The Tree

It was 2:30am. They were on holiday and the bed was uncomfortable. She’d been tossing and turning since 1am and it didn’t feel like sleep was in her immediate future. Her brain was too active, thinking of the most random situations, basically being a complete jerk, not allowing her to shut down and drift off into slumber. Ms Brain clearly knew better and was in total control.

So here she was, random thoughts billowing through her mind. She was thinking of all the people she ever met in her life .. how many people? She wondered if it was even possible to count them …. remembering each of them for the love they gave, the lessons taught, the memories, and sometimes scars, they left behind. Her many school friends, colleagues, neighbours, family, besties …. some who came and went, fleeting encounters, others like seasons constantly drifting in and out of her life. Others still, solid and grounded – the roots of her tree of life. A few who she wished she’d never met. Even more she wished were still a part of her tree, providing shelter from life’s storms.

Now it was 3am …. she could hear the rain outside and the distant rumble of the sea crashing against the shore. Closer still was Mr She’s deep breathing and for a moment she felt a strong urge to wake him, so at least she was not alone with her wandering thoughts. Thinking that might not go down as her best decision she rolled over, counting backwards from 100, hoping this time she’d drift off and not wake until morning.

She made it to 59 this time before another vague and distant memory began taking shape and taking over. Another holiday … her first trip away with Mr She, another seaside escape, this time on the other side of the world – Devon, a beautiful English village, an old lodging and a four poster bed. It was their beginning, their story unfolding, their tree growing, each leaf representing a memory, an experience. She would never have known then that his tree and hers would have grown so entwined, strong and tall, all those branches, all the leaves, representative of their journey and adventures together.

Then the epiphany … matching tattoos! She wasn’t sure Mr She would be quite so thrilled about the idea. When they had met he was not a fan …. he came from a world where tattoos meant the dark underbelly of crime. She’d had one small tattoo then when they first met, on her hip … the sun and moon in a yin and yang shape …. he’d told her if he’d known her before, she wouldn’t have it now.

She’d been a little appalled at the thought of this gorgeous man being so controlling and at the time it had been warning bells. How dare he tell her what to do? She laughed to herself now …. he had no idea then of the partnership they would have … the solid relationship as their trees entwined. Neither of them did. He had tattoos of his own now …. a certifiable mafia boss.

So she fell asleep designing their tattoo idea …. their tree. They’d talked about it before but it had to mean something, had to encompass their journey, their story, their love and she’d never settled on anything. So this was it. Their tree, trunks entwined, till death do us part.