Jinki was worn out. He’d been travelling for 2 weeks straight, trying to find shortcuts between different pieces of land. In order to save energy he’d been in his water form the whole time, so he was more than ready to sit on some island and feel the sun on his skin. As he swam along, he came across an island he hadn’t encountered before. It seemed sturdy enough from under the water. Poking his head out of the water, it looked small enough to be uninhabited. There was a single mangrove tree on the beach, with tons of stringy roots going out into the water. Further up the beach was what seemed like a tiny jungle-like area. I bet I can use that tree to help myself out of the water he thought as he swam closer. Though he could easily switch between human and water form, it wasn’t always easy to get used to the pressure difference. As he got closer he started to change form, starting at his head. He had reached the tree by the time he got to the tree, so he reached out to grab a hold while he waited for his legs. Out of all the things he was expecting for this island, a screaming tree was not one of them. He let go in surprise, putting all his effort into finishing changing as quickly as possible.

“It’s not very nice to try and pull someone’s leg off you know!”

Jinki opened his eyes. The tree he’d been holding onto was gone and in its place sat a boy that looked about the same age as himself, eyes wide with fear.

“Oh I’m so sorry! You see, I thought I was grabbing a tree” Jinki replied..

The boy laughed. “You did grab a tree.”

Now Jinki was confused. He began looking around for the tree.

“I can turn into a tree. I was sitting out here to rest and thought it’d be nice to stretch out in the sun,” the boy explained as he moved nearer to Jinki. “Normally I have a still and quiet disposition as a tree but you yanked my root a little too hard.”

“You can turn into a tree??? How did you even figure that out? For that matter, how did you get to this island?”

“Yes, I can’t remember, and I don’t know. All I know is my name is Minho and I can grow and turn into plants.”

As if to prove to Jinki that this wasn’t some sort of hoax, Minho touched the ground between them; as he brought his hand up, a small water lily sprang up. He brought his hand closer to Jinki. His fingers stretched out into thin branches, little leaves growing at the ends. He sat still and laughed quietly when Jinki grabbed his hand to check if it was a magic trick. Jinki had spent many many years at sea and seen many things, but nothing quite as interesting as this.

“Wow, Minho. That’s really something.” he said after a while.

“So now that you know about me, who are you? How did you get to my island? I don’t see a boat or anything,” Minho asked, hands returning to normal.

“Oh, I’m Jinki. I’m a water spirit.”

Minho looked confused. Jinki stood, putting a hand out in front of him. As he brought it back towards himself, a wave started to form. It crashed on the beach a little larger than intended, soaking both boys. He looked down at Minho; the boy’s eyes were even bigger than before as he stared out at the water.

“Wow, Jinki. That’s so cool,” he whispered.

Jinki laughed, then turned around to look at the rest of the island behind them.

“So is it just you here?” he asked.

“Yeah. There was someone else a long time ago but they left and now it’s just me.” Minho replied, still staring at the sea. He stood up suddenly, turning to Jinki.

“Do you want to see my garden? No one’s seen it before!”

Jinki nodded and followed Minho towards the jungle behind them. As they got closer, he realized that the trees were all grown into each other. Branches crossed branches and trunks seemed to pass through each other to form what he assumed was a fence. Thick vines reinforced the joints while moss and what looked like wisteria blossoms filled the gaps and formed a privacy barrier. He’d heard of fairy rings from sailors he’d met and talked with and wondered if this is what they’d meant. Although he was a water spirit, he knew enough to be afraid of other spirits. After a while the reached a hole where it looked like a tree had died, leaving only the vines that used to hold it together. Minho pulled back the vines and gestured for Jinki to enter. It was dark for a few steps and then the light returned.

The garden itself seemed larger from the inside than Jinki had thought, but it may have just been how the place was literally bursting with life. Some of plants were familiar to Jinki: he’d seen them on shorelines of different waterways and in boxes on cargo ships and painted on porcelain. Others were completely new. They were all organized into plots, though by what criteria he couldn’t quite see. Along the perimeter were fruit trees that seemed to bear multiple types instead of just one, and in between them were little plots with what he assumed were vegetables. All the way across the garden was a hammock, seemingly made out of fabric but held up by more vines. In the middle of the garden was a huge stone slab that was vaguely reminiscent of a table with a few tree stump seats around it. It was covered in different cuttings, roots, and bulbs.

“So what do you think?”

Jinki turned around to look at Minho.

“It’s...so much,” he replied.

Minho looked confused and slightly disappointed.

“It’s a lot more than I thought I’d would be in here,” Jinki explained. “I’m just surprised is all. It’s really beautiful.”

Minho seemed pleased with the answer and began pointing things out.

“I grew an apple tree one night after I had a dream about eating one. I hadn’t seen one before that I can remember, but then all of a sudden I knew exactly what it was.”

Jinki reached out to grab an apple but instead found a pear in his hand. He looked up at Minho.

“You know this is a pear not an apple, right?” he asked, holding it out. Minho laughed.

“Yeah, I was getting to that part. After the apple tree I began remembering all sorts of fruits that grow on trees. The thing is I only have so much space for trees. Too many trees and I don’t have root room for flowers and stuff.” Minho bent down to check the trunk. “When I figured out lemons and limes, I remembered them together. So when I made the tree they were together. After I tried them I realized they were different fruits, but they grew ok together. So then I thought about saving space by just growing fruits together. A book came on the shore one day. It was all about fruits and vegetables: how they fit into families, what grows best together, how long they take to grow. So I studied it for a while and decided how to make my trees. So when a branch fell off one of the established tree, I’d change that part of the tree. I have 12 trees I’ve got it now where each one grows three different kinds of fruit.”

Now that he knew what to expect, Jinki went around to each tree to see what was growing. He’d seen a lot of bizarre things in his travels above and below water, but this garden was definitely in the top ten. Minho stayed put by the apple and pear tree, watching with anticipation. After going through all the trees, Jinki began wandering around the rest of the garden. Minho went to the stone table and began tending to some bulbs.

“How do you know so many plants, Minho?”

“Most of the edible stuff I know from that book. Otherwise, I dream about them and then all of a sudden I know the name and how to grow it. Like someone puts them in my head. If I have a description of it I can grow it.”

Jinki finished looking around and joined Minho at the table. He watched Minho inspect the bulbs and fiddle with them so that they began to sprout.

“So can you photosynthesize?” he asked.

“Can I what?”

“Well you can grow and turn into plants, right? And plants make energy by taking in sunlight and doing the photosynthesis thing. Can you do that too or do you like have to actually eat like people do?”

Minho paused for a moment, obviously processing the information.

“I don’t really have to eat in like ‘eat or die’ kind of way but I feel better if I do. If I’m a plant then I work like a plant and do the sunlight thing but I can’t do it as a person.”

Jinki nodded. He noticed it was getting dark and looked up at the sky. Through the tree canopy he realized that the sun was practically setting.

“Do you need to leave? I understand if you do,” Minho asked.

“Yeah, I probably should. I can’t remember the last time I spent this much time out of water, much less the last time I spent the night out of water.”

They both stood and headed back for the doorway. Minho drew the vines back again and they stepped out onto the beach. Jinki hadn’t realized how stressed he’d become being out of the view of the ocean.

“Is this the only time I’m going to see you?” Minho asked, sadness evident in his voice.

Jinki paused. He hadn’t thought about it. Both the boy and the garden were interesting enough though that he figured he’d be back at least once.

“I’ll come see you sometime. I don’t really have a schedule but I’ll definitely come back.”

Minho attempted to smile but it was clear he wasn’t convinced. Jinki took a step back towards him.

“What’s the matter?”

“You’re the first person that’s ever come to see me. My first friend. I just don’t want to be alone anymore.” he said shyly.

Jinki put his hand on Minho’s shoulder.

“I promise I’ll come back. Look for me next week, ok?”

Minho nodded. Jinki wanted to stay, figure out why Minho was out here alone on this island with seemingly no memory of anything, but it was getting too late and he knew he had to go. He walked down to the water before turning back and waving. Minho waved back with a sad smile as Jinki continued into the water. He let himself dissolve into his water form, watching Minho. He noticed how tired and lonely the other looked now that he was alone. He waited until Minho made his way back into the jungle before heading off. Maybe he’d visit tomorrow, just to make sure everything was okay.