WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:10.880 The Botanical Library. Sage had walked past the narrow street 2 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:15.000 a hundred times. It sat between the flower shop on 3 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:17.920 the corner and the bakery that opened at five in 4 00:00:17.960 --> 00:00:21.480 the morning, a sliver of space so thin you could 5 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:25.760 miss it if you were walking quickly, which Sage usually was. 6 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:30.320 She walked quickly because she was always late for something, 7 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:34.439 always rushing from one place to the next, her mind 8 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:37.520 already at the destination while her body was still half 9 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:41.600 way there. But on this particular evening, she was not 10 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:46.200 late for anything. She had nowhere to be. The bakery 11 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:50.600 was closed, its windows dark, the flower shop had drawn 12 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:54.039 its curtains, and the narrow street, which she had always 13 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:57.000 assumed led to a back alley or a delivery entrance, 14 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:00.479 seemed to glow faintly at the end, as if someone 15 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:04.040 had left a light on. She turned into the street. 16 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:08.120 The walls on either side were old brick, close enough 17 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:10.680 to touch with both elbows if she spread her arms. 18 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:15.519 The ground was cobblestone, worn smooth by centuries of feet. 19 00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:20.040 At the end, no more than twenty paces away stood 20 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:22.799 a wooden door with a small brass sign that read 21 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:29.040 the Botanical Library Open to all. Sage had never heard 22 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:33.400 of a botanical library. She pushed the door open. The 23 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:37.480 room beyond was larger than the building should have allowed, 24 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:45.840 high ceilings, dark wood shelves that reached up into shadows. 25 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:50.680 But the shelves did not hold books, not in the 26 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:57.000 ordinary sense. They held glass cases, and inside each case 27 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:03.799 lay pressed flowers on pages of handmade paper, each one 28 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:10.240 carefully labeled in a small neat hand. A woman stood 29 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:15.120 behind a wooden counter near the entrance. She was old, 30 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:19.879 with white hair pulled back in a loose knot, and 31 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:24.759 soil under her finger nails. She wore a green apron 32 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:30.759 and was polishing a glass case with a soft cloth. Welcome, 33 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:37.360 she said, without looking up. Take your time. Sage wandered 34 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:42.960 deeper into the library. The air smelled of dried petals 35 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:49.199 and old wood, and something faintly sweet, like honey or vanilla. 36 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:54.960 The light came from small lamps placed at intervals along 37 00:02:55.039 --> 00:03:00.719 the shelves, each one giving off a warm am glow 38 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:04.280 that made the pressed flowers looked as if they were 39 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:10.479 still alive, still breathing. She stopped at the first shelf 40 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:15.759 and looked at the case nearest to her hand. Inside 41 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:22.199 lay a single pressed rose, deep red its petals still 42 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:28.360 full despite being dried and flattened. A small card beside 43 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:34.879 it read Rosa damasina, A love that lasted sixty years. 44 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:40.479 Sage leaned closer. As she did, A scent rose from 45 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:46.560 the case, faint but unmistakable. It smelled like rose water 46 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:50.439 and warm bread, and the particular smell of a house 47 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:54.560 where someone has been cooking for decades. She breathed it 48 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:59.080 in and felt something shift inside her, a small opening, 49 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:04.599 like door being gently pushed ajar. She could see in 50 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:09.199 her mind's eye a kitchen with a checkered curtain, a 51 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:13.159 woman stirring something on the stove, a man sitting at 52 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:17.680 the table reading a newspaper. They were old, and they 53 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:20.759 were happy, and they had been happy for a very 54 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:28.319 long time. Sage stepped back, surprised. The vision faded, but 55 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:32.279 the warmth of it lingered, like the aftertaste of good tea. 56 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:37.079 She moved to the next case. This one held a 57 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:41.600 sprig of lavender. Its purple flowers faded to a gentle gray. 58 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:47.879 The card read le Vendula and Gustaphilia, a mother who 59 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:52.480 never stopped waiting. The scent of lavender rose to meet her, 60 00:04:53.319 --> 00:04:57.839 and with it another scene, a woman standing at a window, 61 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:01.920 looking out at a road that led away into the distance. 62 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:08.199 She was not sad, exactly, but she was patient, the 63 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:11.279 kind of patient that comes from loving someone who was 64 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:16.519 far away. Sage could feel the woman's hope steady as 65 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:20.879 a heartbeat, and she could feel the moment years later, 66 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:25.839 when the road brought someone home. Sage's eyes were damp. 67 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:30.160 She wiped them quickly and moved on. The next case 68 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:34.639 held wild violets, small and purple and pressed so delicately 69 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:37.959 that the veins and the petals were still visible. The 70 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:42.680 card read Viio Odorata, A Child who found courage and 71 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:47.160 small things. The scent was green and earthy, and the 72 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:49.319 story that came with it was about a girl who 73 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:52.120 was afraid of the dark until she found a patch 74 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:56.079 of violets growing behind her house and realized that small, 75 00:05:56.199 --> 00:06:00.399 quiet things could be brave too. The girl picked the 76 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:02.439 violets and put them in a jar by her bed, 77 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:05.720 and every night she looked at them and remembered that 78 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:09.600 courage did not have to be loud. Sage stood in 79 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:11.959 the library for what felt like hours but might have 80 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:15.879 been minutes. She moved from case to case, reading flower 81 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:19.680 after flower, a book of pressed forget me nots told 82 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:23.480 the story of a friendship that survived a misunderstanding. A 83 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:27.079 volume of dried daisies spoke of a summer that changed everything. 84 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:30.800 A case of preserved radinas held the memory of a 85 00:06:30.839 --> 00:06:35.560 first dance, slow and clumsy and perfect. The old woman 86 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:39.879 behind the counter said nothing. She continued polishing her cases, 87 00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:45.879 occasionally looking up to watch Sage with a small, knowing smile. Finally, 88 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:49.399 Sage came to the last shelf. The case at the 89 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:52.560 end was smaller than the others, and inside it lay 90 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:55.720 a single pressed petal, blue and tiny, no bigger than 91 00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:59.879 a finger nail. The card read, my hot is score 92 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:04.160 poities for the one who needs to be remembered. Sage 93 00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:08.079 looked at the petal for a long time. She did 94 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:12.560 not open the case. She did not need to. She 95 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:17.439 could already feel the story. It held, a quiet one 96 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:23.240 about being seen, about being worth remembering, about the small 97 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:27.480 acts of kindness that hold the world together. She walked 98 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:31.959 back to the counter. The old woman looked up. Did 99 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:36.439 you find what you were looking for? She asked. I 100 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:41.720 wasn't looking for anything, Sage said. The old woman smiled. 101 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:47.199 That's usually when you find the most. She reached under 102 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:52.360 the counter and produced a small envelope. Inside was a 103 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:57.879 single pressed pedal, blue and tiny, identical to the one 104 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:02.959 in the last case. Forget me not, the old woman said, 105 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:08.160 for your pocket. Sage took the pedal carefully. It was 106 00:08:08.279 --> 00:08:13.120 lighter than paper and cool to the touch. She placed 107 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:17.000 it in her jacket pocket, where it rested against her heart. 108 00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:22.240 Thank you, she said. The old woman nodded and went 109 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:27.160 back to her polishing. Sage left the library and walked 110 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:31.959 home through the quiet streets. The evening was cool and still, 111 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:37.200 and the air smelled of rain on warm pavement. She 112 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:42.000 walked slowly, which was unusual for her. She was not 113 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:47.519 late for anything. She was not rushing. She was simply walking, 114 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:52.200 feeling the petal in her pocket, thinking about the stories 115 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:56.200 she had read, the lives she had glimpsed, the scent 116 00:08:56.279 --> 00:09:00.720 of roses and lavender and violet still lingering in her mind. 117 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:04.120 When she reached her apartment, she did not turn on 118 00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:08.320 the television or check her phone. She made herself a 119 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:11.399 cup of tea and sat by the window, watching the 120 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:16.879 street below. The rain had started, a soft, steady patter 121 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:21.480 on the rooftops, and the world outside looked clean. And new. 122 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:24.879 She took the Forget Me Not pedal from her pocket 123 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:28.240 and placed it on her night stand, next to her lamp. 124 00:09:29.080 --> 00:09:33.360 It was so small, so fragile, and yet it held 125 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:38.759 so much. A story about being remembered, a story about 126 00:09:38.759 --> 00:09:43.840 paying attention, a story about the quiet, patient work of 127 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:48.080 loving the world. Sage finished her tea and turned off 128 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:51.919 the lamp. The room was dark except for the soft 129 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:55.960 glow of the street light outside her window. She lay 130 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:59.720 in bed and listened to the rain and thought about 131 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:04.000 the tanical library and the old woman with soil under 132 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:07.879 her finger nails, and the pressed flowers that held the 133 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:12.679 stories of a thousand lives. She wondered if the library 134 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:16.639 would be there tomorrow. She decided it did not matter. 135 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:21.240 The petal was real, the stories were real, and the 136 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:25.799 feeling in her chest, warm and full and quiet, was 137 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:30.720 the most real thing of all. The rain continued, soft 138 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:36.559 and steady, and Sage slept deeply, dreaming of flowers and 139 00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:40.759 the lives they held, and the small blue petal on 140 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:44.720 her night stand that reminded her that everything has a 141 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:47.480 story if you know how to listen.