Green Thumb

Chapter one

          The waning light from the sun slowly faded into the horizon, as Saku stared out into the forest. He jumped down from the window sill and scampered down the hall. As he raced through the house, he crashed into a tall, young man. The man caught Saku before he fell to the floor, and pulled him up into his arms.
          "Woah, slow down there speed racer. You could get hurt if you keep moving that fast," the man spoke. He lowered Saku back to the floor to allow the toddler to keep playing. Saku giggled and skipped circles around the man.
          "Sorry gramps, I can't help it if you can't keep up," Saku chirped. The man chuckled at this.
          "I'm hardly a grandfather, as I'm only 24, but I guess you can refer to me as that.
         "What else would I call you if not gramps?" Saku questioned, as most children do.
          "Hm, my name is Lorrence, but you can just keep calling me gramps. Lorrence would be to formal," the man, Lorrence told. Saku giggled upon hearing his name, and every time he looked at him, he would laugh harder and look away.
          "What's so funny young man? Last time I checked Lorrence is a very fine name." This cause Saku to start laughing uncontrollably, and he squealed as Lorrence scooped him up. Lorrence held him up to his face, allowing Saku to stare into his deep blue eyes. He studied Lorrence, taking in all the features of his angular face. Lorrence's blonde wavy hair fell over his eyes, and he blew it from his face. Lorrence returned Saku's gaze, until he broke Saku's intense concentration by crossing his eyes. Saku once more laughed and began squirming in Lorrence's toned arms.
          Lorrence let go of the toddler and sat down on the mat in front of the fire place. He began putting logs into it, and sparked a match. He glanced back at Saku, and found the young boy's eyes fixed upon the golden glow of the flames. He smiled and stood up, allowing Saku to see the fire better. As Saku inched closer, Lorrence held out his hand to stop him.
          "You can't get to close Saku. Fire is dangerous, especially so for you," Lorrence warned. Saku looked up at him.
          "What do you mean?" the child asked. Lorrence's looked into Saku's intense pink eyes, and he ruffled his fluffy black hair.
          "Well, you have tree bark covering your skin. The bark in wood, which is what fire consumes so very well." Saku glanced down at his hands and wiggles his fingers. He touched his light ashen colored arms and ran his hands over the cool bark that covered his body. He looked back at Lorrence.
          "Why don't you have bark all over you?" Saku asked. Lorrence smiled.
          "I am just a plain old human being. I'm not as connected with nature as you are."
          "I don't get it. Why do only I have bark? I see people in the market you sometimes take me to, and those people also don't have bark." Sake had a confused look on his face, and this caused Lorrence to chuckle.
          "Well kiddo, some day I'll fully explain things to you, but for now I'll tell you this; you are spirit of nature, a representative of all that things it can bring. It gives so much to humans, and we have tried to give some of these pleasures back. You are one of these little wonders," Lorrence partly explained. Saku accepted this for an answer, and began to yawn.
          "If I come from nature, where do you come from?" Saku innocently asked. Lorrence smiled once more, and walked Saku down the hall to his bedroom.
          He tucked the child into his bed, and said, "That's a talk for another time, way into the future. For now, get plenty of rest my child. Good night."
          Saku was already falling into sleep. He tried to respond, but he was unable to, for sleep overtook him quickly. Lorrence quietly exited the room, and headed to his own. He took off his usual jeans and flannel that he works in, and slipped into a pair of soft pajama pants. He threw on a white shirt and slid into his bed. He thought of Saku and his child like innocence. Lorrence knew that Saku would grow quickly and be very intelligent. As Lorrence began thinking thoughts of the ritual to grow the beings of nature, a thought struck him.
          "Maybe one day I could pass my knowledge on to Saku. He would be a good gardener," Lorrence thought. He let these thoughts be his last before they carried him to sleep.