WEBVTT

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The world outside was still painted in the

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muted, cool blues of night.

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But inside the Grand Conservatory, a quiet awakening

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had already begun.

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The air was thick, heavy with the scent

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of damp earth and crushed chlorophyll.

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Every surface glistened as a thick, humid atmosphere

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clung to the stone pathways and wrought iron

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beams.

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High above, the first golden rays of dawn

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pierced the glass panels,

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catching millions of suspended water droplets.

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A single, heavy beat of condensation trembled at

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the apex of the vaulted ceiling before breaking

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free,

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plunging downward through the shafts of light to

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land with a soft asterisk

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flip on a sprawling frond below.

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Leo walked down the central interior path, his

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footsteps muffled by the damp moss creeping over

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the tiles.

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As a botanist who had spent decades coaxing

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foreign life into this glass sanctuary,

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he knew every leaf by heart.

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Yet, mourning always felt like the first time.

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Around him, an ocean of exotic tropical ferns

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unfurled their intricate foliage,

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drinking in the amber warmth.

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Silver -backed ferns shimmered like scattered coins,

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while massive bird's nest ferns caught the slanted

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morning glow in their emerald funnels.

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He stopped beside a rare arching frond, gently

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brushing a finger against its velvety underside.

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The frond was cool, beaded with dew, shivering

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slightly as if reacting to his touch.

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A faint, earthy sigh seemed to rise from

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the soil as the temperature shifted,

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the whole room breathing in unison.

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Smiling, Leo leaned against a mossy pillar,

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closing his eyes to listen to the gentle

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symphony of dripping water and waking life.

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For a few quiet moments, the chaos of

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the outside world faded entirely,

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replaced by the timeless, sunlit heartbeat of the

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greenhouse.