The Grove

Abby entered her English 1000 class. She was early, just how she liked it. She needed to make a good impression, the professor was a brilliant author, and she just had to learn everything from him. She sat in the front row, pulled out her new notebook and opened it to the new first page. She wrote the class and date at the top. Since she was early, she pulled a book from her backpack and began to read. Abby loved to read almost as much as she hated making meaningless conversations. So keeping a book in her bag was the perfect solution. She would always have a world for her mind to get lost in and avoid the awkward silence of a room full of first-year English literature students.

Of course, it being a first-year English literature class, she realized, looking around, that most other students were also reading a book from their bag, eyes down, bodies wrapped around their books, almost daring anyone to interrupt them. A few scrolled through their phones. A couple of guys sitting in the back were goofing around, playing with paper airplanes they’d constructed from pages pulled from their new notebooks. The last one threw his plane and jumped into the air with his arms raised, “yes!” He shouted as his plane circled the room, floating on air and landing ahead of the others beside her. She glanced at the airplane and him, then quickly looked back at her book. She heard him sigh and walk over to pick up his toy. While bent over, he looked up, putting his wide eyes almost precisely in the small space between her face and her book. “you could have thrown it back,” he said, “I wouldn’t have minded if you wanted to take her for a spin.” She blushed and looked down at her book, willing him to disappear. She noticed a second set of feet standing by her desk as she did. She looked up into the dark green eyes of a boy who looked too familiar. She stared at his messy brown curls, creating a variance of colour that reminded her of the forest floor. “I don’t think she’s interested in your toy,” he said to the other guy, who abruptly stood up, shrugged his shoulders and walked away. The new boy gave her a slight nod, his lips forming a tight smile. They were thin, and the soft pink colour of sunlight shone through a canopy of trees. He wore an army green t-shirt that stretched across his broad chest as he sat down.

She was still thinking about the stranger, his nod and those eyes as she walked daily through the grove near her apartment. She loved the wilderness. She spent every day exploring and discovering changes along her path. The forest was alive and forever moving; she just had to take notice of every detail. As she walked, she observed the small white may flowers covering the ocean of green waves on the moss-covered ground. The warm smell that comes with the start of summer, a mixture of dry leaves and sunshine, was all around her. She was lost in thought about a mysterious pair of green eyes when she noticed the smell was getting stronger. She looked up, and he sat on a large rock reviewing their assigned reading. He slowly looked up at her, taking every part of her into his sight. She squirmed awkwardly under his gaze; his intensity made her self-conscious. “How is chapter 1?’” She asked, attempting to make conversation. He nodded and gestured for her to come closer and join him in the reading. Feeling a strong magnetic pull to him, shy Abby crept closer, reading over his shoulder in the afternoon sunbeams. Soon she became comfortable. She leaned a little closer; she laughed at a section; they discussed the relationship between the characters and even argued about the goal of the behaviour of a particularly unlikeable character. She relaxed as they spoke and read; eventually, she curled up on the rock with him. His arms around her, holding the book. She felt wanted, at ease and had a familiar connection to him. They sat so long that the sun began to set. He looked up at the sky, startled and said, “You better go. Should I walk you to the end of the trail?” Surprised by his urgency, she agreed. He left his books and other items lying on the rock and hurriedly stood, gently pressing Abby back to the trail toward her home. He pushed her quickly to the trailhead that led to her apartment; she didn’t question how he knew this was the exit to her home; he just seemed to know. She turned to him and said, “I had a perfect time studying with you. I love this grove; I walk through them daily, spend time reading and enjoy the sounds of nature. I’ve never seen you here before.” He smiled at her and said, “I’m new but love it here too; I’ll see you tomorrow.” He lightly touched her hand, turned, and slipped back into the trees.

She stood there, amazed at his ability to blend into his surroundings and how he had just disappeared into the evening dusk surrounding the trees. He was funny and kind, quiet and unassuming. She walked back to her apartment, feeling the exhilaration of meeting someone new and the feeling that a courtship may be on the horizon. At least that is what she hoped as she opened the apartment door and made herself a single-serving salad, settling in to eat and opening a book. The following day she took extra care selecting her outfit, a brown body-fitting turtle neck dress with sneakers and a bomber jacket. She put on a small amount of makeup, just enough to make her feel pretty. Then she grabbed her backpack and headed to her grove. As she walked the path to the University, she felt the sun shining through; yellow rays hit the ground in a checkered pattern. She took deep breaths, enjoying every second of her short time there. She watched a bird take pieces of dried plant material back and forth, building a nest. She watched so long that she was startled when her watch buzzed, reminding her that class would begin in 5 minutes. She looked down and began to run. She was never late; she hated being late; what if she would have to sit in the back? What if all the other students stared when she walked into the room? What if the professor decides she’s unreliable and marks her paper with this preconceived notion? She ran out of the tree covering and into the football field, running as fast as she could across the quad toward Building B, her bag jumping and sliding about as she moved.

Abby rushed into the classroom, nearly falling through the thick wooden door. As she steadied herself, she slowly looked up to see all eyes on her. The professor had yet to start, but everyone else had already arrived. There was only one seat left; it was next to him. He has saved it for her, placing his books on the seat, which he quickly removed. She stood tall and tried to look confident as she made her way quickly to sit down. “Thank you,” she whispered. He only nodded with his tight smile. The professor began his lecture, and Abby lost herself in taking notes and listening to him read passages from the assigned reading. He was captivating. When class was over, she sighed with disappointment. The rest of the students packed and rushed out of the room as quickly as possible while she lingered. He was still standing there, too, as if waiting for her. He brushed a brown curl from his eyes and picked up her backpack. “Want to do the assigned reading together again?” He asked. “What’s your name?” She inquired. “Oh,” he whispered, pausing as if trying to think what his name was. “It’s Cypress,” he finally said. “Hi Cypress, I’m Abby,” she said, sticking out her hand to shake his own. He looked at her hand, confused, then slowly touched it with his own.

Not a handshake, but a light graze before dropping his hand back into his body away from her. She nodded and said, “Shall we return to our grove?” This made him happy; she could tell because his entire face brightened with a smile. “Yes, our grove,” he repeated. They padded across the quad. It was a comfortable silence. Abby always felt like she had to converse as if silence was forbidden in social situations, but with Cypress, it felt okay. They easily fit back into their studying space on the rock within the grove. She happily talked to him about books and school. When she closed her eyes, it almost felt like she was alone in this place she loved. Cypress melted into the grove; his smell was its smell. The colours of his body and clothes were camouflaged; They were so near to that of the grove. The forest responded to him, animals and plants moving with him. It was as if her special place had created him just for her. While laughing, he reached out and stroked her cheek as if it was something he had longed to do for some time. She stopped and stared into his lush verdant eyes. She leaned in and kissed his bronzed lips as the sun spread ubiquitously over where they sat. His touch and kisses were entrancing as the rays shifted, darkening as the sun slid from the sky. Just like the night before, Cypress stopped, looked at the sky and began pushing her down the path. “Goodnight,” he whispered, kissing her and shifting into the woods.

They studied together daily, meeting in the grove or walking from class. On weekends she would venture down the path and find him waiting. He was always there in their place. He never truly wanted to go anywhere else. But she was fascinated by him and in love with the peace of the little grove near her home, so she never complained. Every evening as the sun set, he would rush her along the path and kiss her goodnight.

One night after months of meeting together in this spot. She asked him if he would like to come home with her. She leaned in and kissed him passionately, hoping to convey the whole meaning of her invitation, but he backed away. “I can’t spend the night with you,” he said quietly. “It’s against the rules, I agreed. I can’t break them, or I may never see you again.” She looked at him perplexed. “But why?” She asked. “You’ll never spend the night with me?” She asked, realizing the weight of what he was saying. “Whom did you promise? I don’t understand”. He took her chin in his fingers, held her gaze, and kissed her. As the sun began to set, he lifted her from the rock, held her hand and led her away. But this night, instead of walking home alone, she waited until he had slipped away, and she turned around and followed him. But it was not easy; she couldn’t keep up, and she could barely see him; his body was becoming one with the grove, disappearing but still there. Everything was eerily still. He did not leave to go to his home; he went back to their spot and lay down in the brush. “Cypress,” she called, feeling scared. Her grove was dark and new creatures were coming out, ones that did not venture out during the day.

The ground shifted, moving unnaturally, and suddenly, there he was again. “Abby,” he whispered, “what are you doing here?” “I wanted you,” she exhaled. He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. Where had his arms come from? They were not there a moment ago. It was as if he had vanished, and each body part was reappearing from somewhere else. “O my Abby,” he purred. “I only wanted to know you,” he said gloomily. “I don’t understand,” she whimpered. “I’m your grove,” he said. “I watched you every day, and you were a formosity. I never needed to move or interact with the human world before, but I had to know you. I’m alive, every tree, animal, and plant—the soil, water, and air. I am them, and they are me. “How is this possible?” She moaned. She was scared and wanted to run, but it was Cypress, her Cypress, and these were her woods. Nighttime should not change that. “I made a deal,” he answered softly. He was disappearing slowly back into the brush. “If I could just meet you, speak with you. I would come back each night, but you could not know. I promise the Mother. She let me come to you. But now I have to return. I’ll always be here; I’ll always watch you. I love you, but you won’t be able to see me again.”

Abigail looked up with tears streaming down her face and found that she was alone in the darkness. She pushed herself from the ground and ran from the grove. She ran the entire path to her home, unlocked the door and threw herself into her bed, pulling the blankets over her head. The following day, she felt she had the strangest dream about a boy named Cypress and her grove. She couldn’t tell if it had been a nightmare or a good dream, but she decided to walk the road to class and avoid the grove that morning.