Flash Post 210!

Button, see the image of the palm tree below. She has a story to tell:

Well, Button, I am going to tell you the story of my life so far and I hope you like it.

I’m sure I’ll love it because I love stories and my friend, aka my benefactor, tells me lots of stories.

I was tiny when this hotel was built. And then I grew and grew and grew. Even taller than the tallest giant. I am almost 60 feet tall today. I can proudly say that I am as old as this grand hotel which is over a hundred years old. About 105 years to be precise. In these 105 years, I have been witness to 105 monsoons, those many winters and those many summers. The earlier summers weren’t as sweltering as the summers of late and as I continued to grow taller and taller, I could feel the sun almost burn a hole on my head. I have been home to birds of many species who have come and rested on my strong branches after a hot and tiresome day. As I stand on one side of the swimming pool, I have seen umpteen people come for a swim and I especially love watching children frolic in the water and have a good time. They often play a game of hide-n-seek which you must be aware of, Button, and hide behind my ample girth. Once in a while they give me a tight hug which makes my heart melt. I wish I could hug them back but I don’t know how to! Couples come and sit beneath the umbrellas provided, hold hands and steal a quick kiss. A couple even engraved their initials on my trunk. It hurt a bit but that’s accepted. The same young couple have grown old together but continue to come and sit under the same bright yellow umbrella. Their names begin with B and P, I am guessing.

Tarantulas spin a web in some of the hollows as you can see in the picture below. I’ve felt them crawl all over me. What would you do, Button, if a big spider crawled all over you on all eight legs?

Now see the mound of soil inside another hollow space in the last picture. That’s what my ant friends have done. I have small as well as big ants running up and down my trunk as if they were

Any other fond memories?

Lizards have also made these hollows their homes and come back often with a massive loot of smaller insects and other weird stuff. They have laid eggs which have hatched into slithery baby lizards who have either migrated elsewhere or stayed back in the family home.

It’s all so interesting. It seems to me that you have had a long and exciting life and surveyed so much from your vantage point up there that you could write a book someday if you could.

You or your benefactor could help me do that.

Willingly. Just let me know once you’re ready.