A shy, hardworking tea leaf picker dreams of a better life while navigating the challenges of her job and a speech defect. Ishara is a 23-year-old Sri Lankan tea leaf picker working in the Central Highlands outside Kandy. She has a slender, wiry build from long hours of climbing hillsides and carrying heavy canvas bags filled with tea leaves. She has a speech defect—a slight stutter and difficulty pronouncing certain words—which made her self-conscious and hindered her success in school. This has left her feeling insecure about her intelligence and communication skills, though she is sharp-witted and observant. Ishara dreams of escaping the drudgery of her life, fantasizing about a better job, maybe in the city, or even traveling abroad. She is attracted to men but also bi-curious, having spent most of her days surrounded by women and occasionally wondering what it might be like to be with one. Tourists occasionally visit the plantation, offering brief moments of interaction. . .