The Someday Garden

Sophie writes a letter to the Cyrus of her present timeline, struggling to find the right words to warn him away from Lilymoor without revealing the magical circumstances. She ultimately settles on a short, ambiguous message stating that attending the party would be a “waste” of his time, and she puts it in the outgoing mail.

Later, Sophie finds Juliette looking distressed in the Central Garden. The two have an impromptu lunch at Sophie’s cottage, where Juliette reveals that the string quartet for the bicentennial has canceled, adding to her stress. They discuss Oliver, and Juliette mentions that he is the head of the family’s prestigious architecture firm and, uncharacteristically, has been staying at Lilymoor for an extended period. 

Their conversation turns to the greenhouse fire and the family’s reluctance to discuss it, reminding Sophie of mokita, an unspoken agreement to ignore a painful truth. Sophie recognizes the same behavior in her own avoidance of conversations about Harrie’s death. Juliette also discusses her dating life, and Sophie reflects on how long she has avoided romantic relationships. Their lunch ends when Juliette receives another work-related call and hurries back to the manor.

After several overcast days where the door to the secret garden doesn’t appear, Sophie begins to think her letter to Cyrus worked. However, during the next sunny evening, the door materializes in the Central Garden. Inside, she finds Cyrus and questions why he is still there. He reveals that the letter, which she had inadvertently signed with her name, had the opposite effect. He was so infuriated by a stranger telling him he not to go that he took it as a challenge and became determined to attend.

Sophie is horrified to realize that her attempt to save him may be the very reason he ends up at Lilymoor. As they discuss other possibilities, Cyrus explains that the garden reminds him of Henry’s work, whose unfinished projects sometimes seemed to possess unusual qualities. He recalls spending his childhood summers at Lilymoor and begins to suspect that Henry’s plans are connected to his imprisonment.

As sunset approaches in her time, the garden begins to warp and distort. Sophie loses her balance, and Cyrus catches and steadies her before carrying her the rest of the way to the door to prevent her from becoming trapped as well. Before she leaves, Sophie promises to investigate the garden’s connection to Henry.

While investigating the source of root rot in the Wildflower Garden, Sophie is joined by Oliver. He suggests the leak causing the damage might originate from the site of the old greenhouse, a place Eula avoids discussing. Oliver agrees to guide her to the ruins on the condition that she goes to dinner with him.

Oliver leads Sophie through a hidden opening in the Rose Court wall. Amidst the charred remains of the greenhouse, he recounts the story of the fire. As teenagers, he and Cyrus made a bonfire in the Grove, partly to impress a girl Cyrus liked. A spark escaped and ignited the greenhouse and Henry’s attached workshop, destroying his uncle’s journals and plans. Cyrus was badly burned trying to stop the blaze and insisted on taking the full blame, damaging his relationship with his family and leading him to leave Lilymoor. Although Oliver and Cyrus remained friends for several years afterward, a later argument ended their relationship.

Oliver admits that he misses Cyrus and regrets allowing him to accept responsibility for the fire alone. Sophie comforts him, and they share an intimate moment that nearly leads to a kiss, though she ultimately pulls away. They then discover a leaking spigot near the greenhouse, which appears to explain the flooding in the Wildflower Garden. Exploring Henry’s ruined workshop, Sophie discovers a water-damaged journal beneath a workbench. Inside are the sketches and plans for several gardens, including a mysterious project entitled “The Someday Garden” (186).

The next day, Sophie returns to the secret garden and shows Cyrus the journal she found. He recognizes Henry’s handwriting and confirms the plans are for the very garden they are in. He recalls that Henry had intended to build a garden for Eula as a surprise for the bicentennial, designed to capture the beauty of sunset. Cyrus also remembers Henry’s belief that Lilymoor’s magic was especially powerful around unfinished projects and unrealized dreams. He theorizes that the estate has trapped him there because it wants him to complete the garden.

When Sophie mentions that Oliver helped her find the journal, Cyrus is bitter and sarcastic about him. Sophie defends Oliver, arguing that he, too, is struggling with the past. The conversation prompts Sophie to admit that her determination to rescue Cyrus is not entirely selfless: She hopes that keeping her promise to him might compensate for the promise she could not keep to Harrie. Overcome with emotion from talking about Harrie, Sophie begins to cry. Cyrus pulls her into a comforting hug and holds her until she calms down.

Sophie reflects on her growing feelings for Cyrus and her visit the previous day. During the visit, they agreed on a plan: Cyrus would use Henry’s journal to complete the garden from inside while she searches for its physical location on the estate grounds. They also discussed the strange passage of time, where a full day for her is merely an hour for him. As she prepared to leave, Cyrus cryptically advised her to get to know Oliver better, suggesting that Oliver could be helpful and that Sophie was his romantic type. The comment left Sophie flustered and confused about her feelings just as she left.

While watering Eula’s houseplants, Sophie tells her about discovery Henry’s journal and visiting the greenhouse. Eula expresses regret about the fire and wishes she had handled the aftermath differently. Later, chaos erupts in the main house when Oliver’s attempt to organize the estate office leads to the discovery of a mouse, sending him and another employee fleeing in panic. Juliette calmly captures the rodent and releases it outside. Afterward, Oliver flirts first with Juliette and then with Sophie, whose discomfort is heightened by her memory of Cyrus’s words. Sophie retreats to the gardens, overwhelmed by her unexpected attraction to both men.

When Sophie next visits the secret garden, she brings Cyrus gardening tools. She finds he has already made significant progress on the gazebo, and the garden’s flowers seem to be blooming in response to his efforts. They share stories about their pasts. Sophie reveals that gardening became her sanctuary during childhood marked by frequent moves and difficulty making friends. Cyrus admits he was a troublemaker who was sent to Lilymoor for summers, where Henry’s guidance helped him mature and develop an appreciation for gardening.

Sophie mentions that her best friend, Harrie, was also a troublemaker. Cyrus gently encourages her to talk about Harrie, and Sophie shares her friend’s love for collecting untranslatable words, such as dustsceawung, an Old English word associated with the contemplation of dust and mortality. As they talk, Sophie notices a trumpet flower blooming unexpectedly on the gazebo above Cyrus. More flowers appear as their conversation becomes increasingly intimate, leading them to suspect that the garden is responding to his emotions. Their flirtation intensifies, and the trumpet vines continue to grow and bloom around the gazebo.

Sophie joins Oliver in the Lily Walk, where he cleverly persuades a destructive daycare group to leave by fabricating a story about poisonous flowers. He expresses his longing for the way Lilymoor used to be when Henry was alive, remembering how his great-uncle continually changed the gardens with new projects. Sophie connects his feelings to the Welsh word hiraeth which describes a longing for a home or past that can no longer be recovered. Oliver again asks her to dinner, and later, he enlists her help with Eula’s grocery shopping.

At the small-town grocery store, they are helped by the cashier, Nicole, a childhood friend of both Oliver and Cyrus. She reminisces about the boys, particularly their shared love for strawberries. Back in Sophie’s Jeep, Oliver mentions that Nicole used to have a crush on Cyrus and used to give them discounts on strawberries. Sophie asks Oliver if he has ever considered contacting Cyrus, but Oliver maintains that he has nothing to say to him. When Oliver offers Sophie a strawberry, she finds herself thinking instead about bringing some to Cyrus during her next visit.

Wykofski proudly announces that the Willow Grove restoration is complete. Meanwhile, Sophie has spent days searching for the Someday Garden’s physical location with no success. In contrast, the secret garden itself is flourishing under Cyrus’s care. During her next visit, Sophie finds him looking happy, though he tries to mask it by complaining about the time he is wasting away from work. She confronts him, arguing that his cold, detached professional persona does not reflect the compassionate man she has come to know. Cyrus admits that he has spent years trying to become someone different from the person he was in his youth, fearing that his earlier mistakes define him. Sophie reassures him that he is a good man and kisses him on the cheek.

Later in the week, Sophie brings Cyrus a basket of strawberries from the estate. As they share them, he reveals a hint of jealousy over her time with Oliver, and they discuss the comparisons that have followed the cousins since childhood. Their teasing becomes increasingly flirtatious, culminating in Cyrus pulling Sophie into a passionate kiss. As they embrace, the garden erupts in blooms around them.

However, Sophie is suddenly overwhelmed by the fear of falling in love only to lose him. She realizes that embracing a future with Cyrus would mean allowing her life to move forward, taking her further from the time when Harrie was alive. Frightened that finding happiness might feel like leaving her best friend behind, Sophie abruptly pulls away. Although Cyrus is visibly hurt, he accepts her decision. Sophie flees the garden, still determined to find a way to free him.