What Wild Women Do by Karma Brown

Author:Karma Brown [Brown, Karma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-24T00:00:00+00:00

“IT WOULD BE so easy to get lost out here.” As we hike back the way we came, I look around at the thick-trunked trees, the saplings reaching toward the canopy, the rocks covered in blue lichen surrounding us. They all look identical to the trees, rocks, and plants we passed fifty paces back.

“One of my favorite things to do is to get lost in the woods,” Jess replies. “I try to do that at least once a week.”

I think about perspective. About how while losing my way in the forest feels terrifying to me, especially if I’m alone, for Jess it’s a positive experience. Even more, it’s something she seeks.

“Do you ever miss things? Like, the creature comforts of city life? Being able to get to a Target in under five minutes? Or spontaneously going to a restaurant for dinner? Having drinks with friends on the weekend?”

“Oh, for sure,” Jess replies. “The luxury of picking up groceries daily, or walking into a coffee shop and getting a hot cappuccino someone else made for you . . . with a fancy design in the foam.” She lets out a small, wistful groan.

“I have learned I make truly terrible coffee,” I say. “I could blame the ancient coffee maker at the cabin, but I don’t think that’s it. I’m spoiled, I guess.”

“Nah, blame the old-ass coffee maker.” Jess grins, then pulls out her water bottle.

“I don’t really miss the crowds, or the hustle of that life,” she says, looking up at the tree canopy overhead. My eyes follow hers. A slight breeze makes the leaves tremble, allowing rays of sun to reach down to the smaller saplings below. Jess’s bare shoulders are swathed in patterns of dancing light. “Did you know trees talk to each other?”

“Really?” I say.

Jess nods, still looking up. “They communicate what they need, and then send each other nourishment.”

She crouches, digging her fingers deep into the moss and soil underneath. With gentle fingers she unearths a spindly white root. It has tendrils of baby roots covering its surface, like new hair growth. “They use networks of fungi, buried deep underground, to spread the nutrients around. Like the way electricity moves through wires.”

Jess carefully tucks the root back into the earth, and stands. “I know I’m a bird lady, but trees are cool as hell. It’s all connected.”

Suddenly, everything around us seems more vibrant. More alive.

“I used to feel like something was missing, in my old life. There was this void, even though I was surrounded by people. By things I really didn’t need but felt compelled to collect,” Jess says. “But now, surrounded instead by all these beautiful, magical trees and the birds that call them home, that sense of emptiness is gone. Even though we’re so isolated out here, I’m never lonely. Funny, isn’t it?”

“It is,” I reply softly. Sometimes all I see is what’s missing.

Jess takes a drink from her water bottle, and I notice a crescent moon of black earth under her fingernails. I stare at the slivers of dirt for a moment, thinking about what she said.

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