The plant agreed. Or at least, I thought they did. As I placed their vase on the windowsill, they started stretching their limbs, moving their leaves to better absorb the light of the sun. They were a young plant.  A “Sensitive Fern,” the man at the nursery had told me. I was confused by the name, but I hadn’t asked for an explanation. I just assumed the name referred to their soft texture. Anyway, the plant looked happy on their new perch, or as happy as a plant could ever look.

I didn’t have a green thumb, but, over the years, I had managed to satisfy a few plants enough for them not to put in a request to be relocated to a more suitable habitat, under the care of a more competent caretaker. Some people were not allowed to care for plants at all. Plants shunned them, and being shunned by plants was looked down upon in society. We were supposed to get along, plants and humans. We were supposed to take care of each other.

We all had our role in the ecosystem. Eco as in house, household. Each and every household was a system, all contained within the boundaries of an even larger house: Planet Earth, the largest ecosystem of all.

Of course, taking care extended to more than keeping a potted plant alive. Potted plants and humans living in the same ecosystem, or household, were supposed to be companions, sharing space and resources, mutually supporting each other. The rest of the world was a completely different story. People, humans and beyond, had different jobs, which saw humans collaborating with plants and other animal species to keep very complex and interconnected ecosystems healthy and thriving.

I wasn’t that important. My job was in storage, but I didn’t mind. Society at large, plants included, needed things, tools, well stored and catalogued, and I was happy to do my part. Sharing my living space with house plants was more of a side job, something every respectable citizen was expected to do. It was my duty to take care of them, for house plants needed houses to do their part and contribute to their role in society. We all had our jobs, as decided and dictated by society.

The plant, however, really did seem to agree. They stretched their leaves even higher and sighed, as the wind ruffled their limbs. I smiled. Maybe, I would put in a request for another green companion. I might not have a green thumb, but who cares what color my fingers are. We just need to understand each other.