Common Alder (deciduous, monoecious) by E.A Colquitt
They were the last to be planted. Packed in earth, Their roots dug deep, finding water – and with it, impressions of the world above soil.
They had a lake. They had, sometimes, sunlight. They had Human: snow-coloured moss, a small, bulbous branch, and two dark hollows above on either side.
More? They reached up with a shoot. Human vanished.
Time is different for Them. Years are measured in rings. Day and night exist as moments of light and dark. Simple conversations span whole seasons.
They had grown tall enough to feel Others swaying on each side. Others had faces, small and circular in the bark, or pointed around a blossoming bough.
They were fascinated. They stretched Their twigs, sprouted leaves that fanned up and out, asking, When did you grow those?
Others replied in a rustle from the west, in a southern susurrus. After the finches nested.
After the child caught in our branches.
They began to search, but everything the world offered burned into Their sap. Impressions were smoke and fire and the wrong kind of ash. Where was the water?
They began to cry, out at the very roots: How do you do it?
Others sent messages on the wind, in the colours of sun and soil. They felt each brush over Their bark before settling… ah, there it was… in the lake.
The right impressions will find you, Others breathed, and you’ll be strong and lush enough to see them.
But be careful which you choose, for you can only imprint once.
When these hushes left, so did the fire, but it was not an improvement. Moments of dark were long and cold. Their roots could hardly move, and the wind grew fierce; They bent in strange angles getting out of the way.
They hadn’t seen Human in rings.
It was a still, clear moment of light when Their eyes opened properly.
The world smoothed out before Them in the lake. They saw that They had grown crooked over the shoreline. They saw that They were also strong and lush. Soon, like Others, They would be tall enough to sway.
Then, Their gaze grew closer. They had spotted something, and for many moments afterwards nothing else held Their attention quite like it. Only a hawk, from a perch sticking up out of the lake, witnessed it… witnessed Them: a bulbous branch hanging over the water’s edge, soil-coloured moss, and two dark hollows above on either side.
Written by E.A Colquitt
E.A Colquitt is based in the north of England. Currently working on her first novel, she is a graduate of Lancaster University and her favourite thing is being happy.
You can check out her blog HERE.