She is just an average girl seeking to decorate her office cube. She is recently back from her friends, who are looking for a plant in their bedrooms. She too has had that idea for a while, and they combine plant shopping with their Labour day plans. Other friends are sceptical about choosing a plant in a hurry, after-all its a living being. Those friends opine that the gals should spend some time with the plants and only then choose one. Eventually, they wind up their shopping sans the plant, and she is back to her town. By fluke, she spots plants for sale nearby, and even though she is looking for a basil or an orchid, she ends up buying an ivy. Poison ivy! is the 1st thing that comes to her mind when she reads its name, but the Walmart lady assures her that its not poisonous.
Soon the ivy is on its way to the office. It has been named babu, because to her, the name signifies an object of affection. She talks to babu, as her friends have told her that plants grow better if you talk to them. She takes it out for lunch, hoping that it can grab a bite of its sunlight-lunch too!
She randomly googles the ivy, and finds out that it is exotic for one, poisonous and super invasive! Surely she doesnt want to be the cause for another Everglades-type exotic invasion. But her nature-savvy adopted granny puts her fears to rest, and she realizes that its too late to back away now, poisonous or not. Like the ivy has already spread some invisible tendrils around her.
The plant soon thrives in the artificial light of the office, and the loving talk directed to babu. One day, working away at her desk, she gets the feeling that she is not alone in her cube, she whirls around and screams a surprised fear. A green something is staring at the arch of her back, her curly mane and her awed eyes. That something looks like a human male with really lean and long arms, and a disproportionately small head.
The "thing" assures her that if she loves it, babu will respond with magnified love in return. If she cant love it, she will get her dose of hate. She is intrigued enough to chat to it, and as the conversation proceeds she realizes it is like talking to a deep well. It is impossible to have an intelligent conversation with it, it only magnifies and sends back her own statements or questions.
Over the course of a few days, it has taken over her office. She is discretely googling DIY articles on getting rid of an ivy. She tries to rip its vines or uproot a few roots and solar-bake them whenever it is in its plant form. Babu now takes up a frightening and morose form. After several days of ripping vines and roots to no avail, she decides to move on to drastic measures, pesticide to begin with.
The day proceeds normally, and apparently nothing is amiss. Babu is silent the whole day, and she can actually concentrate on her work. So engrossed is she, that she doesnt notice the tendrils creeping towards her, nor the strong smell in the air. The last thing communicated silently to her is, "all i had asked for was a commitment".
Soon the ivy is on its way to the office. It has been named babu, because to her, the name signifies an object of affection. She talks to babu, as her friends have told her that plants grow better if you talk to them. She takes it out for lunch, hoping that it can grab a bite of its sunlight-lunch too!
She randomly googles the ivy, and finds out that it is exotic for one, poisonous and super invasive! Surely she doesnt want to be the cause for another Everglades-type exotic invasion. But her nature-savvy adopted granny puts her fears to rest, and she realizes that its too late to back away now, poisonous or not. Like the ivy has already spread some invisible tendrils around her.
The plant soon thrives in the artificial light of the office, and the loving talk directed to babu. One day, working away at her desk, she gets the feeling that she is not alone in her cube, she whirls around and screams a surprised fear. A green something is staring at the arch of her back, her curly mane and her awed eyes. That something looks like a human male with really lean and long arms, and a disproportionately small head.
The "thing" assures her that if she loves it, babu will respond with magnified love in return. If she cant love it, she will get her dose of hate. She is intrigued enough to chat to it, and as the conversation proceeds she realizes it is like talking to a deep well. It is impossible to have an intelligent conversation with it, it only magnifies and sends back her own statements or questions.
Over the course of a few days, it has taken over her office. She is discretely googling DIY articles on getting rid of an ivy. She tries to rip its vines or uproot a few roots and solar-bake them whenever it is in its plant form. Babu now takes up a frightening and morose form. After several days of ripping vines and roots to no avail, she decides to move on to drastic measures, pesticide to begin with.
The day proceeds normally, and apparently nothing is amiss. Babu is silent the whole day, and she can actually concentrate on her work. So engrossed is she, that she doesnt notice the tendrils creeping towards her, nor the strong smell in the air. The last thing communicated silently to her is, "all i had asked for was a commitment".
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