Camelia and Doug Fir

The girls often took themselves on solitary walks.  Thunder frightened Girl Cat.  Camelia seemed to be drawn by the distant rumble, and followed it out the door.  "She needs space," Girl Cat noticed most things, curling into her tail she quickly dreamed.  She was right of course, Cameilia was in that betweeny place.  Her thoughts were vibing out beyond reach.  From her dreams Girl Cat said, "Talk with Tree." 

The pump house was rumbling.  Camelia stopped to listen for a minute, long enough.  The trail leading back up the incline was mostly used by the critters.  Girl Cat would have been canopied by the salmon berries fresh in leaf and thorn.  From this angle the Doug Fir was like a sentinel.  He stopped Camelia, and the girl was drawn in like a magnet.  "Tears."  "Yes, and whimpers.  I don't know where they come from?"  "Doesn't matter.  So many reasons for them." 

Camelia stopped her whimpers and looked at the burnt and fallen trees, family to Doug Fir.  "You would know about tears, ha?"  "Yes, I would know about tears."  "Do you choose to be tree?"  "We do."  "And, do you like being tree?"  "We do, mostly."  "Will you choose differently next time?"  "Won't remember.  Doesn't matter."  Camelia leaned her chest against Doug Fir, loosened her grip on her hockey stick, and hugged tighter.  "I like this."  "I like it too," Doug Fir said.  "I like it a lot."