As far back as Garima can remember, she and her family always had a bottle of Aconite tincture at home. In homeopathy, highly diluted preparations of the poisonous Aconitum napellus plant are used for conditions including sudden anxiety, fever, and inflammation. Aconitum heterophyllum, while belonging to the same genus, is considered less toxic, though it too contains toxic compounds.

This particular specimen from the Herbaria drew her in because of its crumpled, folded state. Even mangled, every part of the plant remained recognisable—the stem, leaves, and flowers holding their distinct forms. It reminded her of a fossil: a record of a living thing, altered by time, far from its original geography, its colours now oxidised, yet retaining its identity in the marks and traces left behind.