Are you a beta reader, or looking to become one?
By: Abigail J. H.
Story Batch #1
Green sprouting out of the ground. It twists and curls as it grows. The height becomes its length as it creeps and climbs without hands or feet. Thin stems reach for the top of the canopy. It wraps around surface areas, suffocating anything within its clutches. Leaves replace the host’s, as it reforms the surroundings into its own image. The weight of it burdens the weak. Those who can bear it can enjoy their maturing beauty.
Its elegance will never stop growing if left alone. Something once was too weak to stand on its own, now shape-shifts into whatever it grasps. Its green runners become woody trails that contours stony walls. Berries and flowers of sweet colors, caverns of sinuous liana, curtains of green, the quietude and cool breeze underneath its awning, to many it’s home. Decades will pass by and they will still be there, bearing fruits all year long. The competition for survival is anarchic. If unchecked it will become unruly and agrestal.
Its ability to adapt is extraordinary. It will find any frailty to crawl and latch onto. Walls will crack, the ground will be buried, no other greenery will live there unless it is allowed. All of its energy to grow tall was stored away for this moment. Their supporters are now their stepping stone. With a touch-sensitive connection, tensile strength, and determination, they will prevail. Only tender loving care can tame their rebellious fury.
If kept inside, sheltered with solicitude, it will be a breath of fresh air. A boost of positivity, in a room that’s scarce of it and surrounded by cold. So polite, never picky. The speed of the proliferating length can inspire any style. The lushness of its greenery invites mother nature, and prevents peering peepers. Whether on a shelf or hanging from the ceiling, their vibrancy welcomes many to our homes, to your home.
That green thing that’s sprouting out of the ground is many things. From a home to a villain, to a food source to an accessory, but above all else, that green curly thing is a vine.