, and she spoke again — quietly this time.
"I do love them, Jay. Plants... they don't hurt me. Atleast they don't"
Jay paused. Something about her tone unsettled her.
"They don't betray. They don't pretend. They don't lie to your face and twist your words behind your back," Venelope continued. Her hand brushed over a small sapling. "They reciprocate my care. They keep my secrets. They're not hypocrites. They don't demand explanations."
Jay was silent. Something in her chest stirred — an ache she had buried.
Venelope smiled faintly. "They protect me."
Jay tilted her head. "Protect you?"
Venelope's grin returned. "Remember the peppermint incident yesterday on the bus? The one that worked on that creep?"
Jay nodded.
"I made that myself," Venelope said with pride. "Distilled the oil from my own plants here. Pretty handy, huh?"
Jay laughed softly, impressed. "That's actually really cool."
Venelope stopped by a plant and bent slightly, motioning for Jay to join her. "Come here. Do you know what this one is?"
Jay leaned in. A white tag read: Yucca Filamentosa.
"Yucca," she read aloud. "Adam's Needle?"
Venelope nodded. "This plant… it's found in isolated, abandoned places even graveyards. There's one by my mother's grave."
Jay froze.
Venelope's voice was steady, but quiet. "It's a survivor. Its leaves were used to hang meat — tough and fibrous. You can't even cut it with a grass trimmer. It shreds everything."
She ran her fingers gently across the pointed leaves.
"They say it represents purity and strength. Its sword-like leaves symbolize protection. And its white flowers — they're like innocence that refuses to die, even in a graveyard."
Jay's throat tightened.
Venelope continued, her voice distant. "Yucca thrives in death. It grows in forgotten places, unwanted places. Places where nothing else dares to live. But it survives. Beautifully."
Jay couldn't speak. Her fingers trembled around the watering can.
"I guess," Venelope said, brushing her thumb over the flower's edge, "that's why I like it. Because sometimes, when the world forgets you… you grow sharper. And you stop needing people."
A sharp tingle crawled across Jay's cheek.
She reached up and brushed her hand over her skin — something warm. A tear.
Venelope turned to her, eyes glistening too. "You're crying, Jay."
Jay looked up at her, her voice cracking. "I… I don't know why…"
But the dam was breaking. The weight of the week, of the months before it. The ache of being unseen and lonely in a world full of people. The constant pretending and keeping a façade.
Before she could say more, Venelope pulled her into a hug.
Jay tried to smile, "what are you doing?" but then suddenly she collapsed into her, the sobs shaking her frame like an earthquake finally arriving after too long a silence.
"It's okay," Venelope whispered, her voice gentle. "You don't have to explain."