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The flowers garnishing the lay around Ali's neck let off a heavenly perfume. She reached

up and traced her fingertip around the delicate petal and along the curves of waxy green leaves.

She breathed in deeply. The aromatic blooms mingled with the sweet spring rain coming down on her.

Ali's stood beneath a broad mighty tree. Its wide branches and dense leaves protected her from

the passing storm. She was so excited to be in Hawaii. She'd just arrived on the island of

Kauai and was waiting for a car to take her to the small bungalow where she'd spend the night.

Tomorrow she would head out on an adventure that she'd been looking forward to for quite some time.

She was going to hunt for orchids.

Ali was a botanist. She loved all things that grew and had fond memories of long and lazy

afternoons spent in the botany lab at school. She used to wile away the hours peering at stems,

petals and leaves under a microscope. On weekends she'd head for the hills in search of new specimens.

She kept small books of delicately pressed flowers in a shoebox by her bed.

Now that she'd finished school, Ali spent her days working with wild flowers in the California

Shapara. She loved hiking through the rolling hills by fallen sagebrush crunch beneath her feet,

releasing its sweet and savory scent with each step.

Every year Ali used her vacation time to visit a new place. She'd book a plane ticket,

pack her bags and go in search of some rare or special plant.

She sought out Jasmine in the Philippines and sing Caribbean Pion for the first time in Aruba.

...