Page 2 of Dryad, Try Again
“Yes, but, they can only do so much.” She comes to an abrupt stop in front of several rows of shrubs and trees. “I’m going to be blunt so you can get back to moving in, Mr. Sampath.” She puts her hands together and looks up. “As a tree spirit shifter, I need your help with this one patch of shrubbery.”
My eyebrows furrow and I turn to where she’s looking. Each massive oak tree and matching evergreen shrub is pristine in front of the concrete Creelin U façade?all but one. We move forward to the singular tree that doesn’t match the others. It’s so little, the poor thing, and it’s as if it hasn’t been watered. But something tells me that’s not the case.
“This tree…”
“It refuses to sprout. We took them all from the West Forest at the same time. The zombies have been meticulously watering them all. As you can see, we know how to make trees grow properly.”
I bite back the retort that no one “makes” trees do anything. Flora is sentient, but only a being linked to all plant life would understand that.
She continues, “I want this school to look its best since move-in for underclassmen starts tomorrow.”
“That makes sense.” My eyes never leave the tiny, leafless tree. I can sense it’s young. My heart aches; I remember being a sapling of a boy and how difficult it was. I hear puberty for humans is no joke, but it particularly sucked for me.All that involuntary shifting…
“Is there anything at all you can do?” She turns to me, gentle desperation written on her mildly wrinkled face. “I understand if I have to get a whole new tree, but…”
I nod. “I’ll have to shift in order to properly commune with it.” I already begin morphing under my skin before the dean nods. She floats back, giving me plenty of space.
I close my eyes as every inch of my skin turns to tree bark. Leaves sprout on my head in place of my trimmed black hair as I grow taller. My back, now a flexible trunk, reaches upward. I sense my clothes merging with me?thank monster god I mastered that as a kid?as I complete the transformation. While the entire process takes five seconds, I’m always overwhelmed by the sudden commune with all plant life.
When I’m human, the plants are a nearly silent thrum; when I’m a dryad, it’s like a symphony playing a tune that never gets old. I hear each blade of grass, each tree, each flower, and each sprout. They call out to me, and, because I’m a tree spirit, we are one.
Opening my eyes, I gaze down my ten-foot stature to see Dean Yaga not at all shocked. As the dean of a monster college, she needs to be well-versed in every monster species. From alicorns to zhulong-shifters, if you were affected by the Halloween Wave almost twenty years ago, you can enroll. I’m fortunate to live a life where I can shift in peace, a community far from frightened humans.
I turn back to the little sapling. While the other trees and shrubs are vibrating with contentment, this one is nearly silent. It’s not dead, but I don’t get any answers immediately. So, I do what only a dryad can do. I grow my arm branches into vines and reach into the soil. It’s easy to weave my way around other plants and find the roots I need.
Gotcha. Touching the roots, I’m able to commune properly. This tiny tree is…scared? Sad? A combination of the two. Plant life doesn’t experience emotions the way monsters or humans do. I sense where the little guy longs to be, and I try to compel it to bloom.Go ahead, be like your neighbors…
But no. I know what the tiny tree yearns for, so I take a mental note, and then shift back down. It’s easier to verbally speak when I’m in human form.
“Well?”
I shake my head dolefully. “It…misses its forest. The trees it used to be with. While the others don’t mind the relocations as long as they get water, this one is different.” I frown and we both turn to it. “It would be best to move it back to the West Forest and replace it.”
“But we don’t know where it came from.”
“I do. I know where it belongs.” My heart continues to ache for the little thing. I, too, was hauled from home to home until Creelin U.
“Very well.” Dean Yaga leans her cheek in one hand and sighs in defeat. “I’ll ask the zombies to find another tree.”
“No need. When I take this little buddy back to its patch in the West Forest, I can find a better tree for you.”
“Oh, splendid!” The dean looks delighted?it’s always good to get brownie points from the woman who runs the school. “And for your efforts, I’d like to give you this.” She waves her hand, and, in the blink of an eye, a small gold paper manifests in her palm. “It’s a gift certificate for Mummy Mocha.”
I smile. “You don’t have to, Dean Yaga. My best friend is the manager there, so he’s always giving me his latest concoctions.”
“Oh, I must insist.” She puts the certificate in my palm and grins. “With your help, the school will look absolutely perfect, which is particularly vital since tomorrow is the biggest day in CU history.”
My eyebrows furrow and I pocket the gold paper. “Why is that?”
“Because tomorrow humans are being enrolled! Transfers and freshmen abound! It’s the next step for human-monsterrelations!” She claps her hands in delight. Meanwhile, my mouth goes dry.
“Uh…”
“Thank you for your help, Kovi. Ta ta for now!” She floats away on her mortar and cheers. “Tomorrow’s the big day, humans are coming our way…” she sings in a jingle as she disappears.
I try to tamp down nervousness as I shift again. My vines reach down and gently pull up the barren tree along with a patch of dirt. It’s an easy task once I grow more than five vines from my arm branches?ten human fingers is so limiting.
As I take giant steps with my tree trunk legs, I try to quell my anxiety. I had heard rumors that humans would be admitted to the U, but I thought it was fake news. As a shifter, I’ve had my run-ins with humans here in Creelin, Pennsylvania. The population at large tolerates monsters on a good day and shuns us on a bad day. Why would they even want to study here? They call us “Creepin U” for crying out loud.
