The Umbrella Tree

✨️🌱🐞Once Upon a Time...🐞🌱✨️

There was a plant.

It was a schefflera plant, otherwise known as an umbrella tree. Its name and origin have now been lost to Time. There was simply The Time Before, and then The Time of The Schefflera.

Every weekend when the little girl visited her father, she'd walk past the plant in the corner. Sometimes she'd ignore it as though it was simply decoration that faded into the background; a feature attached to the identity of the room itself. Other times, she'd bring it a small glass of water, wipe the dust off its massive leaves - reveling in how soft they were, how they were the length of her arms, and how the gentle soft sound that came from them evoked a soothing calm - before absent-mindedly chatting quietly or mentally with it as though it were a kind of guardian.

Then, one weekend, the girl walked in to discover that the plant had been given away to a new home. At first, this was startling, as it shifted the mood of the entire room, leaving emptiness and void in its wake. Then, she was taken to visit the plant.

Its new home was with a lovely woman named Charlotte. She was incredibly tall, gangly, white-haired, and her round glasses gave her the appearance of a wisened owl. They'd met once or twice before, and the girl was happy that the plant had found a new home with someone who had lost the husband she had cared for so many years. It was as though Destiny had brought the two together.

In Charlotte's sunny kitchen, the plant began to thrive, as the girl's father hadn't been able to provide the right environment or care, and although the care the girl had provided had helped, it helped even more now that she was able to continue that care when visiting the plant and its new owner.

The plant's absence from her father's house seemed to have broken a sort of spell, and suddenly the house no longer felt the same. The girl felt far happier when she could be with her beloved plant, getting to know its new owner better.

As the years went on, and the girl and plant continued to grow together until both their energies filled entire rooms, so did the girl's bond with the plant's new owner. They became the best of friends, and traveled together often, sharing stories and creating new stories of their own.

One day, the girl got married, and Charlotte was there to see her shine. As so often happens, the girl's life began to grow in a different direction, and she was no longer able to spend as much time with her old friends.

Sadly, when the girl's marriage ended, Charlotte passed away, leaving the girl to wonder if the absence of her presence had altered the plant's energy and ended its life as well.

Then on a seemingly random Spring afternoon, she saw a familiar little plant tucked into the shadows, and knew without hesitation that Destiny had brought them back together.

This time, having been mentored by Charlotte about how to care for the original plant, the girl was able to turn the little, dying plant into TWO thriving plants, and she came back to life again herself in the process.

Their story isn't over yet, it is merely:

"To be continued."