"Tell me, child―do you sleepwalk?"
I hesitated. First, because it was an odd question, and second, because I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to answer. "No," I finally said.
"All right, then. I had thought that maybe the place you was seeing is real, and maybe it was calling to you. That happens, you know."
I was going to tell her about the problem I had with mirrors and cameras, but I stopped myself―maybe because I was afraid to hear what she might say.
"You talk about being so ugly," Miss Leticia said. "I wish I could see you to tell you that you're not. But all I see these days are shadows, like I'm lookin' through a shower curtain."
"That's all right," I told her softly. "If you saw me, you probably wouldn't even let me in here."
She laughed at that. "Is that how little you think of me?"
I didn't answer her. I knew now that Miss Leticia was a great soul, but there were some things I didn't think even a great soul could stand.
"Come here, Cara. I want to show you something."
Then Miss Leticia took my hand and led me through the greenhouse to a far corner. We pushed our way through a row of dense, lacy ferns to see the strangest growing thing I'd ever seen.
It was a pod, about three feet high, with a fat stalk pushing its way out of the top.
"Now tell me what you think this is," Miss Leticia said with a smirk.
"I have no idea."
"It comes from the rain forests of Sumatra. That stalk will grow six feet before it opens up into a flower. Take a deep whiff."
I did, but all I could smell were the sweet blooms growing elsewhere in the greenhouse.
"I don't smell it."
"No, not yet, but you will." She reached over and gently brushed her hand along the smooth stalk like it was a beloved pet. "I've been nursing this one for years, and this is the first time it's going to bloom. The Titan Arum, it's called... but some folks call it the Corpse Flower. You know why?"