Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Hunting for Orchids (Premium)

Episode Date: May 18, 2020

This is a preview episode. Get the full episode, and many more, ad free, on our supporter's feed: https://getsleepy.com/support. Hunting for Orchids  Narrated by Thomas Jones. Venture to Hawaii and wander through its breathtaking landscapes in search of flowers.     About Get Sleepy Premium: Help support the podcast, and get: Monday and Wednesday night episodes (with zero ads) The exclusive Thursday night bonus episode Access to the entire back catalog (also ad-free) Premium sleep meditations, extra-long episodes and more! We'll love you forever. ❤️ Get a 7 day free trial, and join the Get Sleepy community here https://getsleepy.com/support. And thank you so, so much.  Tom, and the team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, Thomas here. You're listening to a preview episode. You can enjoy the entire story tonight by subscribing to our supporters' feed. There you'll get access to the entire back catalogue, bonus episodes, and more, and it's all completely ad-free. Click the link below to learn more and thank you so so much. Me and the team really appreciate your support. 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. Alias 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 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. Allia 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 while 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, Alia spent her days working with wildflowers in the California shaperow. 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 Alia 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 Pine for the first time in Aruba. She'd walked amongst fields of Heather in the Scottish Highlands and wandered through hillsides of Lupin in Alaska. Now she'd come to Hawaii in search of its native orchids. Many people associate Hawaii with orchids because of the pink, purple and white flowers that are commonly used in Lays. These dendrobium orchids are widely cultivated now, but aren't actually native to the area. In fact, there are only three native orchids of the islands. They are the Hawaiian Jould orchid, the Hawaiian Wydelip orchid, and the rarest of them all, the Hawaiian Bok

orchid. From what should be reading, it seemed like all three could be found in the high forests and marshes of a few of the Hawaiian islands. The boggled kid, in particular, would be hard to track down. While it used to be more abundant, now there were only three islands known to still have these plants. Kauai was one of them. She'd have to hike high into the remote mountains and have a bit of good luck to find one. In the morning, Alia would begin her search, and for that, she needed a good night's rest. The car she'd been waiting for pulled up beside her and the driver waived politely. She opened the door, put her bag on the back seat and climbed in next to it. It wouldn't

be too long of a drive to the bungalow the driver told Alia. She could sit back and relax and they'd be there in no time. Alia rested her head on the back of the seat and looked out of the window. Everything was running on island time. Unlike the busy freeways of the California coast where she lived, people here drove more slowly. They lifted a hand from the steering wheel to Greek passing drivers and took their time and getting where they needed to go. The soft melodic sounds of ukulele music drifted into the back seat from the dashboard radio. Alias smiled. It was all so relaxing.

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