Quandary

The brier had been dead for some time. Her petals shriveled and curled before falling to the earth. Her stem had dried and thinned; hallow. Her leaves, now shades brown, were nothing like the vibrant, rich green they once were. Her colours had faded and all that was living was now dead.

He walked along the path, stumbling more than he would ever admit. He made no attempt to walk more carefully, the way he walked was his, it was him. Since he couldn't change it for himself, he knew it was pointless to try for others.

Eyeing the plant, he stopped. He stepped off the path and stood before it. He had the stance of a man about to save an insect from drowning; lifting it just high enough so that a bird may eye it and swoop to consume.

He looked carefully at the dead flowers. Nothing but a common weed. Still, a beautiful weed it was.

He knelt and let his breath flow beneath the leaves, blowing life back into that which was expired. The winds were strong and straight, lifting the lifeless plant up and over, her roots held fast in the ground.

She was surprised by the gesture, having accepted her fate once her petals had not felt the breeze for many moons. For so long there had been no water in the valley. She had dried up when the rains never came. After years of blooming brightly she had no choice but to curl up and die.

Now, she felt the water. It was pouring from the man's bottle, all over her. She smiled up at him and felt it flowing up into her roots.

Suddenly, to her surprise, she grew. Her stem thickened and bulged. Her leaves flowed with life to the toothed tips and her buds began to form. She was more radiant than ever. She looked at him now, she was certain he finally saw her for what she was.

The shadow of his boot came swift. He crushed her into the ground, collapsing her body onto itself. She screamed but no one heard a sound.

The man walked on, never giving a glance back. Just kept on walking random paths to nowhere.

Still, she felt her roots, strong. Waiting for another chance to bloom.

In time, she would.