Hot Mess Summer

by Melissa Foster

Declan pushes leafy branches aside and pulls me beneath the umbrella of what turns out to be the most interesting and gorgeous tree I’ve ever seen. Massive, intrusive roots crawl along the surface of the ground around the thick trunk like claws coming up from the earth. Branches sprout from the massive trunk just above the roots, low and wide, and more grow along the length of the trunk, twisting and curling as wild and free as my hair.