Work Text:
In a garden lies a tiny green sapling, surrounded by a group of trees that touch the skies. The trees reaching such heights might tell you that they are healthy, well, that is not entirely true.
These trees are constantly rotting. As they rise from the ground they continue to endlessly decay, yet they are still able to live, quite long at that. Why? That is because they absorb everything that sustain them from the ground, it is to the point that the soil becomes devoid of nutrients to nourish flora, turning it into a land where nothing can grow.
Why was this sapling planted in here?
Perhaps, the caretaker was a sadist, or they were absolutely clueless about their own job. In this patch of land, the sapling basks in what little sunlight touches it, shrouded in the darkness caused by leaves. A light gust of wind passed and shook the tree branches making the light and shadows move as if they were dancing. It is but a starved child, in this land of rotten things, with resources being monopolized by the other trees, it has nothing to gain here.
It has no feasible options. It is weak and has no chances of growing strong.
The caretaker occasionally visits to spray pesticides to avoid having pests that could damage the plants. The caretaker wondered why the vegetation is in such an awful state, even though there hasn’t been any sign of pests lurking around, but nonchalantly dismissed the thought and left. How amusing.
Unbeknownst to the caretaker, the pesticide they have been using to avoid pests partially had a role in slowly killing the plants.
Why didn’t the caretaker move it somewhere else? That is because it hasn’t even crossed their mind.
In that place, the sapling grows with what little nutrients is left in the ground, it is not enough. The once bright green leaves gradually started to rot, but it grew just like the other trees.
If it had been given the things it needed, the bright green sapling would have grown up to be a healthy tree. But it didn’t have such things.
No matter how great it’s state was back then, with the lack of care it has turned into an ugly existence. If such an existence could feel, wouldn’t they be suffering as they lived their life? Wouldn’t they rather not exist to feel such things?
The sapling which used to be a tiny existence, has turned into one that harms it surroundings.