Bloom – Robbie Couch

But just before he tilts the can over the jade plant’s pot, the succulent with the long, tall leaves suddenly jolts to life. As if a gust of wind blew up from the floorboards, the plant’s leaves ripple like Marilyn Monroe’s dress over a subway grate. A surprised Morris drops the can in his hand—water splashes across half the living room floor—a moment before Sloan’s beeping her arrival in the driveway. “What in the world…?” Morris says, staring at the plant, which is back to being perfectly still.

His mind might be playing tricks on him, Morris thinks, seeing as he didn’t sleep well last night. “Did you see that, too?” Rascal lets out an equally confused meow. With Sloan waiting for him outside, Morris hurriedly cleans up the mess, checks his pockets to make sure he has the few things he needs—“wallet, keys, phone,” he murmurs, slightly out of breath—and heads out. He’s confused to find a big blue truck instead of Sloan’s car in the driveway but makes sense of it once he sees that Todd is behind the wheel.

Morris exchanged a solemn head nod with Sloan’s fiancé at Fred’s funeral, but that’s as far as their interactions have gone. Todd hops out of his truck wearing a sleeveless tank that puts his arm tattoos on display. Sloan bounds up the driveway at his side in denim overalls, her light hair pulled back into a messy ponytail.

The pair really do make quite a cute couple. “Hey, Morris,” Sloan says happily. She gestures to Todd, who joins her in front of the truck. “This is Todd.” Morris extends his hand for a shake, which Todd takes in his own. “Great to meet you, Mr. Warner.” Morris smiles at him. “ ‘Morris’ will do just fine.” Todd glances around the yard and pauses when his eyes land on Lake Michigan across the street.

“The view really is crazy up here.” He turns back to Morris. “Sloan said this was your childhood home?” “It was.” Morris looks at the big oak tree. “Of course, I moved to Ypsilanti for college and then lived a few miles south of here most of my adult life, when I taught at CCHS.”

“He moved back into this house with my dad after they got married,” Sloan adds to Todd. Morris’s mom died prior to Fred’s marriage proposal. And since the house had still been on the market, Morris suggested to Fred that they move in and make it their own. It was one of the best decisions Morris ever made. But now that he’s a retired widower in his seventies living here alone, the home’s deep roots feel a bit more bittersweet.

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Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox. 1kitap1.com/en 1kitap1.com/en For those who’ve struggled to bloom 1kitap1.com/en Who knows, perhaps one day the language of trees will eventually be deciphered, giving us the raw material for further amazing stories.

—PETER WOHLLEBEN 1kitap1.com/en CHAPTER 1 Jade I’M GOING TO DIE TODAY. I’m not always as certain about things as I am about this, but if there’s one thing that I’ve always been able to trust, it’s whatever my roots are trying to tell me. And they told me this morning, right when the light nudged me awake, that today’s sunrise would be my last—all thanks to Second Sapien. I should probably back up a bit. Hi. I’m Jade. I sprouted just two years ago, but you shouldn’t be fooled by my youth.

Age really is just a number, as Sapiens say, and that’s especially true when comparing the developmental speeds of succulent houseplants and social primates. I, for example, have been independent since my sprouting. But if I were instead a two-year-old Sapien, I’d be an onery menace who demands respect while defecating relentlessly, a burden on my own kind more than an asset to our survival. Also, it’s a less relevant point, but don’t they say Sapien seedlings are cute? Because I just don’t see it.

I’m sorry. I’m normally not this grouchy. My imminent death is probably what’s to blame. I really do love your kind, I swear. Sapiens traverse oceans to cure wanderlust disease and snatch salty potatoes through automobile windows for energy.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: d860ed1c62e7c378
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 4,601,203 bytes (4.388 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 218
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 252.06 minutes
• Total Words: 50,411
• Total Characters: 284,570
• Average Words per Page: 231.24
• Average Characters per Page: 1305.37

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