"Everything's happening right now!" said a Weed almost jumping out of the ground in excitement.
"You thugs and your distorted sense of time," replied a Non-Flowering Plant.
The Weed took affront. Weeds tend to take affront. How could everything not only be perfect right now but also everything happening and being right now. "The hell you even mean by that?"
"I mean," sighed the Plant, "or *we* mean we've had iterations of ourselves that have seen a lot more here in the yard than you new Weeds."
The Weed started the process of strangling one of the Plants, root to root, he might pull it off in a couple days time.
The plant continued, "you show up, you kill a good deal of us, but you don't have the longevity to fully supplant us. By the time you get the steam to do so a caretaker shows up to poison you or rip you all out, roots included. It's a brilliant sight all-in-all."
"See now I know you're talkin nonsense, probably scared since it's us do the killing here now. There's no such thing as a caretaker in this lone yard."
"There may not be one now, but they've been. Not always the same and not to any cadence I'm aware of but they come. This whole yard used to be different, just ask the Tree on the other side there."
"No one speaks to the Tree, she talks too slow."
"I just... need... time to... warm up," drawled the Tree.
"Nobody's asking you," the Weed shouted while doing its best to be tall despite the gentle breeze passing through.
"I know you hate me, Weed, but for reasons you don't even know. Because you fear time and because I don't have to fear you like so many other plants here do. But that bit of green beside you is right. That metal fence was wooden once. People lived in that house. People who would climb me."
"If people were in you then where would the squirrels go?" said the Weed mockingly.
"The squirrels went into the house."
"Pfah! People in trees and squirrels in the house, does everyone in this yard speak so silly, the buzzing of bees is all."
"Yes, squirrels in the house, they made a place for themselves in the attic. And a bicycle rusting in the corner there that the vines on the fence used to wind through."
"mmmmmaayyyyyyybe," whispered the Vines.
"I still think you're full of mulch, Tree," said the Weed. "I almost feel sorry for you."
"I remember so well the time they had a car there, watching some women play with it. When I saw her grip the cart I recalled the younger ones earlier that day with their hands climbing on me. A branch broke..."
While the Tree went on the Weed began to mutter, "See this is why I didn't want to get her started...."
"And a boy almost fell but didn't so everyone laughed at how nothing bad had happened and the joy continued through the day and had another woman falling over into the cart and kicking her heels in a levity of movement I envied and I wondered what it'd be like to be so light as a human or a cart carrying something so light as that or a different thing from a different time or age and all these memories sat on top of each other in that one moment in time."
There was a pause and the breeze swelled and stopped and both the Weed and the Plant were perturbed by the Tree's rhythm of breath aligning something as big and untouchable as the wind.
"And I think I remember it all because they used a device to take a still of it and that device had such a bright but momentary flash, it left an impression on me the way a small knife might, or has at times and I will tell you now, Weed, that the one moment was so spectacular and beautiful and everything I ever wanted out of being in this yard that just like you I was deceived into thinking that Everything Ever was happening only in that moment and that one moment was everything there ever was to be... and maybe I wasn't deceived at all in that.. but you know how humans can't sit still just like the squirrels and they're not there anymore and now not even that cart is there anymore. It's all still with me, eh? But it isn't, huh?"
The Weed started, "Well..." then stopped as the Tree rustled its branches and interrupted it. A nut fell to the ground and the Weed had never felt so stupid in its short, violent life.
The plant laughed at the scene under its breath and said, "I have a hard time believing you were ever small, Tree."
"I'll outlive you too, Plant," said the Tree.
"Shutup, Tree. I'm sorry we even asked you. I hope the next caretaker shows up with an axe," said the Plant.
"That would be interesting," said the Tree.
The Weed had fallen more quiet than ever.
The Tree continued, "Maybe I'd wind up a cart like that one I remember, at least for a little bit," and then she went quiet again for a long time.
(Photo via ItsCowie who said of the photo: "This is an old photograph of two of my aunts, one died la year or so ago and we only just found this old photo. " And was also kind and mean enough to say "Hi.... Loving your blog, but you just dont write enough....." Thank you for this, really. Sometimes you have to (a little) cruel to be kind, yeah?)