We lived a beautiful life together for over eighteen years. And then the movers forgot to put me in their truck.
I came all the way to Arizona from a cozy suburb in Michigan, and instead of going with her to Baltimore, I got left behind. But I know she was sad. And I know she wanted to take me with her, but I was just too big to fit on a plane. My silk leaves surely would have been crushed by the low ceiling.
I heard her on the phone one evening.
“Please take my plant! I can’t give it away. It’s been with our family forever. It’s like one of my own children!
“Mom, I don’t want your stupid silk plant. It’ll be so out of place in my apartment.”
Click.
Where am I going?
My anxiety grew as her days in Arizona began to conclude. And then the phone rang again. And I all heard was…
“Oh you have no idea how happy that makes me! I really wanted to give this plant to someone I love and I promise it’ll look so nice in your apartment! Thank you so much for not making me give her away!”
Oh God, where am I going?
I now reside in the corner of a clean one-bedroom apartment with her daughter. It’s pretty lonely here. There’s no dog. There’s no noise . There’s barely any sunlight. She comes and goes frequently, and often sticks around only to have a cup of tea.
I wish I were in Baltimore with her mother. And her dog. I wish she loved me as much as her mom loves me. I wish she wasn’t gone so much and I wish she kept the lights on at night. I wish she bought more furniture so I didn’t feel so alone. I wish she turned the heat on and I wish she watched better shows on television instead of those stupid reality shows.
At least it always smells nice in here…
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Haha aww your poor plant!
ReplyDeleteYour imagery was great, and really liked how you added the “oh god, where am I going” in between paragraphs. I feel so bad for the lonely silk plant! Glad to see you gave in to your mother, and took the plant on behalf. What a good daughter! I think my bookshelf and your plant should hang out, they both need a little company!
Great story, read your one from this week too- also excellent!
-Mimi
How can you not take your plant?! Everyone loves plants! I think, apparently not.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, i really loved the scenes you made in this story, everything was clear, and you used a lot of concrete detail. By doing that you story is eliminated of clutter. I also liked how you set up the story, i think by using that format you really captured the feeling of the lonely plant.
Great post Arthi!
Ali Z