Growing in the Road

All is silent next to the road deep in the dark wood except for the faint sound of children playing. From the distance, the trees and grass and forest creatures can hear the loud crack of the bat and the children screaming as the ball sails through the air. It is a far hit! Far enough to catch the wind and set it sailing into the wood beyond the field. Unbeknownst to the kids, the ball knocks a bush, scattering its seed into the trail.

The bush is crestfallen, knowing that it only lives for one season with one chance to procreate, and it looks sadly upon its wasted seed spent in the trail. Fall soon comes to pass and, as winter sets in, the bush dies dreading the life it knows it has left for its offspring.

It is a hard winter and all of the seeds die off but one. It is a hearty seed, the largest in the bunch, and soon takes to root. He sends up a shoot with a little twin leaf and feels the sun for the first time and is happy, shouting his praise for life, “WOOOOOO HOOOOO!”

A grumpy old oak looks down on the leafling and snorts, “what have you to be excited about? You’ve taken root in the road! Surely you will be trod upon and killed! If not today, then the next day! Your life will be nothing but pain!”

Undaunted the seedling replies, “I am in the road, this is true, but unlike the rest of my brethren growing down here I have the full sun! I will grow strong and spread my seed far to a fairer land.”

Laughing the oak gloats, “See, I have the full sun as well! And I can have more of it than you, because I am the mighty oak with my leaves spread far.”

“Yes you may be mighty, but you have gained your might by taking from others. See those beneath you withering and dying from the starvation you have caused?”

At this the forest is silent once again. The days pass by, and the little seedling soon puts out more leaves, beginning to grow into a larger plant, dwarfing the smaller plants in the shadow of the oak.

One day the oak notices, and says, “Puny plant, I see you are growing. You will never rival me, for your day is soon up! As the weather gets warmer, people will begin to come more often. It is just a matter of time before someone runs you down!”

“All I must do is live, and create my seed, then we will see who is the wiser,” cries the plant. “Just as my day will not last forever, yours will be up as well.”

As the oak foretold, the further into the sunny season they get, the more traffic is seen in the wood. After some very close calls with death, which the oak gloats and laughs some more, the plant begins to bud, producing only one, which soon turns to flower.

“What will you do with one flower? Surely one seed will never be enough!” shouts the oak, somewhat bothered by the plant’s confidence.

Forsaking all ridicule, the plant ignores the oak, instead focusing on its flower, which soon pollinates and comes to seed. It is a magnificent seed! Better than any grown in the wood before, and the oak is stunned! He is silent until he spots in the distance a large party of people approaching. Triumphantly the oak shouts, “Your day is nigh little one! For I can see your doom! It comes around this bend now! Tremble and feel the pain of death!”

Unafraid the plant continues to give his last energies to his seed, making it as perfect as he can. The party comes to the plant and the leader stops, bends, and gently picks the seed from its stalk. He stands up and walks away, pocketing the seed while the rest of the party crush and snap the life out of the plant, leaving a broken and tattered remnant of what it used to be.

“How does it feel puny one? To finally accept your dues? I warned you it would come, but you did not listen!”

“No!” cries the plant with its last words, “I warned you of this day! For my seed now travels to a better land, while you shall stay here and face your fate. My one seed goes further than all your seeds ever will!” With those words spoken, the sun bakes the last of his juices dry and he slowly withers and dies.