Makoto doesn't think of herself as living alone, even though it's true. She has an aunt who checks in on her now and then, and a neighbor helps her with groceries in exchange for Makoto's cooking. But even when she's alone in her apartment, she's got so many to care for that it feels as full as a daycare.

The bromeliad wants misting; the cactus wants repotting; and the orchid wants to be moved out of the window now that the days are getting longer. Makoto has a stack of horticulture books almost as tall as she is, and even more notes and sketches scattered in notebooks all over the apartment, and a long whiteboard on the inside of the door where she plots out which plants need what care when. The apartment is full of flowers, breathing life into the air everywhere she looks; how could she possibly be lonely?