Rootbound

by Tarah DeWitt

Because that’s the singular constant in life, isn’t it? That one minute you are completely obliterated by it, and then in the next moment, it carries you toward something else, regardless of whether or not you’re still emotionally reeling.

And, most importantly, I don’t need a person to be happy, or to have a good time.

“When someone betrays you, you don’t have a chance to lose feelings. You’re left with all that leftover love, plus anger right alongside it, with nowhere for it to go and no one to give it to. It’s like a phantom limb or something, I guess,”

“I think as parents, we think of our kids as a kind of extension of ourselves, and don’t realize that they are their own human people … at least not right away.

I think I’ve always been painfully aware of the fact that I’m not the main character?”

“I am so sorry that you had to grow up thinking that just because you were observant enough to see what other people needed, that it was your responsibility to be considerate of that, or to ever put yourself second, Tait. I hope you can … I hope you can see yourself through our eyes, sometime, and see how beautiful and incredible you are, and see how much you have to be proud of—not just your work, although you should be so damn proud of what you do, sweetheart—but be proud of yourself, of your life.”

“When you buy a new plant, you often have to cut the roots when it comes out of the pot. That way, when you put it into the

ground, the roots will reach outward, and it will thrive. If you left it in that plastic pot, in that compacted shape it’s in, the roots would grow around and around in a tangled mass until it’d choke the life from itself. It would become too rootbound to grow.”

“Honey, they’ve all been dates to me. I’ve just been waiting for you to catch up.”

“I wish you could see how you glow. How you brighten a room every time you enter it. I can’t imagine anyone, ever, losing sight of that with you. And I’m glad you’re here, and that you’re not wasting your time with anyone like I did. I hope … I hope you’ll continue to.”

Also, how do I keep you? Is it way too soon to feel like this? I think you’re my soulmate and I never thought that was a real thing before I met you. You’ve turned my thoughts into an endless stream of cheesy romcom lines that are somehow applicable and understandable now. You had me at hello.

All love, at some point, is going to be devastating, isn’t it? We all just choose to be brave, to go after what we want, who we want … even if it means potentially losing a piece of ourselves.

“Even if this fails in a less than spectacular fashion, Henry, I want to love you until then. I want to love you until it’s devastating.

“I want to put down roots here: beside you, across a pond from you, somewhere new with you, I don’t care. You’ve made me want to do that, to plant myself somewhere and flourish.” My forehead falls to her stomach until I can steady my breathing. “I want to love you until I’m absolutely devastated too, Tait. I’m going to.”

Why does a fire move with more speed uphill? Because it craves only light, only air.