#7 Jack

Kolkata - 31st August 2021

Jack loves plants. He enjoys the greenery, he loves to water the trees in his backyard once in a while. He loves to touch the leaves, feel the stem, smell the flowers. He can almost talk to the trees.

In a fourth standard biology class in school he learnt that plants grow from seeds: you put them in soil and with just the right conditions, a plant magically breaks out of the soil. A new beginning.

That was 3 years ago.

Jack sits outside looking at his wilting mango sapling, under the high afternoon sun. It's about 1.5 feet tall, it's the biggest one he has ever grown. He looks at it carefully, softly touching its leaves. He slowly grabs the tender stem with both his hands, tugging at it lightly. The soil moves, a bit. Jack, breathing heavily, withdraws. Looks at it again. It's been exactly 89 days, 6 hour and 17 minutes, since he planted it. It is growing, but it is not growing fast enough. How do people grow huge trees, he wonders, in disbelief.. maybe...

Then, he grabs it's again, with one smooth yank, pulls it right out of ground, roots and all.

Peter, watching Jack through the window, mutters to himself:

"Jack loves trees, but his impatience makes him a terrible gardener... He loves them too much."

Yanking at the plant doesn't make it grow.

He keeps forgetting that.