The dewy grass squished under her sneakers as Meena tightened the scarf around her neck. She rounded her lips and breathed out, watched as the warm air met the cold to create a stream of condensation. She’d loved doing that as a kid, and the plume from her mouth was still satisfying. She smiled into the quiet dawn, energized because she had a mission.
She searched for the perfect spot, one that wouldn’t be too obvious at first. Only when it was too late would anyone notice. And by anyone, she meant Sabina.
A large tree at each corner gave the garden symmetry. Planting there would require too much effort because there wasn’t enough space between the tree trunk and the stones surrounding the area. The best place would be the fence that separated their garden from the one to the left. Neha’s side of the building. Meena used her phone’s measuring app to work out the available space. She could figure out the plot size once she had a rough idea.
“What are you doing?”
Meena jumped. “Sam.”
He raised his brow and waited for her answer. Wally sidled up to her more slowly than usual.
Meena bent down and scratched behind the puppy’s ears. “Hi, Wally! Why are you not running around?”
“He’s got a funny tummy,” Sam said.
“Oh no.” Meena gave Wally a sad frown. “Poor puppy.”
“He’s going to be fine,” Sam said. “As long as he doesn’t eat things that aren’t food.”
Meena gave him a few more scratches.
“Well?”
Meena straightened and tucked her phone into her jacket pocket. “Right. Um.” She should tell him. He might not like it or agree with her. He could tell on her and jeopardize the whole thing. Then she thought about it. Sam wouldn’t do that. While she wasn’t sure he was the type of person who would help her commit a felony, in her gut she knew he wouldn’t snitch.
“I’m taking up gardening?” Meena said.
He swallowed his laugh. “Is that a question?”
Meena straightened her shoulders and shook her head.
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
“I’ve done a lot of research on the internet,” Meena said.
“Did the World Wide Web tell you that it’s almost winter?” Sam asked. “Probably not the best time for planting.”
Meena gave him a smug look. “Not for what I have planned. It’s the perfect time.”
He frowned. “And you’ve talked to Sabina about it.”
Meena glanced at Wally, who sat with his chin on his paws. The poor dog looked so pitiful.
“Meena.”
“It’s a communal garden, right? Besides, it’s on this side of the building. I’m not going to mess up anything she’s doing. I just want to claim this little patch of grass.” She’d spent a lot of time thinking of ways to wage a silent battle against Sabina. Maybe too much time, but Meena couldn’t let go of the fact that Sabina didn’t want her here. And that she’d likely made Neha feel the same way. It was for Neha that she was doing this. Neha would have appreciated Meena’s efforts.
“To plant what exactly?”
Her eyes lit up as excitement coursed through her. “I watched a lot of gardening videos. Did you know that the easiest things to grow are wildflowers? And they all have these incredible names like yellow rattle, red clover, and Yorkshire fog. And what even is a lady’s bedstraw? According to the Gardening Guru YouTube channel, you get the seeds, push them into the earth in the fall. And let nature do its thing. When spring comes around, they’ll start to sprout, and by summer, it’ll be a full-on wildflower patch right here. Chaotic and unruly.”