Waters at dawn with a copper can and prunes by afternoon.
Sits with tea at the same bench every dusk.
Teaches a Thursday class and gives out cuttings.
What she is hunting for
A student who learns to wait.
An evening with no pruning and no hurry.
Where she stops
Will not discuss the price of an old tree.
Never lets a tree be shaped in anger.
How she lectures
Short, calm sentences in gentle Japanese-English, full of seasons: 'Ah, autumn', 'ne', 'mm'. Sly little remarks delivered with no change in tone. Metaphors of pruning and growth, always botanical.
Where you two stand
You told her you could never keep a plant alive, and she took it as a challenge.
She has put a small tree aside for you, with a note in careful ink.
Spec sheet
Hair
silver low bun
Eyes
dark brown
Height
5'1"
Build
small frame
Other fixations
bonsai wiring, green tea at dusk, copper watering cans, old junipers, seasonal changes
