It started as small as any other seed and didn’t know what it was at first. It looked around and learned that it grew much slower than other seeds. After a while, it also learned that other plants grew quickly, but also didn’t live very long. It learned to be patient and accept itself as it was. It saw many animals come and go over the years—coyotes, rabbits, snakes, javelinas, and roadrunners. Some birds loved to peck at it, and others made their homes in it. Occasionally humans would come by, but they didn’t stay.
It was just one straight, but strong, thing for a long time, but one day it felt some other part grow out of its side. By this time, it knew exactly what it was and had been waiting for a long time to look like others of its kind. It was especially excited every Spring when it got to bloom.
Decades, maybe a century, later humans came along and dug it up. It was scared at first to leave its natural home, but the humans were careful to replant it facing the sun and sky as it always had. It didn’t see as many animals as it had before, but there were more humans around. It soon discovered that humans grew much faster than it did. Every time its human family had a special occasion, they stood in front of it and took pictures of each other.
One human, in particular, was special to it. She started out very, very small, and she could not stand up like other humans. In some pictures, she was dressed in pretty clothes, and in some she had just been out playing beside it. In some pictures, her face looked a little funny because some of those white things were missing, but she soon grew new ones. As she grew taller, she also grew more beautiful, and it was proud to be part of the pictures that included her. It seemed as if the years made them each stronger and more ready to face whatever might happen.
But even plants of its kind can’t live forever. One day it didn’t feel quite right. It could tell it was leaning a bit more than usual, and something felt very wrong at its bottom. Its human family tried to save it, but one day it could stand no more. They were very sad when it happened, and other humans came by to say how sorry they were. It had been a part of the neighborhood for many years, and people had always admired it.
The girl would continue to grow, but there would be no new pictures taken in front of it. Still, it had lived a long time and was satisfied. It had been everything it was supposed to be.