Gab (1)
“Did you just water it?” she asked as she went and examined the plant. The area was surrounded by a puddle of water that Lia could almost guess what was wrong. Solving a different problem lifted her mood. Now, this was something she could handle.

It was a small pot of echeveria, a plant that was easy to take care of. But at the moment, it was on the verge of dying.

The child nodded and pointed at the bucket he used. It was still half full. “How much water did you give this plant?”

“One and a half buckets.”

“Is this what the gardener told you to do?”

“No, my cousin did. He told me to water my plants so it will grow like his plants.”

Lia sighed, fighting the urge to smack that cousin. “You see, uhm, what’s your name again?”

“Gab,” he answered timidly. He fidgeted as though waiting to be scolded. Someone seemed to squeeze Lia’s heart after seeing that. She tried to soften her tone.

“You see, Gab, this plant you have is small, it doesn’t need that much water. If you give it a lot, it will drown and die.”

“But won’t it need more water to grow?” He looked up at her, unsure.

Lia sat on the dry part of the floor beside him. “Look at it this way. What happens if you eat and drink even after you are full?

“I’ll throw up?”

She nodded. “That happens with plants too. Not all of them have equal needs for water. See this,” she lightly touched a leaf, and it fell off, “that’s a sign that you might be overwatering this plant. It’s a good thing that the leaves at the top haven’t turned yellow yet or worse, have spots. We might be able to stop it from dying.”

“This is a new plant. The previous once turned yellow and died,” Gab explained.

“That’s why we wait until it’s completely dry before watering again.” Gab listened intently as Lia explained to him what to do to his plant. While she had handled different plants already, she was a beginner when it comes to handling kids. But with a polite and obedient child as Gab, she would not mind spending more time with him.

“So this is why I can’t grow plants like my cousin,” he sniffed, eyeing the big plant near them. Lia guessed that this was the plant of his cousin. “He’ll tease me again.”

Lia rubbed his back, up and down. “Maybe if we keep this under the sun, we can still dry this and it will grow again. Don’t lose hope. I’ll help you take care of it. And it will look better than your cousin’s.”

“Really?” He turned his tear-stained face at Lia. When Lia nodded, he hugged her, and for the first time, he smiled.

Lia enjoyed talking about plants to Gab that she did not realize the time. By the time she noticed, it was getting dark.

“Isn’t it about time for you to go home?” she asked.

“You don’t want me here?” the puppy eyes assaulted Lia. “Won’t your parents look for you?” Since earlier, she had been racking her brain, trying to remember if there was a child in the novel and whose kid it was, but she came up with nothing.

“My father would, but he’s sick at the moment.”

“Then you should be by his side. We can meet again next time.” Lia smiled.

His eyes sparkled at that. “Next time? You’ll be here tomorrow?”

Lia did not have the heart to correct him and say that it might not exactly be the next day, but she still said yes.

Gab gave her one last hug before running back home.