Ezra

Ezra has always felt closer to plants than to people. He comes from money; his family is old-fashioned, simultaneously overbearing and emotionally distant. They had strict expectations of how Ezra would behave, who he would be, and what choices he would make in life. This led him to develop a fear of disappointing people, a "don't speak unless spoken to" demeanor, and anxiety that makes it difficult to connect to others.

College has given Ezra the chance to explore who he really is. He's had the chance to indulge his love of poetry, and he works in a local plant nursery owned by Harry and Susan Consiglio, an elderly couple who have low-key decided that he's their unofficial grandchild. Whenever he returns home, he still pretends to be the dutiful son who lives by his parents' rules. On his own, though? He's discovered that he's good at writing, that he likes flowers, and that people can make his heart beat faster regardless of their gender.

He's no stranger to hiding secrets from his parents. When he was a kid, he discovered that plants would grow faster and flowers would bloom if he asked them to. With time, he'll find that he can heal plants from diseases or infestations, and that he could grow a forest from a single seed if he wanted to. Ezra is full of inner strength--he just needs the chance to grow.