Benie & Bell: Held004
Benie & Bell: The microstories of two souls in eternal orbit.
Held004
CrAsH.
It happened after weeks of crackling. The storm that came through was especially brutal, winds unforgiving and lightning precise. Another had already been mourned, an instant death when the electricity split its generations-old trunk down the middle to the ground, singeing the inside to add insult to fatal injury.
Lightning strikes with so much bravado. It's just a highly potent, visible electromagnetism. It forgets everything is electromagnetic.
Then Benie's crackling started. At the first ache, Benie sent signals through roots and through chemical release, screaming out volatile organic compounds to be received by anyone nearby that could help. Many responded but the cracking continued. Some of those stupid wood-loving beetles took advantage, feasting on Benie and syphoning energy that could be used to heal. Some took as many of Benie's seed as possible to spread them out, ensuring a piece of Benie would take root right here in this place that had loved Benie so so much.
But when the cracks gave way to the gravitational pull of the earth aided by a salty breeze, Benie snapped almost clear through. None of these creatures or their counterparts could respond in any way that mattered. No, it was Bell—who grew up nearby but rooted far enough away that they hadn't interacted much—who Benie leaned on after the CrAsH. Bell was sturdy, abundant, lush. Benie felt sorrow for breaking some of Bell's perfectly healthy branches while also feeling extreme gratitude that Bell was strong and placed in the exact spot to catch Benie during the fall.
There wasn't much time left. Benie's body was hanging on by a thread to the stump that remained cracked, broken, and rooted.
In the last moments, before the browning of vibrant leaves and woody flesh, before the decay set in, Benie would be held by Bell. Eventually, as death crept in, bringing grief with it, Bell would be the one to feel the weight of Benie's body crumbling back to the earth. And as long as possible, Bell would send love back to whatever seeds of Benie's rooted into their shared ecosystem, reminding them they were cared for and encouraging them to grow tall.
Benie & Bell is my first published fiction series. Microstory feels like a format within which I could practice my narrative brevity.
Thank you for being here to read it. I’m inviting comments (read: not foolishness) and sharing! What I love about microstory are all the unknowns readers can fill in, and I dig some good co-creation.
Question: What kind of trees were Benie & Bell?
I don't know much about trees, but I pictured them as Maple or Birch at first. But now that I consider the seeds and landscape and, Pine feels like a better fit.
I’ve been drawn to oaks lately. I grew up on a farm with lots of oaks, I’m been keeping an eye out for the oaks in my neighborhood, wondering which one might be my Bell. Thanks for sharing beauty!