Rebirth

It was late on Friday night, few weeks back, that I stumbled across a blog I have admired for a while but never commented on, An Innocent A-Blog. I read that Bernita was hosting a little fiction contest based on a supplied photograph for inspiration. The problem was that the deadline was that very night. I challenged myself to write something quick and honest and short (man, writing only 250 words is tough). (Thanks Bernita for the challenge and the avenue.) And here it is:




REBIRTH

“I’m ready now,” he said. “Let’s make love.”

She turned to him, smiling. “You are a romantic. Maybe you should buy me dinner first, big boy.”

“I’m serious.”

Her smile slowly faded. “You're serious? Here? You want to do it here?”

“Yes, now, here. Yes, I am deadly serious. I want a child. I want a child with you.”

“Here? In the grass? Aren’t there . . . people around?”

He smiled. “No, look around. There is no one around. I lay down my coat and we are under the skies, among the breeze.”

“Among a bunch of large dead oak trees?”

“Look, I know this sounds crazy but it makes perfect sense.” He took her shoulders gently in his hands. “These oaks aren’t dead. We had them at my house growing up. You think they are but they still have a lot of life in them. They will bounce back. They always do, year after year.”

She put her thumb between her teeth and looked down the hill, then past the row of large oak trees. “So, you do want a child? We talked about it and you always . . . well, never wanted to talk about it.”

“Yes,” he said, “You know I do, I just didn’t feel like it was time. For some reason, now, now, I feel . . . it’s time.”

Her smile met his and he led her under a large oak tree, void of leaves, its bark jagged and coarse. Its trunk was mammoth and it was there at the base, that I was conceived.