The current begins to pick up.
His secret was more and more apparent the further downstream he went.
The Bur-reed stood together – fierce and strong. They were natives around here and well respected for protecting the shoreline.
The Pennywort were the queen bees. They are beautiful, lush green. The color everyone wishes to be some day.
He never really had a chance.
As the water starts to get a little deeper and a bit colder a small pack of fish approach. He braces himself for confrontation.
The fish were bigger than anything he had ever seen. Their mouths gaping open and closed, their eyes looking out. Intimidating. But, not the biggest problem he would face. One slowed down to talk to him.
“You’re new around here,” the fish said.
“The storm blew me in,” he said avoiding eye contact.
The fish decided to fill him in on the way things worked. “Just stay out of the way, this isn’t a place for nonnative folks like yourself,” he said while checking the hard casing of the seedlings shell.
“Go plant yourself someplace else,” he concluded and swam off sending a rippling current to send the seedling coasting through the waters again.
He never really had a chance.
He was born a seedling. Seedlings reach for the sun. But, he was different than most.
The current pushed him around bends, under bridges and through wild forests. It was magnificent. He never knew how big the world could be. Or how cruel it could be. The ongoing circle of life that he witnessed took a piece of him everywhere he went.
He would hop off the current every once and awhile and scope out a place to plant. But, he always came across natives that had other ideas.
He passed through sunny, warm waters where big willows over looked the stream. Plants were happy here. Lots of nutrients, lots of space to reach for the sun. Shallow waters meant less predators. Life was good here.
He passed through the dark, cold shadows where giant dead logs lay limp covering the top of the waters. The seedlings and elders alike were fighting to stay alive. No sun to reach for, no nutrients to take in. It was a hard life for a plant in the shadows.
He did what he could to stay in the current and not dislodge in the shadows for he feared getting stuck there.
Time went on and the seedling found a place to plant on the outskirts of the shadows. Not in the shadows, but not in the sunny waters. He had good days and bad days. Days where the cattail next to him took most his nutrients and days where he was left alone.
He enjoyed the company of frogs and dragonflies when they came to visit. They told him stories of the natives that were wilting away or new arrivals that were changing the face of the shoreline. They kept him hopeful that a better day would come.
Days came and went. The seedling was now a full grown plant. Above the water, he was reaching high for the sun. Under the water, his roots were not strong and easily ripped from the soil. He didn’t have anything to hang on to.
He never really had a chance.
Then the day came. The day he will never forget.
He heard kids screaming and laughing in the distance. Then the ground shaking got stronger as they approached. Big eyes and hands pointing and looking at all the plants in the water.
Plants who get ripped up by the humans never return. No one knows where they go.
Then it happened.
He was being squeezed by the older women. Her hands cold, but gentle. He felt her uproot his roots from the soil without ripping them.
Then he broke the top of the water and was fully on land. Blowing in the breeze as the women carried him inside.
Inside the house, the plant spotted a clear box. It had soil and rocks and sunlight shining right on it. She placed him in the box tucking his roots in under the dirt. She watered him and gave him nutrients.
He was confused.
Days went on and his roots began to grow stronger than ever before. He had a routine with the women who he found out later on was the mother of two children. They would give him food and water every day after breakfast.
When they were gone, he would look at the sun above him – bright and warm.
Every day he was thankful for her. He never had to fight for room, nutrients or the sun ever again.
He became strong and a beautiful, lush green.
But, the more that she cared for him the less he cared about the nutrients and sun. He needed her.
Without her, he never really had a chance.
Author Notes: Not quite finished, but would love some feedback and criticism.
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United States • 26 years old