X is for Expectations

I have joined the group  "Blogging from A to Z" .  This is a  a month long challenge to write a short story everyday and each day corresponding to the letter of the alphabet.  I have linked up the site - simply click on the name so that you might read any sort of short story from the huge line-up available.  The stories are supposed to be short so that many can be read, quickly.  Simply a titillation of talent.  Happy reading, and thank you for joining me.  

X is for Expectations

Swaying in the breeze, she bent her lower limbs to stroke the little one.  The next generation.  She was proud of how strong he had become.  His trunk grew straight and his limbs even. 

His limbs were even on the five square.  Five feet tall, five limbs evenly spaced on five facets of his trunk.  She counted them often and bragged to her neighboring friends. 

The elm hadn’t been so fortunate, her seedlings hadn’t flourished.  The poplar, on the other hand, seemed to have more offspring than any proper tree should have.  Greedy was the whisper among the treetops.  The maples seemed to have a few very small saplings growing, but they had such succulent sap the deer tended to eliminate them during the winters.

The oaks, in this copse, worked together.  Roots reaching for one another, they nurtured not only one another but especially the young.  Nutrients pulled up from the depths or the sunlight from the treetops were passed along as needed.  It was all or nothing.  This copse was determined, it was all that mattered.

Expectations were high.  This copse of oaks would last another millennium.  There were already several females well over ten feet tall.  Her offspring was the son.  The much awaited, anticipated male. 

She sent a ripple of gratitude to the others.  As much as the breeze caught their leaves, they also chatted with the rhythmic tappings and flappings of those leaves.  They were a glad community.  They had high expectations for their future.

leigh