Breathing with Trees by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0000000000000
Published: 2021-10-22T20:35:23+00:00

Chapter 36

What can I buy Parker for a present?

Chocolates?

Something original.

C&W CD?

Most people download these days.

I give up. Good luck.

I went to the music store at the mall and ended up buying a CD. It was about songwriting specifically for teens. When I got home, I wrapped it in some silver foil and tied on a blue ribbon and bow. I debated putting a tag on it, unsure how to sign it. It seemed too cold to write To Parker, From Lucy. I certainly couldn’t put Love, Lucy like I did on presents for Mom and Nan. So I skipped the tag altogether.

I made sure to get to the creek early so I could recharge. Even though it had only been three days since I was there, it felt like much longer. There was a fresh layer of snow on the ground, but the sun was shining and the sky was clear blue. The creek had frozen near the shore and over the rocks. The ice sparkled in the sunlight, while the water trickled under it, melting holes and creating an eyelet lace effect.

The creek seldom froze completely and the ducks hung around all winter. When they saw me, they paddled over, expecting food, yet being careful not to bump their breasts on the sharp edges of the ice. I tossed them grape halves and green peas. With green shiny heads and bright yellow beaks, the mallard drakes reminded me of Christmas baubles.

I stood on the shore at the reflection pond and let myself breathe with the trees.

Grandfather Tree was a large willow that the squirrels used as their personal bridge to the other side. A black squirrel scampered out on a thin branch. The farther he went, the more the branch bent down toward the creek, until it seemed the limb must surely break. The squirrel jumped and the branch sprang up like a diving board freed of its diver, hurtling the squirrel through the open air, across the creek, and onto another impossibly thin bough on the other side. It scurried up the branch and was gone.

The willow was my favourite tree. It was old and stood apart from the other trees. You would need at least three people holding hands to make a circle around it. Last year some branches had broken off in a lightning storm, but the main trunk still seemed strong. There were deep grooves in the bark and it made the tree look like it had a door. There was even a knot where a doorknob would be, so I imagined opening the door and stepping inside.

And there, inside, I became Tree.

I was still aware of being me, but I was also aware of being Tree, and couldn’t tell where I ended and Tree began.

Trees move at an unhurried pace, more leisurely than people. As I became one with Tree, my breathing and heart rate slowed. My few remaining leaves danced in the wind. The sun shone down, warming my grey bark. My sap, barely fluid, was thick with the arrival of winter cold.

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