For the first two weeks, the seed in the boot showed no signs of growth. It soon came time for the old man to administer the third drop of purple liquid. He did, and the behavior of the mysterious potion changed. 

Instead of producing a faint glow when exposed to air, it radiated a bright purple light which was still visible after seeping down the boot. Lavender rays flickered through the cracks of the soil. If someone were to look at the old man's hut from outside, they would think a purple flame was being used for an otherworldly ritual. In that instance they would not be entirely incorrect. At a pace supernaturally fast for a plant, a sprout emerged through the shining dirt in the boot and grew to about three inches tall before stopping. The purple light faded away, and the old man was left with an ordinary looking seedling with two supple leaves and a developing flower bud. 

The fourth and fifth weeks were more of the same. The potion would become greatly luminous for a few seconds during which the mysterious plant grew a few inches. By now it had four leaves, was as tall as the boot, and its flower bud was bulbous and about the size of a golf ball. There was one more day before the old man was to provide the plant with its sixth drop of purple elixir, but his curiosity challenged his patience. He wanted to feed it now to see what would blossom from the unusual bud. He had followed the instructions perfectly up until now. Around two thirds of the potion remained, but the unopened flower looked ready to bloom with just one more drop.

Was it worth risking the possibly delicate and unforgiving process to see the thing blossom one day earlier?

"Ah fuck it. Here, have this a day early." The old man uncorked the potion and fed a drop to a spot of dirt near the base of the stem. 

It sank into the soil and summoned a dazzling light from underneath. The source of the light gradually shifted position, and started travelling up the stem. Hunched over his junk filled desk, the old man tracked the moving light as it entered the flower bud through the stem.

The plant began pulsating. The light slowly diminished, and the bud revealed its flower petals. They were a ghostly white color, and shriveled away as quickly as they appeared. All that remained at the end of the stem was a human eyeball with a purple iris and green eyelids. The eyelids were thin, slimy membranes that had to stretch tight when blinking. The stem slowly swayed like a sloth, but the eyeball pivoted in its socket quickly like that of an excited or paranoid human.

An array of questions and emotional reactions flooded the old man. What the hell had he just awakened? Could it be an apocalypse-causing alien specimen? Or could it just be a harmless, unfunny mishmash of flora and fauna?

"...unscheduled... and premature...delivery..." 

A soft, atonal voice emanated gently from the air. The old man was looking directly at the eye-plant as it happened. From his perspective there was no doubt the plant was the one that spoke.

"...advanced...speech and...higher intelligence...still...maturing..."

The usually dull and unresponsive hobo was on alert and gingerly asked.

 "What are you?"