Tree Still, My Budding Heart - #AndThen2021

Tree Still, My Budding Heart

All my life, I've been an ordinary person whom everyone around me calls "invisible trouble" and now I'm so invisible that even I don't know what this thing I am transforming into.

I trudge past the cars and congestion of the morning rush with my briefcase strap digging into my shoulder. Horns and honks surround me but avoid me, and every step is more mechanical than the last. There is no sun today but my suit sticks to my body.

I arrive at work and the clinical air conditioning makes me shiver. I type on my keyboard, each stroke a raindrop. I stare at my briefcase when my manager leaves; the noisy chatter of the cattle and hum of the machines fades. I feel a cool breeze that rustles my hair like leaves in the wind. The singsong of birds I know don't exist echoes like church bells. I'm bathing in a warmth I haven't felt since my childhood, since my grandmother read me stories under the shade of the willow.

I blink and find myself in an open, empty field. I look down. My briefcase is in my hand. Startled, I return home and dream of digging my toes into cool dirt.

I go to work like clockwork, my frequent disappearances goes unnoticed. I don't notice. I don't care. I lie in the bath, throat parched, confused.

I find myself in the field one, twice, thrice more. It's a strange work setup, but I like it. One year, I look down and see my briefcase is gone. I'm holding a nest of bluebirds and a few squirrels instead. Despite my layers of rings, I dance with spry energy in the spring breeze.

The tree wants to be quiet but the wind keeps going.

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Written for the fantasy prompt of @WattpadAnthologies #AndThen2021 short story contest. The first line is the prompt. 267/300 words.

Please vote if you enjoyed this, please feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you think!